Obama would be the first major presidential candidate to drop out of the modern campaign financing system for the general election since its creation in 1976 in the post-Watergate era.

CNN: McCain attacks Obama for opting out of public financing

The opposition Conservatives say that if they win power at the approaching general election they will copy the Scottish system, in which people who are not convicted usually have their DNA removed from the database as soon as the case against them is dropped.

ECONOMIST: The vast police directory is trimmed, but only a little

Mr Hatoyama prevaricates over fiscal reform, arguing that Japan should wait until the next general election in 2013 before shaking up the tax system.

ECONOMIST: Japan's debt problem