Tokyo - Asian stock markets rebounded Tuesday after gains on Wall Street spurred by the US government's bailout plan to save the banking giant Citigroup Inc.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average surged more than 5 per cent on Wall Street's overnight rally and a weaker yen, which increases exporters' overseas earnings.

The Nikkei index soared 413.14 points, or 5.22 per cent, to close at 8,323.93.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also up 3.6 per cent at 831.58.

Tokyo - Having grown up during years of economic slumps and now seeing their country in a recession, young Japanese are bucking their national image of being globe-trotters and are preferring to stay at home.

Home is not only more comfortable, but overseas travel has lost the allure that it used to have.

"The number of young Japanese [customers] has dropped notably in the last years, and that's crucial for us," said Yumi Isozaki, a spokeswoman for the Japan Association of Travel Agents.

Tokyo - A 35-year-old man was arrested for scattering about 200 mealworms in a train in western Japan because he wanted to see surprised looks on female passengers' faces, a Japanese daily said Tue

Tokyo  - Tokyo stocks ended morning trading higher Tuesday on Wall Street's overnight rises and a weaker yen, sending the key Nikkei 225 Stock Average up more than 4 per cent.

The Nikkei index jumped 335.29 points, or 4.24 per cent, to 8,246.08.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also up 23.75 points, or 2.96 per cent, to 826.44.

Investors bought a wide range of issues Tuesday after a three-day holiday in Tokyo as the market sentiment was cheered by US markets' rises and a weaker yen.

Lima - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said Sunday in Lima that the prospects of the Doha Round of talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO) have changed after seven years of failures.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is aware that, in the current context of global economic and financial crisis, "the world might turn protectionistic," Aso said. This is an issue that needs "to be responded to quickly."

Tokyo  - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo departed the western Japanese city of Osaka Saturday for a summit in Lima, leaving her husband at hospital after he fell ill on their flight, media reports said.

The condition of Jose Miguel Arroyo, 62, was not announced.

Philippine Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno had denied reports that Mr Arroyo had suffered a heart attack, saying he had "stomach cramps and back pains."