Japanese minister returns salary

The Japanese Foreign Minister, Makiko Tanaka, has said she will forego one month's salary as a way of expressing remorse for two embezzlement scandals involving foreign ministry officials.

Her gesture comes after two Japanese diplomats were indicted on Monday for allegedly misusing tens of thousands of dollars in connection with the hiring of limousines at an economic summit in Okinawa last year.

Last week, the ministry dismissed the Japanese consul-general in the American city of Denver for diverting public funds into his personal account.

The series of scandals led to the dismissal of four senior Japanese foreign ministry officials earlier this week, including the ambassadors to the United States and Britain.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service