Japanese financial companies are moving to stop investing in or financing coal-fired power stations, in an effort to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

A major non-life insurance company, Sompo Japan Insurance, plans to end investment and financing for the construction of new fossil fuel power plants, which are inefficient and emit large amounts of carbon dioxide.

A long-running wartime labor lawsuit in South Korea against a Japanese company appears to be entering a new phase. The case has damaged relations between the two countries. A court order that took effect on Tuesday could widen that rift by allowing assets to be seized from Nippon Steel.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide said, "The Supreme Court ruling and the related legal procedures are clearly breaching international law."