In Japan, Mr Shinzo Abe has been voted in as the Prime Minister by Japan's MPs, after his party's crushing poll victory earlier this month. Mr Abe's Liberal Democratic party (LDP) and its coalition partner have a two-thirds majority in the lower house.

The governing Democratic Party (DPJ) suffered major losses in the poll, with leader Yoshihiko Noda stepping down. Mr Abe, who was the Prime Minister in 2006-07, has pledged to take a tough line in a territorial row with China.

China has urged the new government to take practical steps to deal with the dispute over islands in the East China Sea. Mr Abe, 58, has also called for Japan's pacifist constitution to be revised and patriotic sentiment nurtured.

Earlier, the Japanese Cabinet resigned, allowing for a parliamentary vote to install Mr Shinzo Abe as Prime Minister.