Indian and Japanese trade promotion bodies signed a memorandum of understanding late Tuesday to promote bilateral trade and business ties, the Indian group said Wednesday. The agreement between the Federation of Indian Export Organisations and the Japan External Trade Organization will also lead to sharing of information among the business communities and facilitating new trade avenues in each other's country.

TOKYO - Japan's economy grew by a stronger-than-expected 3.5 per cent in annual terms last quarter, giving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a boost as his government tackles reforms needed to ensure a sustained recovery from two decades of malaise. Stronger consumer spending and public works investment coupled with aggressive monetary easing lent oomph to the recovery that began in the last quarter of 2012, when annual growth was 0.3 per cent.

China will likely use its growing power to try to force its way with Japan but it is doubtful that Beijing will enter a Cold War-style confrontation with the United States, a study said Thursday. The report by the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace aims to be the most comprehensive unclassified assessment of China's rise and its impact on the US-Japan alliance in the years ahead.

The governments of Mexico and Japan have signed agreements to promote tourism between their two countries, Mexico's Tourism Ministry said Wednesday.The two countries are expected to jointly implement a training program to turn Japanese travel agents into Mexico specialists with greater knowledge of the cultural heritage and tourism destinations of the Latin American country.The countries also agreed to strengthen air connectivity to increase the flow of tourists.Mexico is Japan's top tourism destination in Latin America, with 85,678 travelers visiting Mexico in 2012, u