Tokyo - Nissan Motor Co said Friday that its net profit fell 42.8 per cent to 52.8 billion yen (505 million dollars) in its first quarter from the same quarter a year before, mainly because of the rise in the yen.

Operating profit also plunged 46.1 per cent in the April-to-June quarter to 79.9 billion yen.

Japan's third-largest automaker saw its sales fall 4.1 per cent to 2.35 trillion yen.

Nissan's global sales were up 6.9 per cent for the quarter to 936,000 units.

Tokyo - Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda was expected to reshuffle his cabinet Friday in an effort to boost his government's support rate.

Fukuda apparently said that he would rename ministers with the future economy in mind amid surging oil and goods prices, as well as aging population, said Fukuda's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Secretary General Bunmei Ibuki.

The cabinet members would resign en masse in the afternoon before Fukuda summons new ministers.

Tokyo - Stocks lost more than 2 per cent in Tokyo Friday as concerns over the US economy grew stronger among the market players.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average tumbled 295.88 points, or 2.21 per cent, to 13,080.93.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues also fell 31.67 points, or 2.43 per cent, to 1,271.95.

Engineering design services firm Tata Elxsi Limited, has signed a partnership deal with Japanese firm Proassist, for establishment of a Proassist Global Development Centre (PGDC) in the country.

Tokyo - A South Korean man cut his fingers in central Tokyo Thursday to protest against Japan's decision to claim sovereignty over the disputed Dokdo islets.

Japanese police took the man in his 50s into custody after he sliced his right ring finger and pinky to write a protest message in blood on a flag,

He was conducting a sit-in with other protesters near the prime minister's residence, according to police.

"I came here to protest against the Takeshima (Dokdo) islets issue," police quoted him as saying.

Tokyo - Japan's TDK Corp plans to purchase German electronics parts maker EPCOS AG for a maximum of 200 billion yen (1.85 billion dollars), which would be one of the largest acquisitions in the industry, media reports said Thursday.

TDK hopes to boost its operations through the deal amidst harsh competition in Asia.

TDK is to launch a friendly tender offer for EPCOS shares, which are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, to make it a subsidiary by the end of this year, Jiji Press quoted informed sources as saying.