Tokyo - The Bank of Japan decided Tuesday to maintain its key short-term interest rate at 0.5 per cent because the nation's economic growth has been "sluggish" and exports have been weak.
"Economic growth has been sluggish against the backdrop of high energy and materials prices and weaker growth in exports," the bank said in a statement.
Tokyo - Nearly 5,000 people were expected to gather at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan arena Friday to commemorate the country's 3.1 million war dead and the end of World War II.
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko were to attend the ceremony. The oldest person to participate was expected to be 94 as the generation of people who experienced the war ages.
Meanwhile, Farm Minister Seiichi Ota, Justice Minister Okiharu Yasuoka, and former prime ministers Junichiro Koizumi and Shinzo Abe visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which is dedicated to Japan's war dead.
Tokyo - The Bank of Japan decided Tuesday to maintain its key short-term interest rate at 0.5 per cent because the nation's economic growth has been "sluggish" and exports have been weak.
Tokyo - Tokyo stocks lost more than 2 per cent Tuesday on overnight falls in the US market.
Tokyo - Tokyo stocks ended morning trading higher Monday as investors bought back battered shares in the financial and real estate sectors.
Tokyo - Nearly 5,000 people were expected to gather at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan arena Friday to commemorate the country's 3.1 million war dead and the end of World War II. 
