Japanese parliament passes budget

The Japanese parliament has approved the government's annual Budget, aimed at reviving the country's stagnant economy.

It also marks the first spending cut in six years, which correspondents say is a sign Japan may be responding to pressures to tackle its massive burden of debt.

The Tokyo stock exchange's Nikkei share index rose nearly five per cent on Monday, continuing last week's rally.

The correspondents say now the budget is out of the way the search for a successor to the prime minister, Yoshiro Mori, is likely to intensify. The parties in Japan's governing coalition suffered another setback on Sunday when voters elected an independent candidate as governor of Chiba prefecture.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service