TOKYO -- Japan's three megabanks are trying to cut costs by reducing the number of ATMs and full-service branches as country shifts to a cashless economy and the Bank of Japan's negative interest rate policy erodes profits. With banks forced to pursue ... ( read original story ...)
Japan’s Tokyo-based Bank Mitsubishi UJF Testing an In-House Digital Currency ‘MUJF Coin’
MUFG Coins is an inevitability would “overcome issues of [existing] virtual currencies” like volatility “[to] create a highly useful currency” said bank president Nobuyuki Hirano. Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ – the banking arm of the Mitsubishi ... ( read original story ...)
Japanese Bank to Offer Blockchain Payments in 2020
Over the past 18 months, MUFG, the world's fourth-largest bank, has been working with Akamai to design a blockchain built on Akamai's cloud-based Intelligent Platform to handle 1 million transactions per second at latencies of less than 2 seconds. ( read original story ...)
Japan Ministry Releases Scandal Papers It Said Were Destroyed
Japan’s Finance Ministry released records relating to a sale of public ... to a meeting of the directors of the lower house budget committee, according to Seiji Osaka, a director and lawmaker with the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party ... ( read original story ...)
Japan to set interim fiscal target to balance budget in FY2025: Nikkei
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s government will push back its timeframe for achieving a balanced budget by five years to fiscal 2025 but set an interim target to review progress in getting the country’s fiscal house in order, the Nikkei newspaper reported on ... ( read original story ...)
Nikkei leads Asian-market losses as investors’ geopolitical worries grow
Japan’s Nikkei slumped more than 1% in early trading Wednesday, as Asian stock markets pulled back following new uncertainty about trade tensions between the U.S. and China and the possibility that the summit between President Donald Trump and North ... ( read original story ...)
Japan urges more of Latin America to join TPP
Brazilian Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira expressed hopes for greater access to the Japanese market in a recent interview with Nikkei. But with both Mexico and Brazil electing new presidents in 2018, the global trend toward protectionism could spread. ( read original story ...)
Half of Japan’s eateries plan price hikes this year
TOKYO -- Spending more on ingredients and increasingly scarce workers, nearly half of restaurant operators in Japan plan to raise prices this fiscal year, a Nikkei survey shows. The poll from mid-March to late April targeted 551 companies with food service ... ( read original story ...)
Nikkei pulls back from 3-month high as Asian markets dip
Japan’s Nikkei NIK, -0.18% closed down 0.2%, after hitting a 3½-month high in Monday trading. Miners, banks and insurance companies led the losses in Tokyo, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. 8306, -0.24% and MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings ... ( read original story ...)
Japanese stocks edge lower from 3.5-month highs, hit by weakness in financials
TOKYO: Japanese shares edged lower on Tuesday from 3.5-month highs the previous day, with financial shares leading declines as investors booked profits on signs of an apparent peak in U.S. bond yields. The Nikkei ended 0.2 per cent lower at 22,960.34. ( read original story ...)
Asian shares edge lower after Trump’s trade comments; Nikkei down more than 1%
Asian stocks slipped Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump's said he was "not satisfied" with the latest round of trade talks with China, with Japan leading losses in the region. In Tokyo, Nikkei 225 fell 1.29 percent amid the move higher in the yen. ( read original story ...)
Nikkei hits 1-1/2-week low as Trump dents optimism on China-U.S. trade talks
TOKYO, May 23 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei share average fell to a 1-1/2-week low on Wednesday morning after U.S. President Donald Trump stoked uncertainty over the outcome of U.S.-China trade talks, while a stronger yen hurt exporters. The Nikkei tumbled ... ( read original story ...)
Japan’s Biggest Bank to Carry Large-Scale Trial of Cryptocurrency ‘MUFG Coin’
The banking arm of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s (MUFG), the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, is reportedly planning to trial its in-house cryptocurrency in 2019 following years of development. As Japan’s largest bank, MUFG could become the world ... ( read original story ...)
Japan Post Bank picks up stocks as yen risks seen subdued: CIO
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan Post Bank has been buying local stocks since February’s major correction in global share prices, its chief investment officer said on Tuesday, as the risk of a spike in the yen, which would hurt stock valuations, is seen as limited. ( read original story ...)
Bank of Japan signals rethink on buying ETFs
"The BOJ could have started stealth tapering. Or it could be just slowing down the pace after it bought too much in February and March," said Shingo Ide, a strategist at NLI Research Institute. Noriko Hayashi The question of when the Bank of Japan should ... ( read original story ...)
Japan Post Bank buying Japanese stocks since market correction in Feb
TOKYO, May 22 (Reuters) - Japan Post Bank has been buying Japanese stocks since a major correction in global share prices in February, starting “in-house” active management, Katsunori Sago, the bank’s chief investment officer said on Tuesday. ( read original story ...)