Stocks in Japan Rebound; Suzuki, Volkswagen Alliance Unravels - 123Jump.com

6:00 PM Tokyo ? Stocks in Japan rebounded after a steep selloff in the last five days. The benchmark index is still down 16% for the year and hovered above the low last seen in March. The euro dropped to a 10-year low against the yen.

Stocks in Japan rebounded after weak trading in the last three days. The Nikkei index rebounded 1% but traded near the lows last seen in March at the time of triple disaster.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1% or 80.88 to 8,616.55 and the broader Topix index added 1.2% or 8.56 to 749.82.

The yen edged lower to 77.85 from 77.55 against one dollar but the euro dropped to a 10-year low to 105.25 after trading at 103.90 on Monday.

Trading volume on the First Section on the Tokyo Stock Exchange decreased to 1.68 billion shares, lower than 1.69 billion shares on Monday. Declining issues were 1,225 and rising stocks were 333 in Tokyo trading.

Stock Movers

Nintendo Co dropped 5.1% to 12,320 yen after investors sold shares ahead of the gathering on its 3DS handheld devices today. At the conference the company released several new software and games to support the declining sales.

Stocks of competitors declined following the slide in Nintendo stock. Capcom fell 8.3% to 1,974 yen and Square Enix dropped 3.9% to 1,468 yen.

Elpida Memory soared 13% to 557 yen on the rising DRAM prices and Advantest Corp fell 36 yen or 4% to 892 yen. Renesas Electronics rose 23 yen to 477 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose 8 yen to 331 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group increased 1.2% to 2,105 yen. Mizuho Financial Group added 1 yen to 112 yen.

Inpex Corp increased 1.6% to 490,500 yen and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co increased 2% to 3,010 yen.

Nippon Steel increased 1.4% to 221 yen and JFE Holdings, Inc rose 25 yen to 1,721 yen. Kobe Steel, Ltd added 4 yen to 137 yen.

Toyota Motor increased 0.9% to 2,649 yen and Honda Motor Co. added 1.3% to 2,289 yen and Nissan Motor gained 1 yen to 657 yen.

Toyota said it will construct a new factory in Indonesia.

Suzuki Motor increased 3.6% to 1,538 yen after it announced its decision to terminate its cooperation with Volkswagen AG. The two companies entered into a cooperation agreement after VW took 20% stake in the company to gain access to fast growing market in India.

However, two companies could not find projects to collaborate and the tensions rose after Suzuki decided to work with Fiat for a small engine.

Sony Corp fell 7 yen to 1,497 yen, Panasonic Corp fell 12 yen to 740 yen and Canon Inc increased 0.7% to 3,435 yen.

Fanuc rebounded 2.3% after falling for three days in a row to 10,610 yen. Kyocera added 3.4% to 6,740 yen.

Construction equipment makers liked to China closed lower. Komatsu added 2.7% to 1,799 yen and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co gained 2.8% to 1,340 yen.

Shipping companies closed higher. Nippon Yusen KK added 1.8% to 225 yen and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd added 14 yen to 326 yen. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd added 6 yen to 183 yen.

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Tsai supports US-Japan alliance to protect Asia-Pacific security - Focus Taiwan News Channel

Taipei, Sept. 7 (CNA) Opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairwoman and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen said Wednesday that when dealing with Asia-Pacific regional issues, Taiwan should support the regional order led by the United States-Japan alliance and solve regional disputes according to international norms.

Tsai made the remarks in a keynote speech she delivered at an international symposium funded by Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) titled "The Regional Security of Asia-Pacific and Peace in the Taiwan Strait."

The event was hosted in Taipei by the Taiwan National Security Institute and attended by former Japanese and U.S. ministers as well as defense officials and high-ranking local officials.

China's 2010 Defense White Paper published in March this year continues to view "military struggle" and reunifying Taiwan as its main missions and is preparing for large-scale war, according to Tsai.

When handling cross-strait issues, Taiwan needs to consider the interests of the U.S., Japan and the international community to achieve equilibrium in the region, and achieve stability through consistent talks, Tsai noted.

The DPP supports relations with China based on the concepts of reciprocity through multi-layer dialogues to create a stable and peaceful cross-strait framework, she added.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who also gave a keynote speech, said that over the last two decades, China's military budget has increased sharply, especially for its naval forces, as the country attempts to control the East China Sea and the Western Pacific.

Since 1980, China has continued to apply the dangerous logic of "Strategic Frontier Theory,"which uses force to determine borders and exclusive economic zones, said Abe.

The U.S.-Japan alliance and Japan's national security policies underwent significant changes in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in March, in which the U.S. and Japan deployed more than 120,000 troops to take part in rescue operations, the largest mission since the establishment of the alliance, Abe added.

Speaking on the same occasion, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), who is also chairman of TFD, noted that the U.S. once said peaceful cross-Taiwan Strait ties are of a great significance to the security in the Northeast Asia region and that to ensure sustainable development in the face of rapid changes in China, it is important for the island to establish communication mechanisms and become an important stabilizing influence in the East Asia region.

He also asked the U.S. to sell defensive weapons to Taiwan such as F-16 C/D fighter jets to ensure the military balance in the region.

Taiwan also needs to be more actively involved in international organizations to protect its people's rights such as the World Health Assembly (WHA), in which it has observer status, and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which it is scheduled to join in 2012, Wang said. (By Sunrise Lin and C.J. Lin) ENDITEM/J

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US VP Praises Troops, Lauds Alliance with Japan - CRIENGLISH.com

United States Vice President Joe Biden concluded his nine-day Asian trip Wednesday with an audience at the U.S. Yokota Air Base outside Tokyo, where he praised the service members for their assistance in rescue and relief efforts following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeast regions of Japan.

"The United States is a Pacific power," Biden said during the telecast speech Wednesday. He called the U.S. military a " stabilizing force" in the region that has contributed to its security and economic growth.

"The role you all play will become increasingly important," Biden told the U.S. troops. "You are the glue that holds this all together."

Biden said that the U.S.-Japan alliance would continue to deepen and that Japan was an "anchor" to security and prosperity in the Pacific basin, remarking that, "Our alliance with Japan will even become more important than in the past. It continues to be absolutely critical."

Biden's trip also saw him visit Mongolia and China. On his visit to the quake and tsunami-ravaged Tohoku region on Tuesday, Biden said the people there expressed their deep gratitude to the U.S. service people for their help and support in a time of unthinkable crisis.

The aircraft carrier U.S.S. Ronald Reagan and 18 other U.S. warships were deployed by Washington soon after the quake struck in an effort known as Operation Tomodachi.

The operation was the single largest humanitarian relief effort in American history and was launched, according to Biden, "Without having to convince the American people of anything. It was spontaneous. It's because of the affection for the people of Japan, " he said.

Some 240 tons of humanitarian and disaster relief supplies were provided to survivors of the earthquake and disaster in the first weeks after the disasters.

In addition, more than 15,745 tons of fresh water were supplied to support efforts to cool the quake-damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant, central to the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.

"As I stand here at this airport, I am proud -- as I said to your generals -- I'm proud that our military was given the privilege of being able to join your forces," Biden said at a speech at Sendai airport Tuesday.

Biden told his troops that through their humanitarian efforts they showed the world the best side of America.

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