Tokyo - Tokyo stocks extended losses Wednesday after overnight declines in the US market.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 36.51 points in morning trading, or 0.28 per cent, to close at 12,828.54.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also down 6.31 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 1,229.23.

The Tokyo market was seeing second day of losses mainly in financial and export-oriented issues after the indices tumbled more than 2 per cent Tuesday on renewed worries about the global credit crunch and the weakening economy in the United States, Japan's largest export market.

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 - Tokyo stocks lost more than 2 per cent Tuesday on overnight falls in the US market.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average tumbled 349.02 points in morning trading, or 2.65 per cent, to 12,816.43.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also down 31.19 points, or 2.47 per cent, at 1,263.75.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 110.10-15 yen, down from Monday's 5 pm quote of 110.25-26 yen.

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Tokyo - Tokyo stocks ended morning trading higher Monday as investors bought back battered shares in the financial and real estate sectors.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 231.06 points, or 1.77 per cent, to 13,250.47.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also up 26.37 points, or 2.11 per cent, at 1,273.68.

The Tokyo market opened lower, but investors looking for bargains scooped up shares, prompting a recovery.

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.