Japan's goods trade deficit expanded to a record 879.9 billion yen for April, marking the 10th straight month of red ink, as the yen's slide continued to push up the cost of fossil fuel imports, while conversely helping exports recover, the government said Wednesday. It is the first time Japan's trade balance has remained in deficit for 10 months since 1979, when the country was hit by the second oil shock, a Finance Ministry official briefing reporters said.

The yen's rapid depreciation against other major currencies over the past six months is seriously affecting Japanese students who are studying or planning to study abroad. Kayoko Shioda, 25, who studies public health at a graduate school in the southern United States, plans to move to an apartment that is less secure and cheaper as her scholarship income in dollars has plunged due to the yen's fall against the dollar. She is considering taking out loans from banks to continue studying in the United States for more than one year.

By Ayai Tomisawa TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average edged up to a fresh 5-1/2-year high on Tuesday, reversing earlier losses, as retail investors scooped up underperforming stocks such as Sharp Corp <6753.T> and Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc <9501.T>. Trading was choppy, with the Nikkei moving in and out of negative territory before ending up 0.1 percent to 15,381.02 -- the highest closing level since December 2007.

SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- More South Korean companies chose to use the U.S. dollar in settling two-way trade with Japanese companies in the first quarter from three months earlier as a weaker yen raised foreign exchange losses for local firms, data showed Monday. In the first quarter, the dollar was the top settlement currency at 54.9 percent when local exporters shipped products to Japan, up from 46.4 percent three months earlier, according to the data by the customs agency and the Korea International Trade Association.