Tokyo - Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell to a four-month low Tuesday after Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said he would step down following accusations he was drunk at a Group of Seven press conference.
The Nikkei closed at 7,645.51, down 104.66 points, or 1.35 per cent, and the broader Topix index of all first section issues was also down 13.57 points, or 1.76 per cent, at 756.53.
Tokyo - They are as soft as silk, no larger than half a thumb, and conquer Japanese hearts every spring: cherry blossoms, known in Japan as "sakura."
Anticipation starts building across the country in February. When the first buds open in the south-west, national euphoria breaks out. Newspapers follow the north-easterly advance of the flower front until millions upon millions of the delicate blossoms adorn the Japanese archipelago.
Tokyo - Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average hit a three-month low Tuesday amid worries over US automakers' restructuring plans, which are to be submitted to Congress later in the day in Washington.
The Nikkei dropped to 7,637.49, down 112.68 points, or 1.45 per cent, from the previous day's close.
The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was down 11.9 points, or 1.55 per cent, to 758.2.
On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar traded at 91.70-75 yen, up from Monday's 5 pm quote of 91.56-58 yen.
Tokyo - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in Tokyo Monday, kicking off her first visit abroad since taking office last month.
The global economic downturn, North Korea's nuclear weapons programme as well as bilateral relations were expected to feature prominently in talks Tuesday with Japan's top leaders.
Clinton and her Japanese counterpart, Hirofumi Nakasone, are also to sign an agreement to transfer 8,000 US soldiers from the southern Japanese island of Okinawa to Guam, a US territory in the Pacific Ocean.
Tokyo - Japan's economy contracted at an annual pace of 12.7 per cent in the October-to-December quarter, its worst drop since the oil crisis 35 years ago, amid a record decline in exports, the government said Monday.
The contraction in the world's second-largest economy was larger than economists had expected and came amid a 13.9-per-cent drop in exports, due to recessions in the US and Europe that cut demand for Japanese cars and electronics.
Tokyo - Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell to a four-month low Tuesday after Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said he would step down following accusations he was drunk at a Group of Seven press conference.
Tokyo - They are as soft as silk, no larger than half a thumb, and conquer Japanese hearts every spring: cherry blossoms, known in Japan as "sakura."
Tokyo - Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average hit a three-month low Tuesday amid worries over US automakers' restructuring plans, which are to be submitted to Congress later in the day in Washington.
Tokyo - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in Tokyo Monday, kicking off her first visit abroad since taking office last month.
Tokyo - Japan's economy contracted at an annual pace of 12.7 per cent in the October-to-December quarter, its worst drop since the oil crisis 35 years ago, amid a record decline in exports, the government said Monday.
