2006年VOA标准英语-Tokyo Stock Exchange Forced to Close Early

（单词翻译）

By Steve Herman
Tokyo
18 January 2006

For the first time, the Tokyo Stock Exchange suspended all trading early to prevent a system crash after a surge in transactions. Heavy trading followed news that an Internet company popular with investors¹ is under investigation² for fraud. The benchmark Nikkei index closed down about 465 points - nearly 3 percent for the day.

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The Tokyo bourse ended all trading 20 minutes before the scheduled end of Wednesday's session.  

A man watches a video screen showing a downturn curve of stock prices in Tokyo  
  

At a news conference in the afternoon, the exchange said it had been swamped by sell orders for a second day and warned its computers could only handle 4.5 million orders each day.

Exchange officials asked for restraint by investors and brokers³, calling the situation a potential emergency, but the announcement merely prompted an even greater spike⁴ in orders.
 
 
Chairman of Tokyo Stock Exchange Taizo Nishimuro
  
Tokyo Stock Exchange President Taizo Nishimuro says it is obvious what caused Wednesday's surge.

Nishimuro says the situation was caused by the start of the unexpected criminal probe into the Internet company, Livedoor, and its subsidiaries.

A three-day sell off has now evaporated some $300 billion worth of shareholder⁵ value. And exchange officials warn they may shorten trading hours in the days ahead if the unprecedented⁶ deluge⁷ of orders continues.

Livedoor was suspended from trading Wednesday morning because of the criminal investigation.
 

Takafumi Horie (file photo)   
  
The company grew into Japan's most famous dot-com business through mergers⁸ and stock swaps⁹ and made its chairman, Takafumi Horie, a celebrity¹⁰ and - to many young people - a national hero.

The chairman of the Japan Securities Dealers¹¹ Association, Hiroshi Hoshida, says the Livedoor founder¹² now has a lot to answer for.

Hoshida says Livedoor should feel deeply responsible for damaging confidence at a time when Japanese investors were just beginning to move their money from savings¹³ to stocks.

Media reports Wednesday say the allegations the company is facing include falsifying earnings¹⁴ results and spreading false rumors¹⁵ to manipulate stock prices.

Toyota Chairman Hiroshi Okuda, who also heads Japan's most influential¹⁶ economic group, the Japan Business Federation¹⁷, says if Horie or his company are found guilty of any crimes, they would be ousted¹⁸ from the association.

Okuda says the organization made a mistake by admitting Livedoor prematurely¹⁹.

After the early close of Wednesday's trading session some analysts²⁰ say selling pressure will continue, unless the exchange restores confidence by upgrading its computer system to handle a glut²¹ of orders. But others say many investors will realize the massive sell-off now offers a number of bargains.