Japan

The Pacific Island Leaders Meeting, known as PALM, is held in Japan every three years.

Japan's government hosts the PALM summits as a way to share its assistance programme with Pacific Island Forum countries.

Ahead of this summit, Tokyo said measures to help Pacific countries enforce maritime law within their maritime jurisdictions would be included in a joint statement for the eighth PALM meeting.

Pacific Island countries struggle to adequately police their exclusive economic zones which have become subject to regular incursions by so-called Vietnamese blue boats.

The flanker has featured in four matches this season, and was named on the bench last weekend but wasn't injected into their clash with the Rebels.

Fakaosilea's contract was supposed to run until the end of the 2018 season, but the Brumbies agreed to release him.

He has struggled to make a consistent mark in his two seasons in Canberra, with injuries and a growing depth in the backrow limiting his chances.

The agreement was inked by Samoa's Ambassador to Japan, Her Excellency Faalavaau Perina Jacqueline Sila-Tualaulelei and the Mayor of Yamagata Takahiro Sato.

Yamagata City will be the 'Host Town' for Samoa and the Samoa Olympic delegations during their pre-camp training period before the Tokyo Games.

The MOU also marks the formal commencement of cultural and sports exchanges between Samoa and Yamagata.

Japanese ambassador to Fiji Masahiro Omura said the meeting was held once in every three years since 1997.

“This is an important meeting where leaders of 14 Pacific Island countries get together and we are hoping they all will participate again come next year,” he said.

Omura said Japan was also promoting various forms of exchange programmes for Fiji.

The announcement by Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera comes amid regular missile tests by North Korea and increased tensions between the nations.

The missiles will be deployed on Japan's fleet of fighter jets and have a range of up to 1,000km (621 miles).

The move is likely to be controversial, as Japan limits its military to self-defence.

But conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pushed in recent months to loosen the country's military restrictions, imposed in the wake of World War Two.

A record war chest of more than £120 million (NZ$233.5m) is to be invested in the professional game over the next two years and the RFU has given the green light to the "detailed and comprehensive plans" of Jones for the build-up to the tournament in Japan.

Expenditure on professional rugby in England soared last year by over 50 per cent to a record £63.7 million ($124 million). Investment going into the 2015 World Cup was £44.3 million ($86.2 million).

France have won just three of their 11 tests in 2017 and were fortunate not to suffer their most humbling reverse yet as flyhalf Tamura lined up a 74th minute conversion with the scores level.

The kick was just to the left of the posts, one that Tamura would expect to make comfortably, but the miss allowed the home side to escape with a draw as they managed to survive more pressure from the visitors in the remaining minutes.

The result, though, was set to still intensify the unwelcome spotlight on coach Guy Noves two years out from the Rugby World Cup.

In a case that has enthralled Japan and dominated news headlines for a week, a 33-year-old grand sumo champion, a Mongolian called Harumafuji, is accused of assaulting a younger wrestler, a 27-year-old Mongolian called Takanoiwa, with items possibly including a beer bottle, an ice pick, an ashtray, a microphone and a karaoke remote control.

Harumafuji, who holds the top rank of yokozuna, says he used only his bare hands, and a contentious investigation is now going on. Still, he's expected to be forced out.

The bi-weekly rugby newspaper Midi-Olympique has reported the 112-test All Black will leave Paris club Racing 92 in June to take up a lucrative deal with a Japanese team.

The 35-year-old is in the final year of his contract at Racing 92 and is reportedly close to agreeing which Japanese club he'll sign with, for what's likely to be his last contract as a professional player.

Carter left New Zealand rugby after the successful 2015 World Cup campaign and last year helped his club win the Top 14, defeating Toulon in the final. 

Fox Sports Australia is reporting that the October Test against the Wallabies will be played in Japan in the lead-up to the All Blacks' match against the Brave Blossoms on 3 November.

It would also be a chance for both sides to get accustomed with Japan's facilities ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

The last time the two sides played each other outside their home nations was in 2010 in Hong Kong - where Australia won the match 26-24.

Both sides have also played each other in Japan back in 2009. Australia also won that match.