Tokyo - Stocks ended lower Tuesday in Tokyo amid a wait-and-see mood among investors ahead of corporate earnings reports and forecasts.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average edged down 48.47 points, or 0.62 per cent, to close at 7,825.51.

The broader Topix index of all first section issues was also down 4.06 points, or 0.52 per cent, at 773.79.

Tokyo  - Stocks opened slightly higher Tuesday in Tokyo amid a wait-and-see mood among investors ahead of corporate earnings reports and forecasts.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average inched up 7.62 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 7,881.6.

The broader Topix index of all first section issues was also up 0.87 points, or 0.11 per cent, at 778.72.

Tokyo players moved to buy some shares battered during the previous day, but gains were limited because of pessimistic earnings outlooks of Japanese firms.

Nagoya, Japan  - As the global recession hits Japan's export-driven economy, temporary workers at auto-parts and electronics plants have been among the first to lose their jobs with the 320,000 Brazilians living in Japan particularly vulnerable to the layoffs.

More than 800 Brazilians and their supporters took to the streets of the central Japanese city of Nagoya Sunday, raising their green and yellow national flags and calling for no more layoffs, secure employment and proper schooling for their children.

Paulo Kanashiro and Minoru Nishizawa, both Brazilians who have Japanese ancestry, brought their Brazilian co-workers from a Toyota subsidiary to the demonstration to demand from the Japanese government the same rights it guarantees Japanese workers.

Tokyo  - The volcano Mount Asama in north-central Japan erupted Monday, spewing smoke 2,000 metres above its crater and sending ash as far away as Tokyo, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The agency issued a warning of continued large ash deposits in the surrounding 4-kilometre area. No casualties were reported.

The volcano erupted at 1:51 am (1651 GMT Sunday), and volcanic smoke was detected until around 8 am.

A thin layer of ash fell on rooftops and car windows in Tokyo's Tachikawa city, about 100 kilometres south-east of Mount Asama.

Tokyo  - Tokyo stocks ended Monday morning trading lower as Japanese companies reported gloomy earnings results and downward revisions of full-year earnings projections.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average edged down 38.3 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 7,955.75.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was down 8.63 points, or 1.09 per cent, to 785.4.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar traded at 89.67-72 yen, up from Friday's 5 pm quote of 89.49-52 yen.

Tokyo  -