<B>Oji Paper Cutting Production</B>

Oji Paper Co. will cut production by 9 percent in December from November, the Nihon Keizai newspaper said.

The move comes at a time when papermakers increased output on expectations economic recovery will increase demand, driving inventories to an all time high and threatening to push prices lower, the report said.

Oji's production of cardboard in December will fall to 98,000 tons, the newspaper said. The company's inventory in October rose to 70,500 tons, or more than the usual 70,000 tons.

October production of paper and paperboard rose 3.4 percent on year to a record 2.82 million tons, beating the previous record of 2.80 million tons in March, the Japan Paper Association said. Inventory totaled 1.98 million tons, mainly because of cardboard production.