Tokyo  - Shoes don't always have to be made of leather. Vinyl in fact is the latest rage in spring shoe style in Japan.

It doesn't matter whether the shoes are high heels, ballerinas or wedge sandals, the main thing is they have to be colourful and lively. The shrill vinyl for fashion-conscious Japanese are not only hip, they also are cheaper than leather shoes. In the current economic hard climate, their easy-on-the-budget price is welcome, wrote the Nikkei Weekly business magazine.

Tokyo  - Stocks in Tokyo fell in Thursday morning trading when investors sold shares to lock in profits from the previous day's gains.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 79.02 points, or 1.07 per cent, to 7,297.1 after closing 4.55 per cent higher Wednesday.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues also fell 15.93 points, or 2.21 per cent, to 706.35, a day after rising 2.67 per cent after surges on Wall Street and hopes for stabilization in the financial industry.

Tokyo  - Japan's economy shrunk an annualized 12.1 per cent in the final quarter of 2008, according to revised statistics released Thursday by the Japanese government.

Initial figures had projected a 12.7-per-cent contraction for the gross domestic product (GDP.)

Nonetheless, in light of an unprecedented drop in exports, Japan's economy has shrunk the most since the oil crisis 35 years ago.

According to the revised figures, GDP in the third quarter of 2008 shrank only 3.2 per cent instead of the 3.4 per cent initially projected.

Tokyo  - Japanese orders for machinery fell for the fourth straight month in January, the longest losing streak in at least 20 years, as the global recession strangled exports and profits.

The Cabinet Office said new orders for capital investment declined 3.2 percent from December, but less than most predictions.

The economy recorded its first current-account deficit in 13 years in January, meaning that many companies will have less cash for capital investment. Tokyo Electron Ltd., the world9s second-largest maker of semiconductor gear, forecasts a year without profits.

Tokyo 

Tokyo  - Tokyo stocks ended Tuesday morning trading lower after the Dow Jones industrial average hit a fresh 12-year-low overnight on lingering concerns over the US economy.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 52.76 points, or 0.74 per cent, falling to 7,033.27 after it ended the previous day's session at its lowest in more than 26 years.

The broader Topix index of all first section issues was also down 8.83 points, or 1.24 per cent, to 701.7.