Tokyo  - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso on Thursday apologized for having to replace his finance minister during a recession and while the budget was being debated and accepted responsibility for appointing Shoichi Nakagawa to the post.

"The responsibility for appointing him to a cabinet minister resides on me, of course," Aso told the House of Representatives Budget Committee in response to an opposition party demand for an apology.

Seoul  - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso arrived in the South Korean capital of Seoul on Sunday, for a series of talks aimed at tightening economic cooperation between the two East Asian countries and bridging old wartime emnities.

The two leaders are due to meet on Monday and are expected to discuss, amongst other subjects, North Korea's atomic weapons programme, and the global economic crisis.

At an official reception dinner for Aso, South Korean President Lee Myung Bak said that it was important for the two countries to work closely together to survive the current "unprecedented" economic situation.

Tokyo  - Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso ordered a probe into the possibility of having the Japanese navy join the international fight against piracy off the Somalia coast, news reports said.

Aso asked Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada to look into having Japan's Self-Defence Forces join the anti-piracy mission, the Jiji Press news agency said.

Lima - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said Sunday in Lima that the prospects of the Doha Round of talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO) have changed after seven years of failures.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is aware that, in the current context of global economic and financial crisis, "the world might turn protectionistic," Aso said. This is an issue that needs "to be responded to quickly."

Washington  - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said Saturday in Washington that he looked forward to working with US president- elect Barack Obama.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the Group of 20 nations to address the world economic crisis, Aso was asked about his thoughts on Obama.

"Obama-san?" he asked, before saying they had spoken over the phone since the November 4 election. And though it was difficult to know much about his personality from the brief discussion, Aso said that Obama appeared to show an interest in Asia.

Tokyo - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso on Monday ordered the government and ruling parties to immediately implement measures to stabilize the stock market.

"Stock prices greatly influence the real economy," Aso said at a press conference. "In that sense, we have to consider various measures and implement them."

The government was expected to implement emergency measures such as a larger government fund to recapitalize ailing banks and help for employees to purchase stock in their companies, Aso said.