Talking points

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gives a keynote speech to a gathering of business leaders and scholars in Tokyo. Abe has walked into a series of rows with neighbouring China and South Korea, not least when he was photographed smiling in the cockpit of a jet bearing the number 731 - a figure associated with a squad that performed human experimentation in the second world war. At home, his economic reforms have received a positive welcome from the markets.

Taiwan introduces a ban on the slaughter of poultry in wet markets. The island's premier, Dr Jiang Yi-huah, said yesterday that despite the outbreak of the new bird flu virus H7N9 appearing to moderate as warmer weather arrives, the potential risks of the new virus will return in autumn and winter. He is calling on ministries and local governments to stay on guard and improve public hygiene.