The Nikkei has reported that "overseas........>

JAPAN: The Nikkei has reported that "overseas investors sold off Japanese stocks

by the largest margin in 31 years in the fiscal year ended Sunday, yet the Bank

of Japan's asset purchases absorbed all the bleeding, exposing the central

bank's outsize role in the market. Market participants abroad unloaded about

5.63 trillion yen ($50 billion) worth of shares on a net basis, the Tokyo Stock

Exchange reported Thursday, for a second straight year of net selling and the

highest sell-off since 1987. But this sell-off was matched by the BOJ's efforts

to pump money into the economy through asset purchases, as the central bank

bought roughly 5.65 trillion yen worth of equity."