TOKYO, Mar. 25, 2009 (Kyodo News International) -- ----------
Obama sees 'signs of progress' against economic crisis
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday his administration is making an all-out effort to combat the economic crisis and seeing ''signs of progress.''
''We've put in place a comprehensive strategy designed to attack this crisis on all fronts. And we are beginning to see signs of progress,'' he said at a White House press conference.
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Japan may adopt so-called 'fair use' in secondary use of copyrighted work
TOKYO - The Cultural Affairs Agency on Wednesday asked its advisory body to study a proposal for Japan to adopt the so-called ''fair use'' principle, which allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring the right holder's permission for the promotion of secondary use of such material, agency officials said.
The Cultural Council, an advisory body to the agency director general, plans to work out views on the proposal by the end of fiscal 2009, which the agency wants to lead to the revision of the copyright law, the officials said.
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2ND LD: Japan's Feb. trade surplus sinks 91.2%, 1st black figure in 5 month
TOKYO - Japan's trade surplus fell 91.2 percent in February from a year earlier to 82.4 billion yen, with the balance swinging back into the black for the first time in five months, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
In the reporting month, both exports and imports recorded the sharpest decline on record since comparable year-on-year data became available in January 1980, as global trade stayed on a weak note amid the economic crisis.
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Astronaut candidate Onishi makes his last commercial flight
MATSUYAMA, Japan - Takuya Onishi, an All Nippon Airways co-pilot who has been selected as an astronaut candidate, on Wednesday made his last commercial flight between Tokyo and Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture.
The 33-year-old Onish's father Koichi, 62, and mother Kazuko, 57, were invited to board the flight to Tokyo's Haneda from Matsuyama, their hometown.
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LEAD: Tokyo stocks fall in morning on selling for quick profits
TOKYO - Tokyo stocks fell Wednesday morning as selling for quick profits after the previous day's sharp gain outpaced buying on continued optimism about the U.S. Treasury Department's recent plan to rid banks of troubled assets.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 61.58 points, or 0.73 percent, from Tuesday to 8,426.72.
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Dollar briefly dips to mid-97 yen range in Tokyo morning deals
TOKYO - The U.S. dollar briefly fell to the mid-97 yen level Wednesday morning in Tokyo as receding appetite for risk on New York stock falls prompted yen buying.
At noon, the dollar was quoted at $97.70-75 yen, compared with Tuesday's 5 p.m. quotes of 97.80-90 yen in New York and 98.28-31 yen in Tokyo.
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Key 10-year JGB yield falls slightly in morning
TOKYO - The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond fell slightly Wednesday morning with investors refraining from active trading as Japan wraps up its current fiscal year at the end of the month.
In interdealer trading, the yield on the No. 299, 1.3 percent issue lost 0.005 percentage point from Tuesday's close to 1.255 percent.
