Tokyo - Japanese household spending fell 1.9 per cent in 2008 from a year before to 296,932 yen (3,291 dollars) per month, the government said Friday.

Spending for food dropped 1.9 per cent from the previous year while utility expenditure declined 1.3 per cent in 2008, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said.

The average monthly income of salaried households dipped 0.6 per cent in 2008 to 534,235 yen from a year before.

Tokyo - Tokyo may be one of the world's greatest metropolises but Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) members said Friday that the city intends presenting itself as the world's most compact stage in its effort to host the 2016 Olympics.

As the IOC emphasizes legacy, Tokyo says it will limit the use of taxpayers money by recycling existing facilities and stadiums used when the city hosted the Games in
1964.

The JOC submitted its candidature file at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne overnight, and faces competition to host the event from Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Chicago.

Tokyo - A Japanese farmer has succeeded in breeding giant strawberries with a price tag of up to 50,000 yen (560 dollars) apiece, media reports said Thursday.

The newly harvested fruit measure about 8.5 centimetres in length and weigh more than 80 grams, compared to the standard strawberry what weighs about 28 grams.

Mikio Okuda, 55, tried to exceed the top size of the berry, which can reach 75 grams, and succeeded in breeding strawberries that weigh up to 91 grams, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper said. Okuda has been growing strawberries for more than 31 years.

The farmer was also able to maintain sufficient colour, shine and shape for his mega-berries.

Tokyo - The Tokyo market ended lower Thursday following Wall Street's overnight plunge, after disappointment spread over the US government's bail-out plan.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average tumbled to 7,705.36, down 240.58 points, or 3.03 per cent from Tuesday's closing. The market was closed Wednesday for a national holiday.

The broader Topix index of all first section issues was also down 17.81 points, or 2.29 per cent, at 760.29.

Tokyo - "Welcome - would you like a hot drink today?," a soft female voice purrs in the cold winter air.

Confused, the first-time visitor to Japan makes his way over to the vending machine where he chooses from a dozen boiling hot cups of coffee with flavours ranging from sticky sweet and milky to night black. This machine talks?

"Thank you. Have a nice day," the artificial voice says, catching perfectly the correct intonation of politeness to make the Japanese customer feel appreciated.

Welcome to Japan, where people might be forced to live in the most cramped quarters of any industrialized nation, but, with the aid of a unique plethora of high-tech gadgets, lead more pampered lives than anybody else on the planet.

Tokyo  - The Tokyo market opened lower Thursday following Wall Street's overnight plunge, after disappointment spread over the US government's bail-out plan.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 186.27 points, or 2.34 per cent, to end morning trading at 7,759.67.

The broader Topix index of all first section issues was also down 14.61 points, or 1.88 per cent, to 763.49.

A wide range of issues were sold at the Tokyo market Thursday after it was closed Wednesday for a national holiday.