The warning was ominous, its predictions dire: Oceanographers issued a bulletin telling Hawaii and other Pacific islands that a killer wave was heading their way with terrifying force and that "urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property."

The tsunami from an earthquake in Chile hit Japan's main islands on Sunday, but the initial waves washed ashore without causing any damage after sparing most of the Pacific islands that were in its path.

Australia's prime minister on Friday set a November deadline for Japan to stop its research whaling program that kills hundreds of whales a year in Antarctic waters, or else face international legal action.

Honda Motor Co. is adding 437,000 vehicles to its 15-month old global recall for faulty airbags in the latest quality problem to hit a Japanese automaker.

Some 400,000 Prius vehicles globally, about half of them in Japan where the gas-electric hybrid is manufactured, will get a repair for the glitch in the antilock brake system.