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.

Tokyo - Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda was expected to reshuffle his cabinet on Friday, media reports said.

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 - Tokyo stocks gave up early gains and ended the morning trading lower Thursday, pressured by mounting worries about corporate earnings in Japan.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 78.93 points, or 0.59 per cent, to 13,288.86.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was down 12.62 points, or 0.97 per cent, to 1,290.37.

The Tokyo market opened higher after Wall Street's overnight gains, but investors' anxiety over Japanese firms' earnings later dampened the sentiment.

Tokyo - Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Wednesday expressed disappointment over the breakdown of World Trade Organization (WTO) talks over disputes on the opening of agricultural markets but vowed to push for an eventual agreement.

"It is very regrettable that an accord on modalities was not reached at a WTO ministerial meeting despite more than a week of all-out effort by ministers," Fukuda said in a statement.

Tokyo - Japan's industrial production fell for the first time in two months as the auto industry had weak output, the government said Wednesday.