American contractors swoop in as Japan boosts defense spending

TOKYO -- Japan plans to spend record sums on defense in fiscal 2018, but the gains will flow not to high-tech Japanese manufacturers but to US companies backed strongly by President Donald Trump. This has dismayed Japanese corporates who watched Mr Trump ... ( read original story ...)

Nikkei gains, with real estate shares in spotlight

TOKYO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei share average pushed higher on Tuesday, reaching for fresh multi-decade highs, with real estate and precision machinery shares gaining. The Nikkei was up 0.9 percent at 24,037.86 at the end of morning trade. ( read original story ...)

Bank of Japan Sticks to View on 2% Inflation

TOKYO—The Bank of Japan stuck to its view that inflation will likely reach 2% in two years and left policy unchanged Tuesday, but offered no new clues on whether it will join other global banks this year in dialing back its support for the economy. ( read original story ...)

Hundreds Hurry for Cover During Tokyo’s First Missile Drill

As a siren warned of an approaching North Korean missile, hundreds of people in central Tokyo hurried for cover in buildings ... The budget for the financial year starting in April includes funds for a new land-based missile defense system, which will ... ( read original story ...)

Double partner hire in Tokyo upgrades DLA Piper teams

DLA Piper has snagged two senior partners from Jones Day in Tokyo to upgrade two of its practice groups. The firm has appointed Kaoru Umino and Dan Matsuda as partners and has given them leadership roles. Umino will helm the global firm’s finance and ... ( read original story ...)

Foreign investors keen on Genco 3’s privatisation

According to EVN, 19 regional and global investors such as Ratchaburi, Nebras Power, GS Energy Corporation, Siemens AG, GE Capital, Itochu, China Datang Power, Keppel Infrastructure and Osaka Gas as ... initial public offering (IPO) in February. ( read original story ...)

SoftBank telecoms IPO faces headwinds from govt-backed upstarts

SoftBank shares have risen about 3 per cent this week since it said it was considering what would be the largest IPO by a Japanese company in nearly two decades, a deal that would accelerate the group’s transformation into one of the world’s biggest ... ( read original story ...)