Seoul  - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso arrived in the South Korean capital of Seoul on Sunday, for a series of talks aimed at tightening economic cooperation between the two East Asian countries and bridging old wartime emnities.

The two leaders are due to meet on Monday and are expected to discuss, amongst other subjects, North Korea's atomic weapons programme, and the global economic crisis.

At an official reception dinner for Aso, South Korean President Lee Myung Bak said that it was important for the two countries to work closely together to survive the current "unprecedented" economic situation.

London, Jan 9 : Japanese government is under attack for its apparent attempts to rewrite its wartime past in the new school textbooks.

The government had decided two years ago to delete or rewrite references to 1945 Battle of Okinawa in the history books, where the military apparently forced the civilians into mass suicides faced with defeat.

According to new reports, education officials have agreed to restore the passages in new books, but it will not contain the word "forced" in the context of the Imperial Army''s role in the suicides.

Tokyo - Toyota Motor Corporation has decided to promote Vice President Akio Toyoda to become company president in June, Japanese media reports said Friday.

Japan's leading automaker hopes to pull the business out of its slump by appointing the first founding family member in 14 years to head the company, Jiji Press quoted sources as saying.

Tokyo  - Stocks ended lower Friday in Tokyo as anxiety over the economy returned ahead of US job data.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 39.62 points, or 0.45 per cent, to close at 8,836.8.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues was also down 5.87 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 855.02.

On the currency markets at midday (0300 GMT), the dollar traded at 91.20-25 yen, down from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 91.76-77 yen.

Tokyo - Japan's foreign reserves hit a record high in December as US Treasury bond prices increased, the Finance Ministry said Friday.

The nation's foreign exchange reserves amounted to 1.03 trillion dollars at the end of December, marking a the second monthly rise in a row.

Foreign securities came to 908.02 billion dollars and foreign currency deposits totaled 95.29 billion dollars.

Tokyo - Stocks gave up early gains to end Friday's morning session lower in Tokyo as anxiety over the economy returned ahead of US job data.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dipped 83.7 points, or 0.94 per cent, to 8,792.72.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues was also down 11.1 points, or 1.29 per cent, to 849.79.

On the currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar traded at 91.35-40 yen, down from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 91.76-77 yen.