Japan puts free early education, drug reform on wish list

TOKYO -- Free nursery school and kindergarten for families nationwide as well as tighter control of ballooning medical costs highlight Japan's newest strategies to achieve growth, The Nikkei learned Monday. The government's policy and reform draft ... ( read original story ...)

Japan’s Banks Could Benefit From Riskier Lending

That would help Japan’s banks unleash trapped regulatory capital, improving their Tier 1 capital ratios by an estimated net 0.8 percentage point. Previous bank strategies like ramping up overseas lending and buying assets with dollar deposits to fund ... ( read original story ...)

Japan vows to take action with US after North Korea missile test

The missile flew for six minutes until it landed in the Sea of Japan. US officials told Fox News a North Korean MiG fighter jet crashed near the launch site of the latest surface-to-air missile test. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the ... ( read original story ...)

BOJ’s interest earnings fall for first time in 5 years

TOKYO The Bank of Japan saw interest payments on its huge government bond holdings decline for the first time in five years in the fiscal year that ended in March, a sign that its ultra-loose monetary policy was taking a toll on its financial health. ( read original story ...)

Italian bank worries leak into second week

European share prices were a touch lower [.EU], led by a half-percent fall in banking shares as worries over recapitalizations ... the broad MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS dipping 0.2 percent. Japan's Nikkei .N225 edged ... ( read original story ...)

Can central bank stem NPA rot?

Ergo, CBs often get involved. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) recapitaliSing Japanese banks in the late 1990’s, US Fed acting as a lead arranger of rescue finance for LTCM in 1998 and the US Fed (2008) buyback of $1.5 trillion of distressed mortgage securities ... ( read original story ...)

New compound that can break down plastic waste developed

Researchers from Nagoya University in Japan developed a series of organometallic ruthenium catalysts to break down even the toughest amide bonds effectively under mild conditions. "Our previous catalysts could hydrogenate most amide bonds, but the ... ( read original story ...)

Japan public split on idea to cite military in constitution

Poll results released Monday show that about half of Japan's population supports a constitutional revision that would clarify the legality of the country's military, a new approach Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is proposing as his party struggles to gain ... ( read original story ...)

Recruitment firm HRnetGroup going for $175m IPO on SGX

It now operates in 10 Asian cities, namely, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Taipei, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul. In Singapore, the group has a market share of 20.5 per cent, according to Frost & Sullivan. ( read original story ...)

Duterte to cancel Japan visit

The president was scheduled to speak at the 23rd International Conference on the Future of Asia to be hosted by Nikkei Inc. in Tokyo on June 5 and 6. Negotiations had been underway to arrange a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the ... ( read original story ...)