TOKYO—Japan’s consumer prices rose for the first time in more than a year in January as rising global oil prices gave Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Bank of Japan a helping hand in their campaign to overcome deflation. The fractional increase in ... ( read original story ...)
Tokyo tries to regain status as global financial player
TOKYO -- A Tokyo Metropolitan Government panel is discussing steps aimed at reclaiming the Japanese capital's status as Asia's top financial center, including making the tax system more hospitable to foreign financial institutions. The effort is being ... ( read original story ...)
Japan says no barriers to auto imports after U.S. fires trade salvo
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan on Friday rejected U.S. demands for more access to Japan's auto market, saying the government has already taken steps to eliminate tariffs and non-tariff barriers. The rebuff by the government's top spokesman came in reply to a ... ( read original story ...)
Japan's banks being forced to embrace fintech
The bank hopes the system can help it to drastically broaden its fee-paying customer base. For instance, were Rakuten, an online retail emporium that is big in Japan, to become a client, SMFG and Daon would suddenly have more than 100 million "users." ( read original story ...)
Japan bats away U.S. complaint on autos
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan rejected U.S. demands for more access to Japan's car market on Friday, casting doubt over whether it can avoid friction over autos and agriculture imports at high level bilateral talks on economic relations next month. The joint ... ( read original story ...)
Tokyo market sees chance to revive fortunes in huge Saudi oil IPO
Japan Exchange Group's Akira Kiyota plans to meet with senior ... By comparison, the Saudi exchange has a total market capitalization of somewhat more than $400 billion. The proposed IPO would necessarily involve a multiple listing. The TSE has no shortage ... ( read original story ...)
Toshiba's Westinghouse should decide on Chapter 11 by end-March: Japan Finance Minister
TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp's Westinghouse unit needs to decide by the end of the month whether to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy so the Japanese conglomerate can compile audited third-quarter earnings without further delays, Japan's Finance Minister ... ( read original story ...)
Nikkei rises on tailwind from weaker yen
TOKYO, March 9 Japan's Nikkei share average rose on Thursday, benefitting from a weaker yen after the dollar gained when U.S. jobs data cemented expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve is poised to raise interest rates next week. The Nikkei was up 0.15 ... ( read original story ...)
Japan hopes to leave farms out of U.S. economic talks – sources
Taro Aso, Japan's finance minister and deputy prime minister, and Vice President Mike Pence, who is expected to visit Japan next month, will lead the bilateral talks. A spokeswoman at the U.S. embassy in Tokyo said the embassy was not in a position to comment. ( read original story ...)
Osaka to reject Moritomo Gakuen’s school over false figures
Osaka Prefecture will reject Moritomo Gakuen’s application to open an elementary school on state-owned land bought in a dodgy deal, saying the school operator submitted false figures in documents to inflate its financial standing. Moritomo Gakuen plans ... ( read original story ...)
Japan's Lesson Tells Italy Capital Alone Won't Fix Its Banks
Fixing a rotten banking sector requires policy makers to deploy three tools in unison -- and Italy, like Japan two decades ago, is in danger of coming up short. In addition to prompt recapitalization and robust, independent supervision, reviving lenders ... ( read original story ...)
Tokyo's First Female Governor Wants More Women in Power
Mar.07 -- The governor of Tokyo has scored several "firsts." Yuriko Koike is the first woman to have been Japan's defense minister and the first to contest the leadership of Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party. She's popular among voters, and seen as a ... ( read original story ...)
The siren call of small-stock Japan
Has Japan finally overcome the trauma of its two lost decades? The stock market seems to think so. In February, the Nikkei Jasdaq Index, the Japanese equivalent of America's Nasdaq, hit an all-time high in U.S. dollar terms. This may not seem like a big ... ( read original story ...)
Nikkei eases for fourth day, U.S. jobs data in focus
TOKYO, March 8 Japan's Nikkei share average eased slightly for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday, as investors took caution ahead of the U.S. jobs report due at the end of the week. The Nikkei dropped 0.5 percent to 19,240.95 points in midmorning trade. ( read original story ...)
Japan eyes expanded role for foreign farm specialists
TOKYO -- Japan will consider letting foreign farming specialists work outside its national strategic zones, expanding a current plan to bolster a shrinking farm workforce. With its agricultural population on the decline, Japan needs to put foreigners to ... ( read original story ...)
Japan's economic growth below estimates in last quarter
TOKYO — Revised data show Japan's economy expanded at a slower than hoped for 1.2 per cent annual pace in the last quarter of 2016. The figure released Wednesday was slightly higher than the preliminary estimate of 1.0 per cent annual growth for the ... ( read original story ...)