On the basis of substantially increased hospitalizations, the H1N1 swine flu outbreak was declared an epidemic by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases on Aug. 21.

Most South Korean newspapers reported the historic victory of the Democratic Party of Japan in the Aug. 30 election. KYODO PHOTO

The Democratic Party of Japan's landslide election victory has stirred interest among foreign media, who generally view the ousting of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled almost without interruption for 54 years, as a positive sign of change.

In addition to front-page coverage, The Joong Ang daily, one of South Korea's three biggest newspapers, ran an eight-page feature on the DPJ victory.

Although the Japanese-language editorial on its Web site credited the victory more to public disapproval of the LDP than outright support for the DPJ, it expressed hope that the presumptive next prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama will avoid visits to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine and work to give Koreans living in Japan the right to vote in local elections.

The Guardian, a leading British newspaper, ran the election results as its lead foreign story.

"Japanese politics stories are always difficult to sell in British newspapers, but I think this time there was genuine interest in the fact that after so long Japanese voters were preparing to break those ties with the LDP and try something new," said its Tokyo correspondent, Justin McCurry, who describes the result as "a huge change" in Japanese politics.

Tim Kelly, a reporter for Forbes, the U.S.-based business magazine, said he covered the election closely because of its impact on foreign investors. "I wrote several stories about it this time because it is the first time the DPJ has come into power and it has an impact on the investing community."