Washington, April 11 : A Japanese robotics company called Cyberdyne has designed an Iron Man-like exoskeleton to help people with weak muscles or disabilities move.

The company describes it as Hybrid Assistive Limb-5 (HAL-5).

"When a person attempts to move, nerve signals are sent from the brain to the muscles via motoneuron (sic), moving the musculoskeletal system as a consequence," Fox News quoted the English-language section of the Cyberdyne Web site as explaining.

"At this moment, very weak biosignals can be detected on the surface of the skin. ''HAL'' catches these signals through a sensor attached on the skin of the wearer," the site said.

Tokyo - Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) has announced Fridaythat it would incur losses for the previous fiscal year that ended March 31, a turnaround from earliar profit forecasts, a media report said. Sumitomo Mitsui, one of Japan's three mega-banking groups had expected a net profit in November, but it revised downward the full-year forecast amid declining stock prices and the global financial turmoil, the bank said.

Tokyo - The Japanese government and the ruling coalition parties finalized an additional stimulus plan Friday to pull the nation's economy out of the worst recession of the postwar era. Japan's third stimulus package since September is to inject 15.4 trillion yen (154 billion dollars ), worth 3 per cent of the gross domestic product, into the world's second largest economy in what is considered the nation's largest-ever stimulus plan.

Including other non-spending measures and loan guarantees, the package totals 56.8 trillion yen.

Tokyo - The Tokyo market extended gains to end Friday trading higher after briefly sending the key Nikkei 225 Stock Average above 9,000 at one point on Wall Street's overnight surge. The Nikkei index was up 48.05 points, or 0.54 per cent, to close at 8,964.11 after peaking at 9,068.8 during morning trading. The Nikkei rose above the 9,000 level for the first time in three months.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues also rose 4.16 points, or 0.49 per cent, at 845.97.

Tokyo - Japanese Emperor Akihito tearfully thanked his wife, Empress Michiko, for her support Friday as they marked their 50th wedding anniversary at their palace in Tokyo. While expressing heartfelt gratitude to well-wishers, the 75-year-old emperor said he felt bad about receiving congratulations from many citizens while the nation suffers through a recession.

The emperor choked up at a press conference as he looked back on the years he has spent with his wife, who was the first commoner to marry into Japan's imperial family.

Tokyo - Japan on Friday imposed stronger restrictions on money transfers to North Korea and extended existing sanctions against its totalitarian neighbour after its weekend rocket launch. The existing sanctions - including a ban on North Korean imports and a ban on ferry trips, the only transport link between the two countries - were due to expire Monday but were extended for another year.

The new sanctions are "aimed at shedding light on the flow of funds [to North Korea]," Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said.