JAPAN FEBRUARY RESERVES RECORD 51.73 BILLION DLRS Japan's external reserves rose to a record 51.73 billion dlrs at the end of February from the previous record of 51.46 billion at end-January, the Finance Ministry said. End-February reserves last year were 27.58 billion dlrs. In January, the nation's foreign reserves showed the largest-ever monthly increase at 9.22 billion dlrs due to massive Bank of Japan dollar buying intervention during the month as the dollar fell briefly to an all-time low of 149.98 yen on January 19, foreign exchange dealers said.