Tokyo  - Stocks in Tokyo fell in Friday morning trading shortly before a central bank decision on interest rates after drops overnight on Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average was down 94.95 points, or 1.1 per cent, at 8,572.28.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues also declined 3.16 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 835.53.

The Bank of Japan was ending a two-day meeting Friday, after which it was expected to lower interest rates as the world's second-largest economy finds itself in recession.

Tokyo  - Japan's largest car company Toyota is expected to run into the red for the year for its first annual operating loss ever, according to the Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei Friday.

In addition to the worldwide financial crisis, the rapid rise of the value of the Japanese currency, the yen, were named as the main reasons, according to the story which did not cite sources.

Toyota in early November drastically reduced its expectations for its current business year, which ends March 31.

Yokohama, Japan - Wayne Rooney came off the bench to score twice as Manchester United beat Gamba Osaka 5-3 Thursday in a highly entertaining semi-final of the World Club Championship in Yokohama.

Headed efforts from Nemanja Vidic and Cristiano Ronaldo gave United a comfortable two-goal cushion at the break before Masato Yamazaki pulled one back for Osaka.

However, the two strikes from Rooney, with an effort from Darren Fletcher sandwiched in-between, countered by a late penalty from Yashuhito Endo and a strike in added time from Hideo Hashimoto, ensured a comfortable win for Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

Tokyo - The defence ministers of Japan and Australia on Thursday signed an agreement on deepening diplomatic and security cooperation after talks between the foreign and defence ministers of both countries.

In the so-called "two-plus-two" meetings, Australia and Japan aim at transforming their relationship from a trade-oriented one to a comprehensive security partnership, officials said.

The new scheme foresees expanding joint military exercises and intensifying cooperation within United Nations missions, preventing nuclear proliferation and disaster prevention and relief.

Tokyo - Japan will accept around 30 refugees from Myanmar who are currently seeking refuge Thailand in the fiscal year starting April 2011, the Kyodo news agency reported Thursday.

Government officials quoted in the report referred to a recent government decision to introduce a so-called third-country refugee resettlement programme.

The programme calls for third countries to accept refugees who flee from their conflict-stricken home countries to nearby states but find it hard to resettle in either of those nations.

Tokyo- Japanese new-car sales in 2009 were expected to fall below 5 million for the first time in 31 years, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Thursday.

It forecast sales would fall 4.9 per cent to 4.8 million vehicles in a fifth-straight annual decline. Passenger car sales alone were expected to drop 6.9 per cent to about 3 million, it added.

"The outlook for next year is bleak," association chairman Satoshi Aoki said.

The reason for the sales drop was not only the recession in the world's second-largest economy and third-largest car market.