Tag - japanese

 
 

JAPANESE

Haruyuki Takahashi (center) arrives at the Tokyo District Court on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 14, 2023
Former Tokyo Games executive pleads not guilty over bribery
Haruyuki Takahashi is accused of accepting about ¥200 million in bribes to help firms be selected as sponsors and marketing agents for the Games.
The yen climbed by more than 1% against the dollar to the ¥140-range in Thursday trading.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 14, 2023
Yen gains over 1% as Fed pivots to rate cuts ahead of BOJ meeting
The Japanese currency surged past the four-month high of ¥141.71 reached last week amid dollar weakness due to dovish moves by the Fed.
Japan's core machinery orders climbed for a second straight month in October.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 14, 2023
Japan's October machinery orders rise despite economic uncertainty
By sector, orders from manufacturers climbed 0.2% in October from the previous month, bouncing back from a 1.8% decline in September.
The Nikkei will rise to 37,750 and the benchmark Topix to 2,650 by the end of next year, suggesting another 12% to 15% of upside for the country’s stocks, according to a median estimate of analysts.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 14, 2023
Bears vanish as world-beating Japanese stocks set for more gains
The Nikkei and Topix are on track for the biggest increases of any major benchmark stock index globally this year.
The reading of the key index measuring confidence among major Japanese manufacturers, such as those in the auto and electronics sectors, rose for the third straight quarter, according to the Bank of Japan's tankan survey.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 13, 2023
Firms more confident ahead of BOJ policy meeting, tankan shows
Evidence of robust corporate sentiment boosts the odds of large wage hikes, paving the way for the normalization of monetary policy.
Former Self-Defense Forces member Rina Gonoi arrives Tuesday at the Fukushima District Court, which found three ex-soldiers guilty of sexually assaulting her.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 12, 2023
Guilty verdicts in SDF sexual assault case
Rina Gonoi, 24, took to YouTube last year to share her account after an internal military probe was dropped for lack of evidence.
Experts have warned that the central government must take decisive action to curb illicit activities related to online casinos.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 12, 2023
Use of illegal online casinos rising, along with debt concerns
Experts warn that the central government must take decisive action to curb illicit activities.
Japan’s producer price index rose 0.3% in November from a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 12, 2023
Japan’s input inflation eases further to slowest pace since 2021
The persistent slowdown in the index this year is in line with the BOJ’s view that price pressures are cooling.
A record number of Japanese investors have put their money into domestic private credit deals in search of higher returns this year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 12, 2023
Private credit is attracting record numbers of Japanese investors
An unprecedented 236 limited partners have provided money to private capital managers this year through September, more than triple the level of 2017.
Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers on Tokunoshima island, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Nov. 19. The government plans to secure over ¥1 trillion in fresh defense outlays by raising corporate, tobacco and income taxes in stages, but it has yet to decide when to start increasing the taxes.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 11, 2023
Japan unlikely to hike taxes for defense boost in '25: LDP official
The decision on when to hike taxes will be delayed into 2024 amid an unfolding fundraising scandal involving many LDP factions and senior lawmakers.
The Bank of Japan is likely to keep its monetary stimulus settings unchanged at a two-day policy meeting ending Dec. 19, despite recent market speculation that the negative rate may be scrapped as soon as the December meeting.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 11, 2023
BOJ sees little need to end negative rate in December: sources
Bank officials are yet to see enough evidence of wage growth that would support sustainable inflation.
Business sentiment among major Japanese companies was positive for the third successive quarter in October to December, led by a continued improvement in automobile-related industries.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 11, 2023
Sentiment of Japan's big firms remains positive in latest quarter
The business sentiment index for companies with capital of ¥1 billion or more stood at plus 4.8, against plus 5.8 in the previous quarter.
Rina Gonoi, a former member of the Self-Defense Forces, who has accused colleagues of sexually assaulting her during her time in the military, speaks in Yokohama on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 11, 2023
Former Japanese soldier fights for justice in landmark sexual assault case
A former Self-Defence Forces member's yearslong fight for justice against the men she has accused of sexually assaulting her will reach a climax on Tuesday when a court delivers a verdict in a trial that has drawn international attention.
The day after the Fukuoka District Court dismissed her lawsuit questioning the constitutionality of Japan's dual nationality law, Yuri Kondo, 76, was in high spirits as she drove to see family and friends.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 8, 2023
Japan-born U.S. national Yuri Kondo continues dual citizenship fight
The dismissal of her lawsuit over the dual nationality ban has implications for tens of thousands of people, and Kondo says she'll keep fighting for them.
Police have arrested a 58-year-old man after a 16-year-old female high school student was found dead in an apartment in Osaka Prefecture, apparently from a cough medicine overdose.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 8, 2023
Man arrested on kidnapping charge after overdose death in Osaka
An autopsy found that the kidnapped 16-year-old female student had a fatal amount of cough medicine ingredients inside her body.
Japan’s economic recovery from the pandemic is losing momentum as overseas economies slow and sticky inflation weighs on domestic consumption.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 8, 2023
Japan’s deepest economic contraction since pandemic clouds path for BOJ
Gross domestic product contracted at an annualized 2.9% in the three months through September from the previous quarter as households reined in spending.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Half of the 52 economists surveyed by Bloomberg said the central bank will scrap its negative rate in April, up from 29% in the October survey.
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2023
Most BOJ watchers predict end of negative rate regime by April
"The most beautiful scenario is the end of the negative rate in April”
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks to reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 7, 2023
BOJ’s Ueda meets Kishida and discusses monetary policy stance
The meeting is likely to make BOJ watchers nervous given that the central bank made a surprise policy tweak last December after similar talks.
Actress Midori Suiren (center), filmmaker Kenzo Kaga (right) and cinematographer Shin Hayasaka attend a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 7, 2023
Actors say sexual abuse is a structural problem in Japan’s film industry
Despite the revelation of Johnny Kitagawa’s sexual abuse, the actors say their claims are being trivialized as personal relationship issues.
Lawyers representing a consumer advocacy group speak to reporters on Wednesday after filing a cease and desist lawsuit against online travel agency Agoda.
BUSINESS
Dec 7, 2023
Saitama consumer group files lawsuit against travel agency Agoda
The group said the firm’s terms of service that limit it from being liable for compensation violate consumer protection laws.

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?