The Tokyo Stock Exchange ended the year on a lackluster note Friday, with key market gauges flirting with their lowest closing levels in decades.
The market rang out the year with ritual hand-clapping, but the traditional ceremony lacked conviction that better days are ahead.
The 225-issue Nikkei average ended the year at 10,542.62, the lowest since the 1983 close of 9,893.82.
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