Roland Buerk

The Japanese government has ordered TEPCO, the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, to pay $12,000 compensation to each of the 50,000 households near the facility.

The auto industry has staved off production stoppages thanks in part to lengthy shipping times for Japanese parts. But now, the shipments that left Japan before the tsunami have all been unloaded, and automakers face potential shutdowns.

There's some bad news for the Japanese economy. A closely watched index of how confident businesses are feeling about the future has gotten worse for the first time in nearly two years.

South Korea's central bank said today it will work with the government in making sure markets remain stable there. That's after an exchange of artillery fire between North and South Korea that left at least two South Korean marines dead.

Japan's central bank has cut its interest rate to virtually zero. The BBC's Roland Buerk talks with Steve Chiotakis about what finally persuaded Japan to cut its key rate and how damaging the weak U.S. dollar has been to the Asian nation's recovery.

Japanese broadcasters are refusing to air the big sumo Nagoya tournament because the sport has been corrupted by illegal gambling.