Prague  - Japan and the Czech Republic Tuesday signed a memorandum that paves the way for Japan to buy surplus greenhouse gas emission credits, the Czech Environment Ministry said.

Japan has so far failed to fulfil its obligation under the so- called Kyoto Protocol to cut by 2012 emissions of gases believed to cause global warming by 6 per cent from the
1990 levels.

Tokyo  - Japan's largest brokerage Nomura is gearing up to acquire the European business operations of bankrupt US investment bank Lehman Brothers, the Kyodo news agency reported Tuesday.

Citing informed sources, Kyodo said Nomura Holdings was in the final stages of negotiations for the acquisition.

The report comes a day after Nomura announced it was acquiring Lehman Brothers' operations in Asia, with Kyodo putting the value of the deal at over 20 billion yen (190 million dollars).

Tokyo - Japan's future prime minister Taro Aso should call for an early general election and be judged by the public, Japanese media said Tuesday.

Aso was elected president of the nation's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Monday to succeed outgoing Yasuo Fukuda, who announced his resignation on September 1.

The 68-year-old veteran politician Aso awaits Wednesday's election to become prime minister.

Tokyo  - Taro Aso had a long-awaited birthday gift Monday, when he finally nailed down the top post of Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Aso, a Roman Catholic who turned 68 Saturday, defined his new role as LDP leader and presumptive prime minister as his "calling" from up above.

His gusto to climb the political ladder may have been cultivated through sportsmanship and family roots.

Aso ran in the LDP presidential race four times since 2001, when he contended against Japan's charismatic premier Junichiro Koizumi, before he finally won the crown Monday.

Tokyo - Japan's rul

Tokyo - Stocks opened higher Monday in Tokyo as the market sentiment was cheered by the US government's 700-billion-dollar bailout plan to clean up bad assets.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 236.04 points, or 1.98 per cent, to 12,156.9.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues also rose 25.58 points, or 2.23 per cent, to 1,174.7.

The Bank of Japan pumped 1.5 trillion yen (13.97 billion dollars) into the Tokyo money market Monday.