Japan's government unveiled plans on Tuesday to use some of the country's foreign currency reserves to help its firms.

Under the program, Japanese companies which are active overseas and are in need of dollar loans, will receive funds from the country's foreign-exchange stockpile, the second-largest in the world, Kaoru Yosano, Japan's minister of finance, said. Yosano also said that this was an "extraordinary move" in response to severe market conditions and that the government would tackle