Sony has more than doubled its projected annual losses to 520 billion yen (£4.02 billion) - its worst ever - due to a massive tax charge.

A bluefin tuna, caught off northern Japan, has fetched a record 56.49 million yen (£473,000) in the first auction of the year at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market.

A tumultuous year for stock markets ended today with the FTSE 100 Index down nearly 6% in 2011 - but investors may be thankful the decline was not worse.

Asian stock markets slumped today amid new signs of pressure on Europe's banking system and a downturn on Wall Street.

Asian stock markets fell today as criticism by ratings agencies sparked scepticism about a historic European Union plan to fix a massive debt crisis by binding member economies closer together.

£19m from fund set up to rebuild coast stricken by triple disaster is diverted to help fishing fleet

The yen dropped to a three-month low against the dollar yesterday after Japan intervened in the market to curb its currency's rise.

The Japanese Trade Minister Banri Kaieda has the lead in a ruling party race to pick the next prime minister, but a bruising run-off looks likely as chances of a majority win in a first-round vote are slim, media surveys showed yesterday.

Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan has told his cabinet he will step down and dissolve his government next week, signalling another turn of the country's political merry-go-round. Analysts say Japan will have a new leader by next Tuesday.

There is no change in Japan's stance of taking decisive action in the currency markets depending on market developments, a senior Japanese Government official said yesterday, indicating the island-nation's willingness to undertake another intervention to prevent the yen from rising in value. "Japan's stance is consistent in that it will take decisive action depending on market developments," the official said.

Japan's economy contracted for a third straight quarter as consumer spending and factory production continued to suffer in the aftermath of the March earthquake and tsunami.

Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), the operator of Japan's tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, made a 571.8bn yen (£4.6bn) loss between April and June, as it put money aside to compensate the victims of the disaster at the plant.

Japan tamed financial markets and successfully pushed down the value of its currency yesterday, but stalling economic growth in the West and the latest leg of the eurozone crisis suggest that its victory may be shortlived.

Toyota fell to its first quarterly loss in two years in the three months to June after the Japanese earthquake disrupted the car manufacturer's operations.