Tokyo - More than 590,000 people Monday participated in earthquake drills across Japan on a national quake preparedness day.

Heads of government ministries and agencies gathered at the prime minister's office early Monday to discuss emergency measures and responses on assumption that a mock magnitude-8.6 earthquake hit western Japan.

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda told citizens to "respond calmly to this major disaster and cooperate to expedite rescuing people and put out the fires."

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks opened lower Monday on Wall Street's falls before the weekend and a stronger yen.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 176 points, or 1.35 per cent, to 12,896.87.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also down 18.82 points, or 1.5 per cent, to 1,235.89.

Exporters were hurt as a stronger yen affects Japanese companies' earnings overseas. Also, reports of a slowdown of US consumer spending in July raised fears of lower demand for Japanese products.

Sofia  - Bulgaria and Japan on Friday agreed a 36.93 billion yen (337 million dollars) credit for the construction of cargo terminals in Bulgaria's Black Sea ports Varna and Burgas.

The Japanese Bank for International Cooperation approved the 25- year credit, with a 7-year grace period and a 1.4 per cent interest rate, for the "construction and development" of container cargo terminals in the two ports by 2014.

Tokyo - The Japanese government Friday unveiled a economic stimulus package totalling 11.7 trillion yen (107.03 billion dollars) to lift the financial burden caused by rising oil prices and shore up the economy.

The government was to install the package to help small- and medium-size firms raise funds, financially support business sectors hit hard by rising oil prices such as truckers or bus and taxi operators, and reduce income and residential taxes.

The lion's share of the package, is, however, a 400-billion-yen credit guarantee programme that backs loans worth about 9 trillion yen, which brings genuine spending down to about 2 trillion yen.

Tokyo - Japan's Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co on Friday unveiled a plan to build an electrodeposited copper foil factory in Malaysia as the company expects demands to rapidly grow in Asia.

The nonferrous metal company plans to invest about 15 billion yen (137.22 million dollars) for a new plant to be located next to an existing factory in Shah Alam, Selangor, the company said.

The firm plans to complete the first phase of construction and start operations with a monthly output of 700 tons of electrodeposited copper foil by the beginning of 2010, with an aim to expand its production capacity to total 1,200 tons.

The Japanese company is hoping to lead the market with a total production capacity of 2,800 tons per month at both facilities.

Tokyo - Tokyo would lift sanctions against North Korea, provided it resumes investigations into the abduction of Japanese citizens and despite Pyongyang reneging on a pledge to disable its nuclear facilities, Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura said Friday.

Japan planned to proceed with a promised deal to lift some of its sanctions against the communist state if North Korea executes the agreement to investigate the abduction of Japanese citizens by its agents in the 1970s and '80s, Japan's top diplomat said, three days after North Korea said it would stop work on disabling its nuclear facilities.