INTERNATIONAL China prepared Tuesday to welcome the first Japanese war ship to visit since World War II in a dramatic sign of improving relations between East Asia’s two major powers. [AFP]

INTERNATIONAL Japan officially apologized to Taiwan on Friday and reiterated its willingness to offer compensation for a ship collision earlier this month that sparked a diplomatic row. [KYODO]

INTERNATIONAL Crown Prince Naruhito attended a ceremony Wednesday hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia to celebrate the centennial of Japanese emigration to Brazil. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

INTERNATIONAL A small Beijing crowd of Chinese protesters on Wednesday denounced a compromise with Japan over disputed undersea gas, saying the deal could betray national interests. [REUTERS]

INTERNATIONAL Japanese government officials in Jakarta have begun interviewing Indonesians hoping to work as nurses or caregivers under the Japan-Indonesia Economic Partnership Agreement. [ASAHI]

INTERNATIONAL A 23-year-old Japanese tourist who was freed Saturday after being held captive since October by bandits in southeastern Iran apologized Monday for having caused trouble to the governments of Japan and Iran.

INTERNATIONAL North Korea has promised to reopen its investigation into Japanese abducted by state agents and cooperate in handing over four hijackers holed up in Pyongyang since 1970 after they commandeered a Japan Air Lines plane on a domestic flight. [ASAHI]

INTERNATIONAL The appeal against the acquittal of Joji Obara on charges of being involved in the death of Lucie Blackman is dividing the parents of the slain Tokyo bar hostess. [KYODO]

INTERNATIONAL China’s evolving space development should be closely watched for its potential impact on the country’s military buildup, a Japanese Defense Ministry think tank report said Thursday. [KYODO]

INTERNATIONAL The health ministry has suspended imports of Italian-made buffalo mozzarella after high levels of dioxin were found in the cheese, an official said Wednesday. [AFP]

INTERNATIONAL The U.S. Coast Guard said that bad weather forced it to suspend the search for the last missing crew member of the sunken U.S. fishing ship Alaska Ranger off the coast of the Aleutian Islands on Monday night. [KYODO]

INTERNATIONAL The family of a British woman killed a year ago in Japan appealed to police and the public on Monday for help in finding her suspected killer. (2) [MAINICHI]

INTERNATIONAL Ippudo, the famous Japanese ramen noodles chain originating from Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, has opened its first store outside Japan in New York City with hopes of bringing the Japanese ramen boom to the United States. [KYODO]

INTERNATIONAL French Prime Minister Francois Fillon will visit Japan next month on a trip that includes a tour of a controversial new nuclear plant, Tokyo’s foreign ministry said Friday. [AFP]

INTERNATIONAL Retired Los Angeles detectives Jimmy Sakoda and Louis Ito — who led the probe into the 1981 shooting of the wife of Japanese businessman Kazuyoshi Miura — have returned as investigators of the case, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

INTERNATIONAL Legal proceedings to decide whether to transfer to Los Angeles Kazuyoshi Miura, currently being held on murder and conspiracy charges over the 1981 shooting of his wife, are taking longer than anticipated due to the case being handled in two separate locations. [YOMIURI]

INTERNATIONAL A Japanese government agency on Thursday concluded a cooperation framework agreement with Russian state-run oil company Rosneft with an eye to developing oil fields in eastern Siberia. [KYODO]

INTERNATIONAL The Japanese community in Britain is hoping the government will rethink plans for a new English language requirement for foreign nationals coming to work in the country. [KYODO]

INTERNATIONAL Antonio Negri, an Italian political philosopher considered by many to be a symbol of anti-globalism, has given up a plan to visit Japan from Thursday due to difficulties in obtaining an entry visa, the sponsor of his planned trip said. (1) [KYODO]

INTERNATIONAL A group of 18 Japanese tourists who were staying in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa returned to Japan on Thursday afternoon on a ferry from Shanghai. One of the travelers commented, “Although we did not face any danger, the military checked the photos we took.“ [KYODO]