The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has said the Japanese economy has begun to stop deteriorating, but it has still kept interest rates unchanged at 0.1%.

Toshiba has said it will shoulder US$307 million in restructuring costs from shutting down its old system chip and discrete chip lines as it seeks to unload losses.

Japan's core machinery orders, a closely watched indicator of the health of the economy, fell by 5.4% in April.

Japan's factory output has jumped at its fastest rate in more than 50 years, but higher unemployment figures have dampened hope of an early recovery.

Nikon has said it will reorganize its lithography operations, cutting 800 production workers in Japan and 200 marketing and support staff worldwide. By October, Nikon plans to combine four production subsidiaries into two, focused on IC and display equipment.

Japanese electronics giant Toshiba plans to reduce fixed costs 10% more than previously announced, a news report said on Sunday.

Japan's top chipmaker Toshiba has said it will end production of mobile phones in Japan due to plummeting demand amid an economic slump. The company said its only domestic plant for mobile phones will halt operations in October.

Japan's economy has seen its worst ever quarterly performance, with GDP shrinking 4% in the first three months of 2009. The world's second biggest economy, which depends heavily on exports, has been hit hard by the global downturn.

Electronic manufacturers, including Toshiba and Hitachi, are planning to consolidate flat-panel television factories outside Japan and expand outsourcing to cut costs, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Industrial output in Japan rose in March for the first time in six months, according to government figures. Production rose by 1.6% in March compared with February, after months of dramatic decline.

Bowing to what has long appeared inevitable, Japan lowered its growth forecast on Monday, projecting a 3.3% contraction for the fiscal year that began April 1.

NEC Electronics and Renesas Technology have agreed to enter into negotiations to integrate business operations. The two chipmakers plan to sign an agreement at the end of July, 2009 to form Japan's largest semiconductor maker.

Chip-making companies Renesas Technology and NEC Electronics have agreed to integrate their operations by April next year, in a move that will form an entity surpassing Toshiba as Japan's largest chip maker, according to reports Friday.

Japan has reported its first annual trade deficit in 28 years, with exports in the year to March down 16% from the previous year.

Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.6% on Wednesday, lifted by exporters on a weaker yen. Pioneer was untraded due to a glut of buy orders after sources claimed the electronics maker is considering applying for state funds. Elpida Memory soared nearly 17% after a local paper said it may seek around 50 billion yen (US$507 million) in public money to shore up its capital.

Toshiba has denied a newspaper report that it will increase capital by 500 billion yen (US$5 billion) this year to strengthen its semiconductor business.

Elpida Memory, Japan's largest maker of computer-memory chips, climbed to the highest in six months in Tokyo trading after it said it plans to raise chip prices and a report said the company may receive public funding.

Elpida Memory, Japan's largest maker of computer-memory chips, plans to raise prices as much as 50% and break even by June as industry-wide production cuts help ease a supply glut.

Shares of Toshiba opened down 6.9% on Monday after weekend reports that it plans to raise about US$5 billion in capital to bolster its finances, weakened by its loss-making chip operations and tax costs.

Japanese electronics giant Toshiba has said it is to cut a further 3,900 temporary jobs by March 2010 to cope with the global economic downturn. The news came as it said it expected to report a net loss of 350bn yen (US$3.5bn) for the year to March 2009.

Universal Display is showcasingits UniversalPHOLED phosphorescent OLED technology at Finetech Japan's first ever LED/OLED Lighting Technology Exposition.

Renesas Technology, Japan's second-largest chipmaker, aims to return to profit next fiscal year by cutting labor, research and productions costs.

Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso announced a historic US$150 billion stimulus package Friday aimed to turn around the recession in the world's second-largest economy.

Pioneer and Sharp have announced that they signed a partnership agreement on the establishment of a joint venture in the optical disk business area.

Japan's Sharp said it would start output at its new 380 billion yen ($3.8 billion) LCD panel plant in western Japan in October.

A quarter of the world's companies, and 40% in the US, plan to freeze salaries this year, but employees in South America and India can look forward to robust rises, a global survey shows on Tuesday.

Japan slipped from the number two position in the world as of the end of 2008 in grid-connected existing solar photovoltaic capacity, replaced by Spain, according to a recent study by an international body.