Japan's finance minister has urged investors to respond calmly to the ongoing stock market plunge. Kato Katsunobu was speaking to reporters after a brief halt in stock futures trading in Japan.



The circuit breaker kicked in at the Osaka Exchange on Monday morning after futures on the Nikkei and TOPIX indexes came under massive selling. The pause in trading is aimed at calming the markets.



Kato said: "Instability can be seen in financial and capital markets worldwide. We believe it is important for investors to make calm judgments."



He said Japanese financial authorities will closely watch market developments with utmost vigilance. He said they would take appropriate measures in coordination with the relevant government offices.