Aside from his waning popularity just a few weeks in office, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso is again under public scrutiny and facing criticism over a lavish lifestyle. Japanese newspapers claim that Aso, except for four nights, spent the entire month on night outs at expensive bars and dining establishments. His favorite hangout is a hotel bar where coffee costs $15 (1,392 yen) a cup and a high-end restaurant where a plate of grilled eel has a minimum price tag of $175 (16,239 yen).

A group of Japanese adventurers from the "Yeti Project Japan," claim to have photographed the footprints of the legendary giant ape-man Yeti after spending 42 days in the Himalayan peaks. Team leader Kuniaki Yahihara, from Maebashi, Japan said the photographs have been sent to scientists in Kyoto University for study.

A retired professor at the Tokyo University of Agriculture says that insects will become an important source of protein with rising food prices and shortage of food supply. Prof. Jun Mihashi said as world population continues to rise, insects will become an important source of protein in the near future. ''The amount of food, including meat, will decrease. Insects with high protein and high fat should be used effectively,'' he told the Kyodo News Agency.

South Korea unveiled Monday its first dancing robots to become the second country after Japan to create humanoids that can move its lower and upper body at the same time. Scientists from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology led by You Bum-jae introduced the robot Mahru, which danced to the "Tell Me" song of the local all-female pop group Wonder Girls.

Polar bears at the Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in central Japan are turning green. The phenomenon has a logical reason though, which is that the pond they swim in gathers harmless algae in the warm months, which adhere to the hollow places in a polar bear's fur. According to Associated Press, the algae is also more abundant than usual because the pond water is being changed less often due to conservation efforts.