Tokyo - Tokyo stocks opened higher Thursday on a fall in oil prices and eased credit concerns.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 168.78 points, or 1.27 per cent, to 13,481.71.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also up 18.02 points, or 1.38 per cent, to 1,321.37.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 107.89-92 yen, up from Wednesday's 5 pm quote of 107.68-70 yen.

Tokyo - At least 91 people were injured in a magnitude-6.8 earthquake that hit northern Japan Wednesday night, media reports said.

The quake left some 10,000 households without electricity in northern Iwate, Aomori, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, and some 201 households in Iwate were left without water, local media reported Thursday.

About 13 of those injured were in serious condition, while others sustained minor injuries, police said.

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks opened higher Wednesday on a weaker yen and overnight rises in the US market.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 133.69 points, or 1.01 per cent, to 13,318.65. The index rose 3 per cent at the end of Tuesday trading to exceed the 13,000 level for the first time since July 14.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also up 19.01 points, or 1.48 per cent, to 1,306.75.

Tokyo - Japanese water-system company Wellthy was expected to start providing drinking water to Chinese earthquake victims as early as this week, becoming one of the few private Japanese companies to offer relief services in China.

Wellthy completed the set-up of the well-water filtering system on Tuesday for about 1,500 people living in a temporary shelter camp in Miyanyang, about 150 kilometres north-east of Chengdu, to provide drinking water to 60,000 people displaced in a magnitude-8 quake.

The May 12 quake killed 70,000 people, left nearly 17,000 missing and 15 million homeless in and around China's Sichuan province.

Tokyo  - Stocks opened higher in Tokyo Tuesday as investors bought financial and banking issues amid eased credit concerns.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 165.31 points, or 1.29 per cent, to 12,969.01.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also up 11.35 points, or 0.91 per cent, to 1,263.78.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 106.50-55 yen, up from Monday's 5 pm quote of 106.38-48 yen in New York. Japanese financial markets were closed Monday for a national holiday.