Japan's top leaders are defending the economic strategies championed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, though the central bank chief acknowledged a need for better communication with financial markets, a day after Tokyo shares suffered their worst loss since the 2011 tsunami disaster.Full story
OSAKA, Japan (Reuters) - Two elderly South Korean women forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels abruptly canceled a meeting with Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto after he refused to withdraw remarks asserting the brothel system was "necessary" at the time. Full story
Asian stocks continued to retreat Friday after being routed the day before by unexpectedly weak Chinese manufacturing and fears the Federal Reserve will start withdrawing its monetary stimulus. Full story
Japanese climber Yuichiro Miura, 80, has earned the title of the oldest person to reach the summit at Mt. Everest for the second time in his life. NBC’s Ann Curry reports.
Japan suffered its worst 1-day loss in more than 2 years, but the Nikkei is still up about 40 percent this year. Walter Zimmerman, United-ICAP says this type of drop could occur in the U.S., while Darren Wolfberg, BNP Paribas, doesn't think so.
As soon as yields hit 1 percent on the 10-year in Japan, there was massive covering in the yen, explains David Lutz, Stifel Nicolaus.
Gold has gained ground as investors sell stocks in Japan, Europe and the U.S., reports CNBC's Sharon Epperson.
Kyle Bass, Hayman Capital Management, says rational investors are starting to sell Japanese government bonds.
Protesters holding placards attend a rally in front of Osaka City hall in Osaka, western Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo May 24, 2013. Two elderly South Korean women forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels abruptly cancelled a meeting with Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto after he refused
A screen dispaying Japan's Nikkei share average is seen through a viewfinder of a television camera at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo May 24, 2013. Japan's Nikkei stock average turned positive in a volatile session on Friday afternoon after the previous session's 7.3 percent plunge. The Nikkei wa
South Korean police try to take a Japanese national flag from protesters as a Vietnam War veteran prepares to burn a portrait of Toru Hashimoto, the mayor of the Japanese city of Osaka, during an anti-Japan rally in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul May 23, 2013. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
An employee of the Tokyo Stock Exchange works at the bourse in Tokyo May 24, 2013. Japan's Nikkei stock average turned positive in a volatile session on Friday afternoon after the previous session's 7.3 percent plunge. The Nikkei was up 1 percent at 14,626.91 by 0543 GMT after shedding as much as 3.
