There's further evidence of the recession in Japan, with many of the country's banks announcing they'll cut the annual bonus for staff.

The bonus is worth up to three months' salary, but the banks say the cuts are necessary if they're to apply for money from a special fund set up to help banks with unrecoverable loans.

It's also been announced that the electronics giant Hitachi has recorded its first operating loss for more than fifty years, due to the collapse in microchip prices.

The government has announced it will reveal a new package of measures to stimulate the economy next month, before the Asia-Pacific economic co-operation forum.