Xinhua Asia-Pacific News Summary at 1600 GMT, April 11

TOKYO -- Japan's upper house of parliament on Wednesday passed a legislation requiring visitors to pay departure tax when they leave Japan next year.

Under the new legislation, visitors, with the exception of infants aged under two years old and those transiting within 24 hours, will be required to pay 1,000 yen (about 9 U.S. dollars) upon departing Japan. (Japan-Departure Tax)

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SEOUL -- Top diplomats of South Korea and Japan held talks here on the Korean Peninsula's denuclearization ahead of the inter-Korean summit later this month, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met her visiting Japanese counterpart Taro Kono to discuss issues of mutual concerns including nuclear issues on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). (S.Korea-Japan-Talks)

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NADI, FIJI -- More than 18,000 people are still staying at evacuation centers in Fiji after tropical cyclone Keni hit the South Pacific Island state with heavy rain and destructive winds on Tuesday.

Announcing this on Wednesday, Fiji's National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) said that most of the evacuees are in the centers in the western part of the nation and the evacuees will only return to their homes when it is safe. (Fiji-Cyclone)

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TOKYO -- A U.S. Marine based in Okinawa was sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday for killing a 61-year-old Japanese man last year while driving under the influence of alcohol.

Prosecutors had initially been seeking a six-year term for the fatal offense, but the Naha District Court sentenced 22-year-old Nicholas James-Mclean to four years in prison. (Japan-U.S. Marine-Jail) Enditem