An opening attempt to cool tensions between China and Japan appears to have fallen flat, signaling that the diplomatic spat is likely to drag on and stoking concerns about further strain in economic ties.

An off-the-cuff remark by new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that triggered Japan's biggest bust-up in years with powerful neighbour China was not meant to signal a new hardline stance.

Residents in the northern region of Akita are living in fear after dozens of assaults on humans. Riot police and the army have been sent to help.

Firefighters and army helicopters battled a fire that burned through old wooden houses in a fishing town in southwestern Japan.

Tension between Japan and China has escalated over the new Japanese leader's suggestion Tokyo could intervene militarily if Beijing attacks Taiwan.

Japan's government will include temporary payouts to families with children in a planned stimulus package that will likely exceed 20 trillion yen ($127 billion), the Asahi newspaper reported on Thursday.

A Tokyo Electric Power Co. employee mishandled confidential security documents at Japan’s biggest nuclear power plant, according to the nation’s atomic watchdog, in the latest security breach to affect a facility that’s close to getting approval to restart.

Bear sightings and attacks have increased in parts of Japan, especially in municipalities close to or adjacent to populated zones,” the U.S. Embassy said in a wildlife alert.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda and key economic ministers in the country's new government have agreed to watch market developments with a "strong sense of urgency," Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Wednesday.

China and Japan are two of Asia’s most powerful nations and the region’s biggest trading partners. Yet centuries of intense rivalry mean their economic embrace can never be taken for granted.