Japan

Bank of Japan holds key interest rate unchanged at 0.1 per cent

Bank of Japan holds key interest rate unchanged at 0.1 per cent

Tokyo stocks higher on optimism over domestic economy

Tokyo stocks higher on optimism over domestic economy Tokyo  - Tokyo stocks ended Tuesday morning's trading modestly higher on optimism over the domestic economy and a rise in carmakers' shares caused by expectations for a resurgence in global demand.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average inched up 26.52 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 8,884.45.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also up 4.49 points, or 0.54 per cent, at 835.46.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar traded at 100.43-48 yen, down from Monday's 5 pm quote of 101.15-18 yen.

Japan's foreign reserves rise above 1 trillion dollars in March

Japan's foreign reserves rise above 1 trillion dollars in March Tokyo  - Japan's foreign reserves exceeded 1 trillion dollars in March, thanks to gains in the appraisal values of its US Treasury bond holdings and euro-denominated assets, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.

The nation's foreign reserves totaled 1.02 trillion dollars, up from 9.2 billion dollars in the previous month.

Japan held 905.53 billion dollars in foreign securities as of March 31 while its foreign currency deposits amounted to 84.2 billion dollars.

Japan, Indonesia agree to double currency swap amount

Japan, Indonesia agree to double currency swap amount Tokyo  - Japan and Indonesia signed an agreement on bilateral currency swap to increase the amount from 6 billion dollars to 12 billion dollars under an initiative to stabilize the financial state of the South-east Asian region, Japanese Finance Ministry said Monday.

Under the agreement, Indonesia would be able to swap rupiah worth up to 12 billion dollars when short-term liquidity support is needed.

Nintendo, Capcom team up to release new “Premium Edition Ace Attorney DSi console” in Japan

Nintendo/CapcomThe blogging site focusing on video games, Kotaku has reported that Nintendo – the Japan’s leading manufacturer of video games consoles and Capcom – the Japan’s leading developer and publisher of video games, have come together to release the new Premium Edition Nintendo DSi console, called “Premium Edition Ace Attorney” in Japan.

According to Kotaku, the new Premium Edition Nintendo DSi console will be released, packed with the new Ace Attorney game-Gyakuten Kenji in May, 2009. The Phoenix Wright branded new Premium Edition DSi console is specially designed to satisfy Japanese gamers.   

Japan to draw up largest-ever stimulus worth 100 billion dollars

Japan to draw up largest-ever stimulus worth 100 billion dollars Tokyo  - The Japanese government plans to draw up a supplementary budget for fiscal year 2009 with an economic stimulus package of more than 10 trillion yen (100 billion dollars), Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said Monday.

During a meeting with Yosano, Prime Minister Taro Aso ordered him to draft a fresh stimulus plan amounting to more than 2 per cent of the nation's gross domestic product, Jiji Press quoted the finance minister as saying.

The government was expected to finalize the largest-ever spending package in detail on Friday.

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