Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has banned government ministries and agencies from introducing post-retirement jobs to bureaucrats, a key policy measure that his administration has pledged to implement.Full article

Tokyo's entertainment districts are feeling the effect of the recent change in government.Full article

India celebrates Independence Day

Vikas Swarup, left, newly appointed Indian consul general in Osaka-Kobe, delivers a congratulatory speech as his wife listens during a national-flag hoisting ceremony he hosted at his official residence in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, on Aug.