The airline will also convert 10 existing 787 orders to the larger -9 version from the smaller -8, according to a statement today.

Panasonic, which earlier said it expected to lose more than $10 billion this year, is set to hook up with Renesas Electronics and Fujitsu as they look for economies of scale in an increasingly difficult marketplace.

But there’s more to the plan by Japan to buy up to $10 billion of Chinese bonds than meets the eye, some Japanese officials say, adding that it’s in fact a reflection of their frustration with the unilateral and aggressive purchases of Japanese government bonds by China.

“We are not so happy about the way they’re gobbling up JGBs,” one Japanese official said, and others added that Tokyo hoped that the agreement would prompt Beijing to accelerate efforts to open up its financial markets and ultimately result in a level playing field for Japan.

But since Japan’s purchases of Chinese bonds would be limited to $10 billion, less than 1% of Japan’s $1.30 trillion in foreign reserves, and dwarfed by China’s $3.18 trillion reserves, its meaning may be more symbolic. It is the first time that Beijing has signed such an agreement with a rich nation. China does not allow investors to freely purchase its sovereign debt, requiring them to seek permission from its central bank.

“The Chinese side holds Japanese government bonds, and for our part, we have decided to buy yuan-denominated Chinese government debt because we really want China to internationalize the yuan,” Japanese finance minister Jun Azumi told parliament Tuesday.

Selling in the yen picked up steam on the back of unwinding of yen long positions placed by speculators, with model and macro funds also spotted pressuring the Japanese unit.

Tokyo exporters limited the downside for the yen, showing strong dollar-selling interest right below 78 yen, after the safe-haven yen on Tuesday suffered its biggest one-day fall since Japan intervened in the market in October.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Wednesday authorities would work to decontaminate the region from radioactive fallout, while ensuring compensation and health checks for those affected by the disaster.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda renewed a bilateral swap agreement with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi today. The two nations had signed a $3 billion accord in June 2008 that has since expired.

Today’s agreement may help India battle this year’s more- than 16 percent decline in the rupee as Europe’s sovereign-debt turmoil prompts investors to reduce Asian investments on concern global growth will slow. Japan gains another avenue of using its $1.2 trillion of currency reserves as it seeks to bolster its presence in international finance and foster a closer trade relationship with Asia’s third-largest economy.

“Japan is helping India to provide stability to the rupee,” said K. V. Kesavan, who specializes in Japanese studies at New Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation. “It is an attempt to increase their influence in Asia which has been down for the past many years.”

With a current-account deficit, slowing domestic growth and increased international financial stress stemming from Europe, investors have driven the rupee down, forcing the central bank to tap its reserves in defense. India’s holdings slid $14 billion in the four weeks to Nov. 25.

China Pact

Japan has pursued currency-swap accords with other nations, including one with South Korea that it expanded to $70 billion in October to stabilize Asia’s financial market. Japan also has bilateral swap deals with Indonesia, the Philippines and China.

This month, Noda also oversaw a deal with China to expand use of the yuan and yen in bilateral trade and purchase Chinese bonds. At home, in an effort to take advantage of the yen hovering near a record-high against the dollar, officials have prepared 10 trillion yen ($129 billion) in a fund for companies to pursue more overseas acquisitions.

Japanese efforts to support regional neighbors are long- standing. In October 1998, Japan unveiled $30 billion in aid under the so-called Miyazawa Initiative, named after Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, designed to help countries obtain funds at a time when emerging-market bond issuance had largely dried up amid the 1997-98 financial crisis.

Reserves in Japan swelled to $1.22 trillion in November from $1.04 trillion at the end of last year, propelled in part by a resumption of currency intervention under Noda, starting with one round in September 2010 when he was finance minister. With Noda as prime minister, yen sales continued with at least three episodes this year.

Along with today’s accord, Japan also requested that India ease financial regulations to spur investment in a railway project. India agreed to study the changes, the Japanese finance ministry told reporters in Tokyo today.

The Tankan large manufacturer index fell to minus 4 from 2, the Bank of Japan said today in Tokyo. The median estimate of 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a reading of minus 2. A negative number indicates that pessimists outnumber optimists.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 147.01 points to close at 8,722.17.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues rose 1.57 per cent, or 11.62 points, to 749.63.