VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Japan's Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T) will sell only diesel-powered cars in the domestic launch of its key model for 2015, gambling it can convince the country's army of hybrid petrol-electric drivers that the days of sooty, noisy diesels are long gone.

Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) will be able to meet its goal of taking 10 percent of the U.S. market in two years without any major new investments and by making use of capacity available at factories in Japan and South Korea, a top executive said on Friday.

With shrinking prospects at home and the threat of further yen weakness, Japanese companies are rushing to buy overseas and seem willing to pay top dollar, as shown by Japan Post's $5 billion bid for Australia's Toll Holdings (TOL.AX).

U.S. West Coast ports will resume full operations from Saturday evening after a tentative labor deal was reached between a dockworkers union and a group of shippers, easing months of disruptions to trans-Pacific trade that have hit businesses from automakers to meat exports.

Mobile messaging apps Line and Kakao Talk are busy trying to conquer overseas markets such as Southeast Asia and India. But they may do well to keep a close eye on their home turf of Japan and South Korea as China's WeChat amasses more users.

Financial giant Japan Post Holdings Co Ltd launched its global expansion strategy with its largest ever deal on Wednesday, agreeing a A$6.5 billion ($5.1 billion) takeover of Australian freight and logistics firm Toll Holdings Ltd.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday he hopes the central bank continues with its bold monetary easing campaign to achieve its 2 percent inflation target.

Global shares hit their highest since September on Monday and the euro firmed, with investors cautiously optimistic euro zone finance ministers would reach a deal to shore up Greece's dwindling finances.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China grew at its strongest pace in nearly four years in January, surging 29.4 percent from a year earlier to $13.9 billion as investors largely shunned the troubled manufacturing sector and focused on the more resilient services industry.

Japanese shares touched an eight-year high on Monday following a record close on Wall Street, with investors cautiously optimistic the European Union would make progress this week on a debt deal with Greece.

Asian stock markets turned cautious on Wednesday while the U.S. dollar crept higher as looming euro zone meetings to discuss the Greek debt crisis threatened to produce more confusion than clarity.

Canada and Japan must open their markets to farm imports under a Pacific trade pact, the chairman of a U.S. congressional committee responsible for trade said on Thursday, adding that any country that cannot meet the deal's goals should drop out.

Toyota Motor Corp lifted its operating profit guidance on Wednesday in a widely expected move, as a weaker yen increases the value of sales overseas and makes up for slumping demand at home.

After December's landslide re-election, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's program to revive the nation's economy is set to meet perhaps its stiffest challenge, the nation's sclerotic farming industry.

Japan began deliberating its 2030 targets for power generation on Friday, a process likely to turn contentious when nuclear restarts are considered even as the much delayed cleanup at Fukushima continues four years after the meltdowns there.