Tokyo - Japan's foreign exchange reserves dropped 1.6 billion dollars in February after the US Treasury bond prices and the appraisal value of the nation's euro-dominated assets fell, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
The nation's foreign reserves fell for the second month in a row but remained barely above the 1-trillion-dollar level with 1.0093 trillion dollars.
As of the end of February, Japan held 892.34 billion dollars in foreign securities, while foreign currency deposits came to 87.81 billion dollars.
Tokyo - Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost more than 3 per cent Friday after Wall Street plunged overnight and the yen advanced against the US dollar.
The Nikkei index dropped 228.54 points, or 3.07 per cent, to 7,204.95 after it gained nearly 2 per cent the previous day on hopes in China's expected economic stimulus measures.
The broader Topix index of all first section issues was also down 16.45 points, or 2.22 per cent, to 725.1.
Tokyo - The office of Ichiro Ozawa, president of Japan's main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, received a total of 200 million yen (2 million dollars) in allegedly illegal corporate donations from the Nishimatsu Construction Company over 10 years, Japanese media said on Thursday.
The case of allegedly illegal corporate donations has stirred the nation's political scene and damaged Ozawa's chances of becoming the next prime minister in an election slated for this autumn, Japan's daily newspaper The Asahi Shimbun said.
Tokyo - Demand for foreign-brand cars in Japan declined and imported vehicle sales in February sank to the lowest level in 20 years amid the global financial turmoil, an industry body said Thursday.
Sales of new cars imported from overseas fell 33.9 per cent in February to 12,350 units from the same month a year before, the Japan Automobile Importers Association said.
Sales of vehicles made by foreign companies declined 34 per cent to 10,833 units, and those of vehicles produced by Japanese makers abroad sank 33.2 per cent to 1,517 units.
Tokyo - The Japanese market extended gains Thursday as optimism spread that China's economic stimulus measures may help the world economy to recover.
As the National People's Congress, the nominal parliament of the ruling Communist Party, opened Thursday in Beijing, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 196.9 points, or 2.7 per cent, to 7,487.86.
The congress is expected to focus on measures to boost China's economy to overcome the global downturn.
Vienna - The atomic bombing of Japan and South Africa's past nuclear weapons programme were brought into play Wednesday as diplomats from these two countries entered the last heat to be elected leader of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The IAEA governing board is set to meet on March 26 and 27 to elect the successor to Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, who retires in November after 12 years at the helm of the UN nuclear watchdog.
Tokyo - Japan's foreign exchange reserves dropped 1.6 billion dollars in February after the US Treasury bond prices and the appraisal value of the nation's euro-dominated assets fell, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
Tokyo - Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost more than 3 per cent Friday after Wall Street plunged overnight and the yen advanced against the US dollar.
Tokyo - The office of Ichiro Ozawa, president of Japan's main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, received a total of 200 million yen (2 million dollars) in allegedly illegal corporate donations from the Nishimatsu Construction Company over 10 years, Japanese media said on Thursday.
Tokyo - The Japanese market extended gains Thursday as optimism spread that China's economic stimulus measures may help the world economy to recover.
Vienna - The atomic bombing of Japan and South Africa's past nuclear weapons programme were brought into play Wednesday as diplomats from these two countries entered the last heat to be elected leader of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
