OSAKA – Former Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto will step down Wednesday as a policy adviser for the opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai as he seeks to maintain political neutrality, sources said Tuesday. Hashimoto, who ended his career as a politician in 2015, has ... ( read original story ...)
Tokyo’s female governor takes on Japan’s old-boy network, but denies run for PM
For now, the former defense minister says her sights are set firmly on a July 2 Tokyo metropolitan assembly poll, where she's targeting a majority for her fledgling "Tokyo Citizens First" party and its allies. Koike, in an interview with Reuters ... ( read original story ...)
DBS, Nishi-Nippon City Bank collaborate to support Japanese SMEs
They will offer discounting of exports bills. Japanese bank Nishi-Nippon City Bank (NCB) recently signed a memorandum of understanding with DBS, Southeast Asia’s largest bank. This memorandum fosters the greater collaboration and support for Japanese ... ( read original story ...)
Japan’s April Jobless Rate at 2.8 Percent
May.29 -- Japan's jobless rate remained at the lowest in more than two decades last month, but household spending remained mired in a long slump. Bloomberg's Rosalind Chin reports on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Asia." ( read original story ...)
HRnetGroup readies for $175m IPO
It now operates in 10 Asian cities: Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Taipei, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul ... group has turned a profit every year except in 1998. IPO proceeds will be used for business expansion and potential ... ( read original story ...)
CORRECTED-Japan’s Nikkei slips as yen gains on Italy’s political uncertainties
TOKYO May 30 Japan's Nikkei share average slipped on Tuesday, with the equity market feeling downward pressure from a stronger yen, which hurts big manufacturers' export revenues. The Nikkei lost 0.5 percent to 19,487.71. The yen advanced to a 12-day high ... ( read original story ...)
Is China’s economy turning Japanese?
But for Mr Xi another historical event from the same era may warrant more immediate attention. It is just over 30 years since Japan began inflating a property and stock market bubble whose implosion ravaged public confidence, cowed corporations and scarred ... ( read original story ...)
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 ...)
Favoring Osaka, Macau billionaire says Tokyo doesn’t need a casino
Lawrence Ho, the billionaire owner of Melco Resorts & Entertainment, said he favors building a casino in Osaka rather than Tokyo because there are more opportunities to develop the smaller city as an entertainment destination. Ho is among industry ... ( read original story ...)
Tokyo bath house offering naked lectures to increase clientele
A public bath house in Tokyo is offering classes to its naked customers, hoping the experience of learning in the nude will not only be liberating but also bring back a young audience to the dying tradition of communal baths. ( read original story ...)
Japan Tobacco plans to quadruple smokeless tobacco output capacity by 2018: CEO
With more people shifting to smokeless products such as IQOS due to health concerns, Japan Tobacco's domestic cigarette sales volume is likely to fall 9.6 percent this year. "It's shocking. I am doing this business for more than 35 years but I have never ... ( read original story ...)
The $2,500 answer to Amazon’s Echo could make Japan’s sex crisis worse
Japan has a sex problem. The country's birthrate is shrinking year after year, to the point where deaths are outpacing births. Simply put, Japan's population is decreasing. But let's be clear: Population change is a complicated subject affected by many ... ( 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 ...)