Main events scheduled in Japan for Wednesday, Dec. 18:

-- Bank of Japan to hold two-day monetary policy meeting.

-- Finance Ministry to release customs-cleared trade data for November at 8:50 a.m.

-- Tokyo District Court to hand down ruling in damages lawsuit filed by female journalist Shiori Ito at 10:30 a.m.

-- Japan Tourism Agency to release number of foreign visitors to Japan for November at 4 p.m.

==Kyodo

© Kyodo News International, Inc., source Newswire