Japan's love of tiny cars sore spot as Trump, Abe meet

TOKYO/DETROIT (Reuters) - When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meets on Friday with U.S. President Donald Trump, Japan's bulging automotive trade surplus will be a sore spot, but the path to balancing auto exports and imports will be no easier than it ... ( read original story ...)

A worried Japan seeks Trump's assurances on Washington visit

news conference and working lunch. Both men are avid golfers and Trump's invitation to Abe to join him at the "winter White House" on his Ma-a-Lago resort in Florida represents a significant coup for the Japanese Prime Minister. It's being taken as a huge ... ( read original story ...)

Chance and challenge: Japan Inc worried but hopeful on Trump

figures from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association show. Trump's assertion that Tokyo is deliberately seeking to devalue its currency to aid exporters like Toyota is another big worry. Finance Minister Taro Aso, who will visit Washington with Abe ... ( read original story ...)

Japan Draws Flake Over Freezing Fish For Sapporo Festival

After its raucous move to freeze fish in an ice rink, this time, Japan had made it clear to continue freezing different fish and aquatic animals as a tradition in celebrating the Sapporo Snow Festival. Animal rights activists thought that the tradition ... ( read original story ...)

Press rewind: Trump, Tokyo and a welcome back to the 1980s

In response, Toyota said it would invest $10bn in the US over the next five years. But analysts say the tough talk on cars won't end until Tokyo offers up some major concessions elsewhere, in particular on agriculture. To protect its farmers, Japan places ... ( read original story ...)

Japan's property lending tops charts amid investment craze

TOKYO -- Lending to Japan's real estate sector climbed 15.2% to a record in 2016, supported by brisk property investment amid rising land prices and the central bank's negative interest policy. While this investment boom has yet to result in an asset ... ( read original story ...)

Correction: Japan-Shaping Sound story

TOKYO - In a story Feb. 7 about engineer Yasuhisa Toyota's work in concert halls, The Associated Press reported erroneously that he founded his company. He is not the founder of Nagata Acoustics. A corrected version of the story is below: Concert halls ... ( read original story ...)

Japan to expedite green card issuance to skilled professionals

"We are trying to make Japanese business environment better for the foreign companies through introducing a new type of green card system," Shigeki Maeda, Executive Vice President, Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) told reporters here. A ... ( read original story ...)

Trump's views don't always align with what's said in Japan

You look at what China's doing, you look at what Japan has done over the years. They play the money market, they play the devaluation market and we sit there like a bunch of dummies." Trump, speaking to U.S. business executives on Jan. 31. — "I think ... ( read original story ...)

Japan, Singapore lead Asia in copyright protection

TOKYO -- Japan came in fourth out of 45 countries in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's latest ranking of intellectual property protection, moving up from ninth place a year ago. The U.S. business lobby now rates Japan the highest in Asia, ahead of Singapore ... ( read original story ...)

Japan's Nikkei Underperforms Amid Mounting Political Risks

Japan's main stock index underperformed Thursday ahead of meetings between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Donald Trump. Other worries, such as renewed concerns over Greece, kept a lid on markets elsewhere. KEEPING SCORE: In Europe, Britain's FTSE ... ( read original story ...)

Nikkei skids on stronger yen ahead of U.S.-Japan summit

TOKYO Feb 9 Japan's Nikkei share average slipped on Thursday due to pressure from a stronger yen ahead of a meeting this week between U.S. President Donald Trump and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The Nikkei was down 0.2 percent at midday at 18,971.46. ( read original story ...)

Asian shares advance, Japan slips as Abe-Trump meeting looms

JAPAN MACHINERY ORDERS UP: Orders of "core machinery" that exclude ships and utilities rose 6.7 per cent in December from the month before, suggesting relative strength in business investment, though economists cautioned against reading too much into such ... ( read original story ...)