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6242843717e81dfd437b49122f7f5648 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-orders-idUSKBN19V02B?il=0 | Japan's May machinery orders unexpectedly fall, government downgrades outlook | Japan's May machinery orders unexpectedly fall, government downgrades outlook
By Minami Funakoshi4 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s core machinery orders unexpectedly tumbled in May on persistent weakness in the services sector, and the government downgraded the outlook for orders for the first time in eight months, raising doubts about the strength of the economic recovery.
People work next to heavy machineries at a construction site in Tokyo, Japan, March 13, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino
The result is also particularly surprising given recent signs of an upswing in momentum. It suggests policymakers will have their work cut out in their quest to foster sustainable growth - especially if businesses show reluctance to invest, though some analysts caution against reading too much into the weak numbers.
Core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as an indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, dropped 3.6 percent in May from the previous month, Cabinet Office data showed on Monday.
It was the steepest month-on-month decline since August 2016, and sharply undershot the 1.7 percent increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll. In April, they declined 3.1 percent.
Core orders from the services sector fell 5.1 percent, down for a third straight month, dragged by declines in orders from transportation firms for computer systems and railway cars, and from telecommunications and construction industries.
Orders from manufacturers rose 1.0 percent in May from the previous month, up for a fourth straight month, led by gains in orders for turbines and boilers.
The government cut its assessment of machinery orders for the first time since September 2016, saying they are stalling, in a worrying sign businesses may be turning cautious on investing.
“Machinery orders probably won’t be very strong (in the coming months),” a Cabinet Office official said.
“We can’t say they will significantly worsen, but we don’t hear companies saying they will start recovering in July-September,” the official said.
Some analysts echoed the government’s pessimism.
“The results were extremely weak...There is a high chance core machinery orders will decline for the second quarter in a row (in April-June),” said Koya Miyamae, senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities, in a note.
Miyamae said it was surprising that orders declined from sectors such as transportation, postal and construction, which have been hit by labor shortages.
PINCH OF SALT
However, some analysts say the Monday’s data should be taken with a pinch of salt.
“Machinery orders are volatile...it’s better to look at the BOJ tankan in this case,” said Hidenobu Tokuda, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute.
The BOJ tankan, a closely-watched central bank survey, showed that big firms plan to raise their capital spending by 8.0 percent in the current fiscal year to March 2018.
Confidence among Japan’s big manufacturers hit its highest level in more than three years in the June quarter, the survey also showed.
Indeed, recent data suggested momentum was picking up, though it wasn’t clear if the economic recovery was broadening out, with industrial output falling faster in May than at any time since the devastating earthquake of March 2011.
Japanese policymakers hope capital spending will help revitalize the world’s third-largest economy and pull it out of years of deflation and stagnation.
Speaking shortly after the machinery orders results were released, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda reiterated the central bank’s resolve to maintain its massive stimulus program until inflation is stably above its 2 percent target.
He also said inflation is likely to gradually accelerate towards 2 percent reflecting improvements in the economy.
Japan’s economy expanded an annualized 1.0 percent in the first quarter on robust exports and household spending, while business confidence hit a three-year high in the three months to June.
Reporting by Minami Funakoshi; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim & Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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2c426c7166b0c93b488ad0e5a8af4379 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-orders/japan-machinery-orders-rise-covid-emergency-clouds-outlook-idUSKBN29J08W | Japan machinery orders rise, COVID emergency clouds outlook | Japan machinery orders rise, COVID emergency clouds outlook
By Tetsushi Kajimoto3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s core machinery orders unexpectedly rose for a second straight month in November, data showed on Thursday, although a renewed coronavirus emergency in Tokyo and 10 other areas may cool business appetite for capital spending.
FILE PHOTO: Fanuc Corp's machinery models are seen at Narita International airport terminal 1 in Narita, near Tokyo, Japan, March 25, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino
The surprise gain in core orders, a key indicator of capital expenditure, could be a temporary relief to policymakers hoping for corporate investment to spur a private demand-led recovery in the world’s third-largest economy.
The Cabinet Office data showed core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as an indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, grew 1.5% in November from October, led by increased demand for chip-making equipment and computers, possibly backed by people working from home.
It was a second straight month of gains and compared with economists’ median estimate of a 6.2% drop, following a 17.1% jump in the previous month.
However, Japanese firms could grow cautious about boosting capital expenditure due to dwindling corporate profits, while a state of emergency implemented in Tokyo and 10 other prefectures through Feb. 7 could exacerbate conerns.
“Core orders likely picked up in the fourth quarter due to pent-up demand for capital spending thanks to government stimulus and overseas economic recovery,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.
“That will be temporary. The coronavirus has been spreading in Japan and elsewhere, forcing lockdowns in major economies, which will affect Japanese exports and service-sector activity.”
By sector, orders from manufacturers fell 2.4% month-on-month, while those from non-manufacturers grew 5.6% from the previous month, the Cabinet Office data showed.
The government raised its assessment on machinery orders, saying they showed a pick-up move. Previously it said orders had stopped falling.
Japan’s economy rebounded sharply in the third quarter from its deepest postwar slump, thanks to pick-ups in exports and private consumption, which makes up more than half the economy.
But some analysts flagged the risk of a double-dip recession ahead given the current third wave of coronavirus infections.
Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; editing by Richard PullinOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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014c0e82188224201695b67c5f2008d1 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-orders/japans-core-machinery-orders-rise-6-3-month-month-in-july-idINKBN2603J0?edition-redirect=in | Japan's rebounding July machinery orders tempered by fragile business outlook | Japan's rebounding July machinery orders tempered by fragile business outlook
By Daniel Leussink3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s machinery orders rebounded in July from a sharp fall in the previous month, a welcome relief for the coronavirus-stricken economy but the outlook for capital spending remained uncertain due to fragile global business conditions.
FILE PHOTO: Men work near a crane at a construction site in Tokyo, Japan, January 14, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo
Corporate Japan is facing strains from steep declines in earnings, discouraging business investment as the economy grapples with its worst postwar slump.
Core machinery orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as an indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, grew 6.3% in July after a 7.6% decline in June.
The rise was bigger than a 1.9% gain seen by economists in a Reuters poll.
“Corporate earnings are likely to remain in a sluggish state in the second half of the fiscal year,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.
Orders from manufacturers advanced 5.0%, while those from non-manufacturers gained 3.4%, the Cabinet Office data showed on Thursday.
The government maintained its assessment on machinery orders to say they were on a decreasing trend.
Overseas orders rose for the first time in five months, gaining 13.8% in July from the previous month to highlight a pickup in external demand.
From a year earlier, core machinery orders were down 16.2% in July, not far off an expected 18.3% decline.
The world’s third-largest economy is preparing for a new prime minister for the first time in nearly eight years after Shinzo Abe announced his resignation last month due to poor health.
The country’s next leader will face the daunting task of fighting the economic, social and medical fallout from the health crisis while pulling the country out of its worst postwar recession.
The government has already rolled out a combined $2.2 trillion of fiscal stimulus packages to combat the pandemic, adding to an enhanced programme from the Bank of Japan.
The central bank will hold its next policy review on Sept. 16-17.
Tom Learmouth, Japan economist at Capital Economics, said he still expected non-residential investment to weaken a little further in the third-quarter despite the uptick in July orders.
“With domestic capital goods shipments falling to their lowest level since 2011 in July, we think business investment weakened further in Q3,” he wrote in a note.
Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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ceae72b2635bb57f3a63136184b85cb3 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-orders/japans-february-machinery-orders-beat-expectations-wholesale-prices-slow-idUSKBN1HH3N4 | Japan's February machinery orders beat expectations, wholesale prices slow | Japan's February machinery orders beat expectations, wholesale prices slow
By Stanley White3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s core machinery orders rose unexpectedly in February for a second consecutive month thanks to increased orders from manufacturers, a positive sign of corporate investment supporting economic growth.
FILE PHOTO: People work next to heavy machineries at a construction site in Tokyo, Japan, March 13, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino
Separate data out on Wednesday showed wholesale prices rose at a slower pace in February, painting a picture of an economy that is healthy enough to continue growing but not robust enough to generate the inflation the Bank of Japan needs to overcome the country’s deflationary mindset.
The 2.1 percent increase in core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as a good indicator of capital spending in the next six to nine months, handily beat the gloomy median estimate for a 2.5 percent decline forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.
The Bank of Japan’s tankan sentiment survey last week showed that mid-sized manufacturers planned to boost capital expenditure in the new fiscal year started on April 1, also suggesting business investment is likely to remain healthy.
However, worries about U.S. trade protectionism and potential gains in the yen versus the dollar pose risks to the outlook for Japan’s capital expenditure.
“There’s no change to my assessment that capital expenditure remains in an expansion phase, driven by the manufacturing sector,” said Yusuke Ishikawa, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute.
“Uncertainty about U.S. trade policy could potentially cause Japanese companies to stop investing, but so far this is not happening. Capex will continue to contribute to Japan’s growth.”
Orders from manufacturers rose 8.0 percent in February, following a 9.9 percent increase in the previous month, due to an increase in orders from makers of steel and chemicals.
Non-manufacturers’ orders were unchanged in February as gains in orders from the telecommunications sector offset a decline in orders from the real estate, shipping, and finance industries. In January non-manufacturers’ orders rose 4.4 percent.
Core orders, which exclude those for ships and from electric power utilities, rose 2.4 percent from a year ago versus the median estimate for orders to remain unchanged.
The outlook is heavily clouded by the brewing trade war between the United States and China.The two economic superpowers have threatened each other with heavy tariffs amid growing U.S. disapproval of China’s trade practices and its treatment of foreign intellectual property.
Japanese exporters would be unlikely to increase investment if China and the United States were to carry out their threats, with serious likely consequences for global trade and growth.
Wholesale prices in Japan rose 2.1 percent in the year to March, which was more than the median forecast for a 2.0 percent annual increase but still a slowdown from a revised 2.6 percent annual increase in February.
Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Eric MeijerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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f65f48b6e26e76b3babe0ad8784ac134 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-output-poll-idINKBN2780Y3?edition-redirect=in | Japan September factory output to rise for fourth straight month: Reuters poll | Japan September factory output to rise for fourth straight month: Reuters poll
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s factory output likely grew for a fourth straight month in September thanks to a recovery in external demand as economic activity gradually picked up, a Reuters poll found on Friday.
FILE PHOTO: A humanoid robot works side by side with employees in the assembly line at a factory of Glory Ltd., a manufacturer of automatic change dispensers, in Kazo, north of Tokyo, Japan, July 1, 2015. REUTERS/Issei Kato
But retail sales likely fell for the seventh straight month last month, suggesting a patch recovery as the pandemic hammered the broader economy.
Industrial output is forecast to have risen 3.2% in September from the previous month, the poll of 16 economists showed on Friday, but the pace of increase has been slowing down from a record 8.7% jump in July.
“We expect factory output grew led by autos,” said Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
“Exports are clearly recovering on a pickup in the economy overseas. So factory output is expected to recover led by exports.”
Retail sales are expected to have fallen 7.7% in September from a year earlier as the pandemic kept consumers at home.
The trade ministry will announce retail sales data at 8:50 a.m. Japan time on Thursday, October 29 (2350 GMT Wednesday) and factory output data on Friday.
The nation’s jobless rate probably inched up to 3.1% in September from 3.0% in August, and the jobs-to-applicants ratio, a gauge of the availability of jobs, likely held steady at 1.04.
One analyst said some more people have started looking for jobs, which brings them back into the data but is part of the reason for a slightly higher unemployment rate as they haven’t found jobs yet.
Tokyo’s core consumer price (CPI) index, which includes oil products but excludes fresh food prices, likely fell 0.5% in October from a year earlier led by energy price falls, the poll found.
The government will publish Tokyo core CPI and jobs data at 8:30 a.m. Japan time on Friday.
The poll also found the Bank of Japan would maintain its policy interest rate at minus 0.1%, and the 10-year Japanese government bond yield target at around 0% when it holds a policy meeting on Oct. 28-29.
Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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531ca5ae881b73797adec54cec0e2905 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-output-poll/japan-factory-output-retail-sales-seen-up-virus-resurgence-clouds-outlook-reuters-poll-idINKBN28709O?edition-redirect=in | Japan factory output, retail sales seen up, virus resurgence clouds outlook: Reuters poll | Japan factory output, retail sales seen up, virus resurgence clouds outlook: Reuters poll
By Tetsushi Kajimoto2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: A worker cycles near a factory at the Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki, Japan February 28, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s factory output probably grew for a fifth straight month in October and retail sales likely rebounded for the first time in eight months, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, offering further signs that the economy is gradually recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, a recent sharp jump in coronavirus cases is clouding the outlook, and expected softness in the job market and declining housing starts indicate a weakening of household purchasing power amid the health crisis.
“Although the economy is picking up, it remains way below the pre-pandemic level,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute. “As sales declines are prolonged, companies are laying off workers.”
Trade ministry data out Monday is expected to show industrial output rose 2.1% month-on-month in October, up for the fifth straight month but slowing from the prior month’s 3.9% rise, the poll of 17 economists showed.
Separate data is likely to show retail sales jumped 6.4% year-on-year in October, the first gain in eight months and reversing from the prior month’s 8.7% drop, the poll found.
Internal affairs ministry data is expected to show the seasonally adjusted jobless rate edged up to 3.1% in October from the previous month’s 3.0%, in a worrying sign for job losses caused by the pandemic, the poll found.
Labour ministry data is likely to show the jobs-to-applicants ratio held steady at 1.03 in October, meaning one job was available per job-seeker, the lowest level since December 2013.
Factory output and retail sales data will both be released at 8:50 a.m. Monday (2350 GMT Sunday), followed by the housing starts report at 2 p.m. (0500 GMT). The job data will be out at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday (2330 GMT Monday).
Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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df64e979c7677a41bebaaa792c0bdcac | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-output/japan-factory-output-grows-for-fifth-month-retail-sales-surge-idUSKBN28A044 | Japan factory output grows for fifth month, retail sales surge | Japan factory output grows for fifth month, retail sales surge
By Daniel Leussink3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s industrial output rose for the fifth straight month in October and retail sales in the same month grew the most in over a year, signalling the economy was recovering further from the damage caused by the COVID-19 crisis.
FILE PHOTO: Steam is emitted from factories at Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki, Japan February 28, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato
The world’s third-largest economy rebounded sharply in the third quarter from a pandemic-induced slump, thanks to surging consumption and exports, though some analysts worry about slowing growth ahead due to a resurgence in coronavirus infections.
“There’s a possibility China-bound exports and output will be sluggish if the United States gets worse, and that would spread to China,” said Takumi Tsunoda, senior economist at Shinkin Central Bank Research.
“But if there will be any impact, it’ll be with a bit of a time lag,” he said, adding that Japanese manufacturers could feel it most strongly in the first quarter of next year.
Official data released on Monday showed factory output jumped 3.8% in October from the previous month, mainly due to strength in general machinery production and motor vehicle manufacturing.
The solid increase beat the median market forecast of a 2.1% rise in a Reuters poll of economists, and was in line with the prior month’s 3.9% gain.
Manufacturers surveyed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) expected output to grow another 2.7% in November and decline 2.4% in December.
“The overall figure was quite strong. (Output of) capital expenditure-related machinery such as general machinery production was picking up,” Tsunoda said.
Inventories across all industries fell 1.6% in October, the seventh straight month of decline, as inventories of inorganic and organic chemicals as well as iron, steel and non-ferrous metals were reduced.
Separate data showed retail sales posted their largest gain since September last year in October year-on-year after consumers sharply curtailed spending in October 2019 following a sales tax hike at that time.
Retail sales jumped 6.4% year-on-year in October to rise for the first time in eight months, matching a 6.4% gain expected by economists in a Reuters poll and turning around from an 8.7% drop in the previous month.
Some analysts worry that the economic recovery will lose steam as a resurgence in coronavirus infections at home and abroad is expected to weigh on demand due to slowing corporate and consumer activity.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga instructed his cabinet earlier this month to compile a package of stimulus measures to speed up the country’s economic recovery.
The package is expected to target structural changes, supporting environmental investment and boosting productivity through digitalisation.
Ruling party lawmakers have called for an extra budget worth around 20 trillion yen to 30 trillion yen ($192.05 billion to $288.07 billion), which will fund part of the stimulus package.
Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Kim Coghill and Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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f4780ca5b44fc34dcf6bd800ec7a64e2 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-output/japans-fourth-quarter-factory-output-falls-at-fastest-pace-on-record-idINKBN1ZT3AF?edition-redirect=in | Japan's fourth-quarter factory output falls at fastest pace on record | Japan's fourth-quarter factory output falls at fastest pace on record
By Kaori Kaneko4 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s factory output fell at the fastest pace on record in October-December amid sluggish demand at home and abroad, reinforcing views the economy likely contracted in the fourth quarter.
FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises from a factory during sunset at Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki, Japan, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo
Separate data showed retail sales fell for a third straight month in December, adding to worries about consumer spending after a sales tax increase in October.
A growing virus outbreak in China is threatening to put more pressure on the Japanese economy. China is Japan’s second largest export market and Chinese account for 30% of all tourists visiting the country.
Factory output fell 4.0% in October-December, the fastest pace of decline since comparable data began in 2013, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) showed on Friday.
But in an encouraging sign, factory output grew 1.3% in December, compared with a median estimate for a 0.7% gain in a Reuters poll of economists. That followed a 1.0% decline in November and a 4.5% drop in October.
And manufacturers surveyed by the ministry expect production to rise 3.5% in January and grow 4.1% in February.
The ministry kept its assessment of output, saying it is weakening.
“The pace of rebound (in Dec) was not big... we will closely monitor whether factory output will recover in coming months,” a trade ministry official said.
He also said manufacturers hadn’t factored in impacts from China’s coronavirus when they made production forecasts for January and February, so these numbers will need to be monitored.
“The economy after the sales tax hike is expected to be weaker than previously projected as factory output and retail sales showed,” said Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute. “Global auto sales didn’t perform well, which weighed on Japan’s auto exports. There is a risk factory output of autos may not recover much.”
There were some relief factors, such as a progress in the U.S.-China trade talks, which helped corporate sentiment and global recovery in the semiconductor sector, but risks remain.
“China’s economy is expected to slow down due to the impacts from the virus in the current quarter, which could hit Japan’s exports,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute. “There is a chance the economy in the first quarter may also shrink after an expected contraction in the fourth quarter, depending China’s situation.”
Retail sales - a key gauge of private consumption - fell 2.6% in December from a year earlier, down for a third straight month and compared with a 1.8% decline expected by economists.
The Bank of Japan last week kept policy steady and nudged up its growth forecasts, citing subsiding global risks. But Governor Haruhiko Kuroda stressed his resolve to keep policy ultra-loose amid lingering uncertainties.
The government cut its assessment of capital spending in January for the first time in eight months due to softer global demand but said its overall view of the economy was unchanged from December.
Analysts polled by Reuters this month forecast the economy contracted by an annualized 3.6% in October-December, but believe it will rebound modestly in the current quarter.
Other data released on Friday showed Japan’s jobless rate stood at 2.2% in December, unchanged from November, around a three-decade low, and job availability also held steady at 1.57 per applicant.
Tokyo’s core consumer price index (CPI), which includes oil products but excludes fresh food prices, rose an annual 0.7% in January from a year earlier, less than the median estimate for a 0.8 percent annual increase.
Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim, Lincoln Feast and Gerry Doyle.Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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99a9d94b3429d13f0cf207320cc5ceef | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-overwork-idUSKBN12Z0I5 | Suicide at Japan's top ad agency puts overtime on the reform agenda | Suicide at Japan's top ad agency puts overtime on the reform agenda
By Stanley White, Teppei Kasai6 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - In April last year, Matsuri Takahashi, a promising graduate of Japan’s top university, landed a job at Dentsu, one of the country’s most prestigious advertising agencies, renowned for its hard-driving work culture. Nine months later, she jumped to her death, leaving behind a trail of public grievances on social media about her relentless working hours and boss’s verbal abuse.
A female job seeker takes part in a job hunting counseling session with advisers during a job fair held for fresh graduates in Tokyo, Japan, March 20, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo
Japan’s labor ministry last month ruled the 24-year-old’s death “karoshi”, literally “death by overwork” and raided her employer, Dentsu Inc, to see if overwork abuses were pervasive in the company.
For many Japanese, Takahashi’s death is the tragic consequence of Article 36 of Japan’s labor code, which leaves overtime pay and limits to the discretion of employers and typically benign unions.
That loophole could be challenged as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe embarks on a wide-reaching campaign to reform Japan’s employment laws, which could include stiffer overtime regulation for companies.
“The law does not prevent companies from working employees beyond reasonable limits,” said Emiko Teranishi, head of the Families Dealing with Karoshi, a support group. “The unions are also responsible because they accept these conditions.”
Such groups say companies often intimidate employees, especially new hires, into working excessive hours to prove their worth.
Japan’s first white paper on karoshi released last month showed 22.7 percent of 1,743 companies surveyed had employees who in the past year worked more than 80 hours of overtime in a month, the government’s threshold for karoshi.
Takahashi clocked 105 hours of overtime in October 2015 and fell into depression the following month, a summary provided by her family’s lawyer citing the government report showed.
Japan officially recognizes two types of karoshi: death from cardiovascular illness linked to overwork, and suicide following work-related mental stress.
In the fiscal year ended March 2015, there were 93 suicides and attempted suicides from overwork, down from 99 the previous fiscal year. The number of deaths from cardiovascular illness linked to overwork fell to 96 from 121.
Labour Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki last week told reporters that he wants to strengthen monitoring of companies’ overtime practices and that his ministry would decide a punishment for Dentsu based on the results of its investigation.
According to one person with knowledge of the agenda for Abe’s panel, a new law placing legal limits on overtime hours could be considered.
This would mean revising Article 36 to cap overtime to anywhere from 45 to 80 hours a month, said the person, who declined to be named because the plans are not final.
Article 36 and other issues will be examined by Abe’s panel on labor reform, which is expected to issue a plan next March.
A HARD SLOG
Labour groups and business lobby representatives involved in Abe’s panel are likely to discuss whether the law will exempt certain industries from those limits.
In Japan’s strongly pro-employer economy, changes to overtime regulation, if they come, are unlikely to sail through unchallenged.
Hard work and sacrifice have long been synonymous with Japan, one of Asia’s earliest tiger economies, and strong social expectations make it difficult for employees and unions to aggressively push for reforms.
Workers often feel a debt of gratitude for being hired, and are reluctant to quit even if conditions are bad. Others feel they have to work longer hours than their colleagues to get promoted.
In recent years, the government has revised labor laws to encourage shorter working hours, but critics say these steps relied too much on self-regulation.
“Many companies expect young employees to work long hours to learn new skills,” said Yasuko Oshima, a senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute who specializes in labor policy.
“Companies have been cutting labor costs since the 1990s, which increases each individual’s work burden.”
REASONS FOR LIVING
Takahashi’s case is not the first time Dentsu has been called to account for its overtime practices.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that the agency was responsible for the suicide of an employee in 1991 because excessive work hours pushed him into depression.
In an e-mail to employees on Oct. 17, Dentsu’s CEO Tadashi Ishii said the company could face criminal prosecution as a result of Takahashi’s death. He also said the company would lower monthly overtime limits to 65 hours from 70 hours a month, according to a copy of the email obtained by Reuters.
Dentsu told Reuters it is cooperating with authorities and declined to comment further.
The lawyer for Takahashi’s family declined to comment on whether they will sue Dentsu. The family refused interview requests.
For now, Takahashi’s death has pushed the thorny issues of karoshi and workplace harassment into the spotlight as policymakers look to address other challenges around labor.
Several months into her new job, Takahashi, a graduate of Tokyo University whose first name Matsuri means “festival”, started complaining on Twitter about her male boss insulting her appearance, sleeping only two or three hours a day and regularly working weekends.
“When you spend 20 hours a day at the office you no longer understand what you’re living for and can’t help but laugh,” she tweeted on Dec. 18.
On Christmas Day, she jumped off a company dormitory.
“My daughter is never coming back,” Takahashi’s mother said last month, domestic media reported. “No job is more important than your life. I strongly hope that karoshi doesn’t happen again.”
Additional reporting by Izumi Nakagawa; Editing by Malcolm Foster and Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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0d89eb19ffe004d2f7012e63a3477d1b | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-package/japans-abe-tells-cabinet-to-compile-stimulus-package-to-support-economy-idUSKBN1XI090 | Japan's Abe tells cabinet to compile stimulus package to support economy | Japan's Abe tells cabinet to compile stimulus package to support economy
By Yoshifumi Takemoto, Leika Kihara4 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe asked his cabinet on Friday to compile a package of stimulus measures to support the economy and build infrastructure to cope with large natural disasters, the government’s top spokesman said.
FILE PHOTO: Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks at the ASEAN-Japan Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, November 4, 2019. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that the package will include steps to promote investment for growth through aggressive use of fiscal investment and loan programs.
The government will compile the package as soon as possible, although the size of spending will depend on proposals to be made by various ministries, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told a news conference after a regular cabinet meeting.
“I’ve received an instruction from the prime minister to compile a new economic package to guard against the chance overseas risks may hurt Japan’s economy,” Nishimura said.
Japanese policymakers have been under pressure to fend off heightening overseas risks with a diminishing tool-kit, as the U.S.-China trade war and soft global demand have hurt the export-reliant economy.
Finance Minister Taro Aso said the planned economic package should help enhance productivity and achieve strong growth to overcome the pressure caused by a declining population, which he said was the “biggest problem” Japan faces in the long run.
Aso added that the size and scope of the stimulus still needed to be worked out. He suggested that a supplementary budget would be compiled by the year-end, along with an annual budget for the next fiscal year that starts in April 2020, to ensure the economic package would be rolled out over a 15-month period.
Related CoverageJapan Sept. machinery orders seen rising for first time in three months: Reuters poll
Abe had told a top economic council on Thursday that the government will consider what policy measures it can take to prevent global risks from derailing the economy.
Japan’s economic growth likely slowed to an annualized 0.8% in July-September from 1.3% in the second quarter, a Reuters poll showed this week. The data will be reported on Nov. 14.
An increase in the sales tax to 10% from 8%, put in place from October, may also hurt consumption, analysts say.
A key Japanese economic index, the index of coincident economic indicators, rose a preliminary 2.0 points in September from the previous month, Cabinet Office data showed later on Friday, signaling an uptick in economic activity before the tax increase came into effect.
The sub-indexes for retail sales and wholesale trade both rose 7.3 points in September from August, seeing their largest jumps since April 2015, due to demand for big-ticket items such as cars and household electronics, and cosmetics and medicines.
Slowing growth underscores the challenge for Abe’s government as it tries to strike a delicate balance between the need to boost growth and fix the industrial world’s heaviest public debt burden that is more than twice the size of Japan’s $5 trillion economy.
Some economists worry that additional public works spending would further strain the nation’s dire public finances and aggravate a labor crunch in a fast-ageing population.
Additional reporting by Daniel Leussink and Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Sandra Maler, Shri Navaratnam, Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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5817f97d1c582396ac9be1326cf1c2fd | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-pmi-idINKBN24402E?edition-redirect=in | Japan's service sector slump eases as pandemic curbs lift: PMI | Japan's service sector slump eases as pandemic curbs lift: PMI
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
People wearing protective face masks, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), takes a rest next to almost empty seats of a cafe and restaurant at the Roppongi Hills complex in Tokyo, Japan April 1, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s services sector extended activity declines for a fifth straight month in June, although the pace of contraction slowed significantly after a nationwide state of emergency was lifted, easing disruptions to businesses.
The final Jibun Bank Japan Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 45.0 in June from 26.5 in May.
The reading was better than a preliminary 42.3 released last week and marked the biggest index rise in a single month on record, with data going back to September 2007. That suggested business conditions were gradually returning to normal in the world’s third-largest economy.
Still, the index stayed below the 50.0 threshold that separates contraction from expansion for the fifth straight month, matching a similar run to September 2012, suggesting firms continue to struggle with below-capacity operations and low customer numbers.
“Until demand rises persistently at a strong rate, we can expect a sluggish recovery,” said Joe Hayes, economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey.
“We have to remember that Japan’s economy was already in a recession before the second quarter and 2020 was set to be economically challenging.”
Japan fell into recession for the first time in 4-1/2 years in the three months through March and is set to suffer its deepest postwar slump in the current quarter.
The survey showed broader conditions were still fragile, with the majority of businesses seeing no change or a further drop in new workloads, while firms also said operating requirements remained low due to weak demand.
The composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and services, also pointed to a slower pace of activity decline, rising to a four-month high of 40.8 from May’s final 27.8.
Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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6f71ba7d97f7f7e9b23032dfeeaef980 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-pmi-idUSKCN0YE03I | Japan May factory activity shrinks most in over three years as orders slump: flash PMI | Japan May factory activity shrinks most in over three years as orders slump: flash PMI
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
Employees work at the main assembly line of V6 engine at the Nissan Iwaki Plant in Iwaki city, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, April 5, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese manufacturing activity contracted at the fastest pace in more than three years in May as new orders slumped, a preliminary survey showed on Monday, putting fresh pressure on the government and central bank to offer additional economic stimulus.
The Markit/Nikkei Flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 47.6 in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, from a final 48.2 in April.
The index remained below the 50 threshold that separates contraction from expansion for the third month and showed that activity shrank at the fastest since December 2012.
The index for new orders fell to a preliminary 44.1 from 45.0 in the previous month, also suggesting the fastest decline since December 2012.
The aftermath of earthquakes in southern Japan in April may still be weighing heavily on some producers, a statement from Markit said, while foreign demand also contracted sharply.
Japan escaped a technical recession in the first quarter, gross domestic product data showed last week, but economists warned the underlying trend for consumer spending remains weak.
There are also concerns that companies have already started to delay business investment due to uncertainty about overseas economies.
Speculation is growing that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will delay a nationwide sales tax hike scheduled for next April to focus on measures that will strengthen domestic demand.
Economists also expect the Bank of Japan will ease monetary policy even further by July as a strong yen and still-sluggish economy threaten its ability to meet its ambitious inflation target, a Reuters poll showed.
Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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17f69dcf02742ee41d7270611aa883e3 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-pmi/japan-august-manufacturing-shrinks-for-fourth-month-as-export-orders-fall-flash-pmi-idUKKCN1VC021?edition-redirect=uk | Japan August manufacturing shrinks for fourth month as export orders fall: flash PMI | Japan August manufacturing shrinks for fourth month as export orders fall: flash PMI
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese manufacturing activity shrank for a fourth straight month in August as export orders fell at a sharper pace, a preliminary business survey showed on Thursday.
FILE PHOTO: An engineer makes an arm rail for residential buildings inside a metal processing factory at an industrial zone in downtown Tokyo, Japan, March 22, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino
But services sector activity expanded at the fastest pace in nearly two years, suggesting resilient domestic demand is continuing to offset some of the strong external pressures on the economy.
The Jibun Bank Flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 49.5 from a final 49.4 in the previous month, but stayed below the 50.0 threshold that separates contraction from expansion for a fourth month.
Factory output and total new orders contracted again, though at a slightly more moderate pace than in July.
Other key activity gauges in the PMI report offered a mixed picture. Employment expanded, while the backlog of work index rose to an eight-month high, though it remained in contraction.
A separate survey showed Japanese service activity expanded. That, in turn, helped lift a composite PMI index that includes both manufacturing and services.
The Jibun Bank Flash Japan Services PMI climbed to 53.4 in August, from a final 51.8 in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, and the highest level since October 2017.
“Solid growth seen in GDP so far this year could stretch into the third quarter, providing a timely boost before the fourth quarter, which is likely to be adversely impacted by the consequences of a sales tax hike,” said Joe Hayes, economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey.
The growth seen in the services sector was in line with GDP figures released this month that showed the world’s third-largest economy grew an annualized 1.8% in the second quarter largely thanks to robust household consumption and business investment.
If sustained, solid growth in services could help offset external pressure on the export-reliant economy, which has been hit by weak global demand and the U.S.-China trade war.
Japan’s exports slipped for an eight month in July, dragged down by China-bound shipments of car parts and semiconductor production equipment,
Separately, Japanese manufacturers’ confidence turned negative for the first time since April 2013, the Reuters Tankan survey showed.
The Jibun Bank Flash Japan Composite PMI advanced to 51.7 from 50.6 the previous month.
Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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fe3d8bcb4f5586c7d5477ef24697907d | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-pmi/japan-december-services-sector-shrinks-at-fastest-pace-in-over-three-years-pmi-idUKKBN1Z6023?edition-redirect=uk | Japan December services sector shrinks at fastest pace in over three years: PMI | Japan December services sector shrinks at fastest pace in over three years: PMI
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s services sector saw its deepest contraction in more than three years in December as business activity took a hit from weak demand at home and abroad, a private survey showed on Tuesday.
Slideshow ( 2 images )
The final seasonally adjusted Jibun Bank Japan Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 49.4 in December from 50.3 in November, declining to its lowest level since September 2016.
It was below the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction for the second time in three months, and down from a preliminary reading of 50.6.
“Survey data for the three months to December imply that fourth quarter GDP (gross domestic product) is likely to contract,” said Joe Hayes, economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey.
A sales tax increase and typhoon had weighed on business activity in October, and there was only a very limited recovery in November, Hayes said.
With growth in new work remaining subdued, companies turned their focus on outstanding orders.
Backlogs of work fell to the lowest since May 2018, the survey showed, underlining the challenge facing policymakers who are hoping domestic demand will stay strong enough to hold up economic growth.
New export business - another key activity gauge - slumped to a six-month low, suggesting the economy is likely to remain under pressure as slower global growth hurts demand.
Japan’s economy grew at an annualized 1.8% in the third quarter because of stronger consumer and business spending, but analysts expect it to shrink in the quarter through December due to deepening internal and external strains.
Retail sales fell 2.1% in November as consumer sentiment stayed depressed after October’s sales tax hike, which looks to have hit private consumption harder than the government thought.
The composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and services, fell for the third straight month in December, seeing the fastest pace of decline since April 2014.
The index dropped to 48.6 from November’s final 49.8.
“The Japanese economy has most likely entered a cyclical lull, although continued job creation and upbeat expectations provide a glimmer of hope,” said IHS Markit’s Hayes.
Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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26cf876a412edeb12730936971c39bb0 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-pmi/japan-final-september-factory-pmi-shows-fastest-expansion-in-activity-in-four-months-idUSKCN1C700M | Japan final September factory PMI shows fastest expansion in activity in four months | Japan final September factory PMI shows fastest expansion in activity in four months
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: A worker cycles near a factory at the Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki, Japan, March 8, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo
TOKYO, (Reuters) - Japanese manufacturing activity in September expanded at the fastest pace in four months, a revised survey showed on Monday, as domestic and export orders picked up in a sign of strengthening economic momentum.
The Markit/Nikkei Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was a seasonally adjusted 52.9, versus a preliminary 52.6 and a final 52.2 in August.
The index remained above the 50 threshold that separates expansion from contraction for the 13th consecutive month and reached the highest level since May.
“September data signaled further improvement to the Japanese manufacturing sector, led by strong increases in output and new orders,” said Joe Hayes, economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey.
“Stronger international client demand provided a key source of growth, as shown by export sales expanding at the quickest pace in seven months.”
The final index for new export orders rose to 53.5, more than the preliminary reading of 53.1 and above a final 51.3 in the previous month, highlighting how Japan’s economy has benefited from an upturn in global demand this year.
That was underscored further by the new orders index rising to 53.4, versus a preliminary 52.5 and more than the 51.9 in August.
The PMI survey follows recent government data showing rising exports, industrial production and a mild rebound in consumer spending, raising confidence the economy will continue to grow at a health clip.
Japan’s economy expanded at an annualized 2.5 percent in the second quarter, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of growth, as consumer and company spending picked up.
Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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3e772d245a7e327e3a651ee65c880dd9 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-pmi/japans-december-factory-activity-contracts-at-faster-pace-as-output-slumps-pmi-idINKBN1Z503P?edition-redirect=in | Japan's December factory activity contracts at faster pace as output slumps: PMI | Japan's December factory activity contracts at faster pace as output slumps: PMI
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese manufacturing activity shrank at a faster pace in December than in the previous month as output slumped, underscoring growing pressure on businesses from sagging demand abroad and at home.
The Jibun Bank Final Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slipped to 48.4 on a seasonally adjusted basis, matching a more than three-year low last touched in October.
It was down from a preliminary figure of 48.8 for last month and compared with November’s final reading of 48.9.
“Japan’s manufacturing sector has ended 2019 where it started, stuck in contraction with little hope of an imminent turnaround,” said Joe Hayes, economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey.
“The manufacturing economy has endured its worst performance in over three years, with momentum clearly to the downside heading into 2020.”
The PMI survey showed output fell to its lowest since March as companies faced unfavourable demand conditions, and weak new exports due to lower sales to China.
Overall new orders and output stayed in contraction for the 12th consecutive month, though the decline in new business slowed for the second straight month.
Japan’s industrial output slipped for the second straight month in November, raising the likelihood the economy will contract in the fourth quarter.
The Bank of Japan last month offered a gloomier view on factory output, while keeping intact its assessment that the world’s third-largest economy continues to expand moderately as a trend.
The manufacturing PMI index remained below the 50.0 threshold that separates contraction from expansion for an eight month, marking the longest such run since a nine-month stretch to February 2013.
“Survey data highlighted that weak demand remains an industry-wide problem, impacting output volumes and causing firms to cut their prices in hopes of turning the tide,” IHS Markit’s Hayes added.
Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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487fc3a423e6d39fb228c7b9bbab36b3 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-poll/bojs-next-move-to-dial-back-stimulus-most-economists-now-say-reuters-poll-idUSKBN1YL0BF | BOJ's next move to dial back stimulus, most economists now say: Reuters poll | BOJ's next move to dial back stimulus, most economists now say: Reuters poll
By Kaori Kaneko4 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan’s next move will be to dial back its massive stimulus, according to an increasing number of analysts polled by Reuters, reflecting receding market expectations of imminent monetary easing by the central bank.
FILE PHOTO : A security guard walks past in front of the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo, Japan January 23, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
But any such withdrawal of stimulus will begin from 2021 at the earliest, the survey showed, a sign that monetary policy in Japan could be in a holding pattern for the time being.
“There’s a chance growth in overseas and Japanese economies could pick up next year,” said Nobuyasu Atago, chief economist at Okasan Securities.
“The yen is stable and stock prices are firm,” which could allow the BOJ to hold off on expanding stimulus, he added.
Twenty-five of 41 economists, or 61% of the total, expect the BOJ’s next move to be a withdrawal of stimulus, the poll taken between Dec. 4-16 showed. That was up from 44% in a survey in November.
Most of them say it could happen in 2021 or later.
Sixteen of the economists, or 39%, think the BOJ will top up stimulus as its next step, down from 56% in last month’s survey.
The BOJ is set to keep monetary policy steady this week as receding fears of a disorderly Brexit and signs of progress in U.S.-China trade talks take some pressure off the central bank to use its dwindling ammunition to underpin growth.
Japan’s core consumer price index, which includes oil products but not fresh foods, is forecast to rise 0.6% this fiscal year and next year - well short of the BOJ’s 2% inflation target.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Japanese policymakers have been under pressure to do more to underpin a fragile economic recovery, hit by the global trade war, typhoons and a sales tax hike that rolled out in October.
The world’s third-largest economy is forecast to have shrunk by an annualized 3.2% in the fourth quarter, which would be the biggest contraction since April-June 2014, the poll found.
“Consumer spending is expected to worsen sharply in the current quarter as the tax increase puts a burden on households,” said Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
“Capital spending also likely weakened after having boosted before the tax hike. The economy will pick up next year but the pace of recovery is expected to be moderate.”
Growth will rebound by 0.9% and 1.2% in the first and second quarters of 2020, according to median forecasts. The economy will expand 0.9% in the current fiscal year ending in March 2020 before slowing to 0.5% the following year, the poll predicted.
Some economists responded to the poll before the government announced its plan to compile a 13.2 trillion yen ($122 billion) fiscal package to support growth.
Based on information on media reports of the spending plan, most analysts expect the stimulus package to lift growth by less than one percentage point.
“Labor shortage will be a bottleneck” and dent the effect of the stimulus package as the government could face difficulty executing public works projects smoothly, said Shuji Tonouchi, senior market economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Polling by Shaloo Shrivastava and Anisha Sheth in Bengaluru; Editing by Leika Kihara and Ross FinleyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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41e38f6791680c799e43bf8adf8600cf | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-poll/pandemic-set-to-tip-japan-into-deep-recession-this-year-boj-seen-easing-again-reuters-poll-idUSKBN21Q0DO | Pandemic set to tip Japan into deep recession this year, BOJ seen easing again: Reuters poll | Pandemic set to tip Japan into deep recession this year, BOJ seen easing again: Reuters poll
By Kaori Kaneko4 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is expected to slip into a deep recession this year with the economy set to contract for a third straight quarter in April-June, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday, as the coronavirus outbreak wreaks havoc on businesses and daily life.
FILE PHOTO: A man wearing protective face mask, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), walks in front of a stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov/File Photo
Nearly 80% of economists polled saw the Bank of Japan’s next move to be an easing of monetary policy. About half said it would happen this month, which would follow the BOJ’s easing of corporate funding strains in March to calm markets jolted by the health crisis.
The pandemic has disrupted supply chains and severely damaged the tourism sector while social distancing rules to contain the spread of the virus has put an additional burden on economic activity, setting Japan on course for a deep recession.
Last month, the Tokyo Olympics were postponed until 2021 as the virus impact worsened, an unprecedented move in the Games’ 124-year modern history.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday declared a state of emergency to fight coronavirus infections in major population centres and rolled out a nearly $1 trillion stimulus package to soften the economic blow.
The world’s third-largest economy is forecast to contract an annualised 3.7% in January-March and 6.1% in April-June, the March 30-April 6 poll showed.
That would follow an annualised 7.1% contraction in the fourth quarter of last year, when the economy was hit by a sales tax hike that was rolled out in October.
It would be the first three straight quarterly falls since similar contractions stretching from October-December 2010 to April-June 2011 around the time of Japan’s March earthquake and tsunami.
The economy is expected to shrink 2.1% in the current fiscal year that began on April 1 but rebound 1.6% the following year, the poll showed.
Mari Iwashita, chief market economist at Daiwa Securities, warned the economic forecasts could change depending on how long travel bans and social distancing policies need to continue.
“Even if the outbreak calms down in industrialized nations, instability could continue in emerging nations. We may need to brace for the risk of a W-shaped, not V-shaped, recovery,” Iwashita said.
Under the gloomiest scenario, the economy likely fell 5.0% in the first quarter and will shrink 10.0% in the current quarter, according to the poll.
The coronavirus pandemic could also push down prices as social distancing policies keep shoppers home.
Core consumer inflation, which excludes volatile fresh food costs, will be only 0.1% in the second and third quarters, and slip to 0.3% in October-December, the poll found.
BOJ POLICY FORECAST
The poll also showed nearly 80%, or 31 of 40 economists predicted the BOJ’s next policy move would be further easing.
Among economists who said the bank’s next move would be to ease, 16 said the BOJ would expand its stimulus in April and six predicted action in July.
The most likely steps to be taken by the BOJ would be an increase in asset purchases such as corporate bonds and commercial paper, the poll showed.
“We expect the BOJ to focus on steps to support the financial system,” said Izuru Kato, chief economist at Totan Research.
(For other stories from the Reuters global long-term economic outlook polls package)
Reporting by Kaori Kaneko in Tokyo, Polling by Shaloo Shrivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Leika Kihara & Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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3c2e462bb06423e84d04b6db6fd588bb | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-poll/two-thirds-of-economists-see-boj-easing-in-october-deeper-negative-rates-in-focus-reuters-poll-idINKBN1WV0A8?edition-redirect=in | Two-thirds of economists see BOJ easing in October; deeper negative rates in focus: Reuters poll | Two-thirds of economists see BOJ easing in October; deeper negative rates in focus: Reuters poll
By Kaori Kaneko5 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan is laying the groundwork for deepening negative interest rates, analysts polled by Reuters said, with two-thirds of respondents expecting the central bank to loosen monetary policy this month.
FILE PHOTO : A security guard walks past in front of the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo, Japan January 23, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
Risks to the global economy have risen from a protracted Sino-U.S. trade war and Brexit, among other factors, and Japan’s central bank is not alone in having to consider launching more stimulus to avert a sharp slowdown.
At its rate review last month, the BOJ said it would take a more thorough look at whether heightening overseas risks could derail Japan’s fragile economic recovery.
BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has said the central bank is edging closer to expanding stimulus as the trade war and slowing global demand cloud Japan’s economic outlook.
In a Reuters poll conducted between Oct. 2-14, 35 of 41 economists said the central bank’s next move would be to ease policy, while six predicted it would cut back on monetary support. Most economists responded to the survey before U.S. President Donald Trump outlined the first phase of an agreement to end a trade war with China last week.
Of those who projected monetary easing, 21 said it would happen at its Oct. 30-31 meeting, five predicted action in December and another six said next year or later. The remainder did not give a time frame for when the BOJ would ease.
“Judging from the governor’s comments, the BOJ appears to be considering the option of cutting short-term interest rates while preventing the yield curve from flattening too much,” said Harumi Taguchi, principal economist at IHS Markit.
Under a policy dubbed yield curve control (YCC), the BOJ pledges to guide short-term rates at -0.1% and the 10-year government bond yield around 0%. It also buys government bonds and risky assets to flood the economy with cash.
Critics say cutting the -0.1% short-term rate target further would do more harm than good to the economy as it would strain financial institutions’ already narrowing profit margins and discourage them from boosting lending.
Related CoverageBOJ will adjust balance sheet when 2% inflation met: Kuroda
Still, 28 of 37 economists said the BOJ had already started laying the groundwork for deepening negative rates. Governor Kuroda had said the move was among options the central bank would consider if it was to ease policy.
The number of analysts who predicted the BOJ might opt for a deepening of negative rates rose to 15 in the October poll, nearly doubling from eight in September.
On other possible tools the BOJ could use, 17 said the central bank would tweak its forward guidance pledging to keep interest rates at current ultra-low levels at least until spring of next year, the poll showed.
A majority of economists polled said that if the BOJ was to deepen negative rates, it would accompany the step with measures to ease the subsequent side-effects.
“Without steps to mitigate the side-effects, some commercial banks may face a profit squeeze and see their stock prices fall sharply,” said Hiroshi Ugai, chief economist at JPMorgan Securities Japan.
“If that happens, it could prompt investors to shy away from risk and affect currency rates. That would undermine the effect of any BOJ easing.”
When asked what tools could be used to soften the blow on banks, 60% of those polled said the BOJ would tweak its tiered-system on reserves to increase the portion for which a 0.1% interest rate is offered to financial institutions.
Seven projected the central bank would cut interest rates on its loan support program and three said the BOJ would do both, cut interest rates and raise the amount of loan under the program, the poll showed.
The poll also showed analysts expected Japan’s economy to shrink an annualized 2.6% in the current quarter due to the hit from a sales tax hike that took effect in October.
The economy is likely to grow 0.7% in the fiscal year ending in March 2020 and 0.4% the following year, the poll showed.
Japan rolled out a twice-delayed increase in the sales tax to 10% from 8% on Oct. 1, a move seen critical for fixing the country’s tattered finances but risks hurting consumption and tipping the economy into recession.
The core consumer price index, which includes oil products but excludes fresh food prices, would rise 0.7% in the current fiscal year to March 2020 and 0.6% in the following fiscal year, the poll showed.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has vowed to take “all possible steps” if risks to the economy mount, echoing a pledge made by the central bank and signaling the prospect of fiscal stimulus in case this month’s sales tax increase triggers a sharp economic downturn.
Polling and reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Additional polling by Khushboo Mittal and Anisha Sheth in BENGALURU; Editing by Leika Kihara and Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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410dcf68b1fe7af54f5867da6631e70b | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-population/japan-targets-boosting-birth-rate-to-increase-growth-idUSKCN0T113A20151112?edition-redirect=in | Japan targets boosting birth rate to increase growth | Japan targets boosting birth rate to increase growth
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan plans to include steps to raise the birth rate, such as easier access to childcare and tax incentives, in a package of reforms due this month to tackle the biggest bottleneck to economic growth.
Nursery school children wash their hands before eating lunch at Hinagiku nursery in Moriyama, western Japan May 27, 2008. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao
Japan’s population began declining four years ago after several years of warnings that the birth rate was too low, prompting some economists to applaud Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s decision to put the issue on the agenda.
“I want to confront the demographic problem head on and place particular emphasis on policies that will contribute to raising the birth rate,” Abe said on Thursday after a cabinet meeting.
However, others warn the government has fallen so far behind on the population issue that it will be difficult to raise economic growth without opening up to large-scale immigration.
Most countries would turn to immigration, but this has met with resistance from politicians and the public, who prize the country’s mostly homogenous society.
“There is a lack of childcare facilities and improving this is important,” said Hiroshi Shiraishi, senior economist at BNP Paribas Securities.
“However, this will not boost growth in the next five years. The more direct way is through immigration.”
Abe wants to raise the birth rate to 1.8 per woman from 1.42 currently by loosening regulations on childcare providers and making it easier for women to return to work after their child is born.
Other proposals the government will consider are easing the tax burden for some part-time employees and making interest-free loans available for higher education.
The idea is to prevent the population from falling below 100 million from around 127 million currently. Advanced economies usually require a birth rate around 2.1 children per woman simply to keep the population stable.
Japan’s population is projected to fall around a third to 87 million in 2060, the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research says.
Japan’s working-age population peaked in the mid-1990s and has been falling ever since, data from the internal affairs ministry shows. Projections show the labor force could shrink to 44 million in 2060, which is half of its peak.
China’s scrapping of its one-child policy and adoption of a two-child policy is expected to boost the country’s economic growth by about 0.5 of a percentage point, a senior Chinese official said on Tuesday.
Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Nick MacfieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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a8b63f3ccf14cf49536cc66654da1d85 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-regulation/japan-to-limit-foreign-ownership-of-firms-in-its-it-telecom-sectors-idUKKCN1SX05F?edition-redirect=uk | Japan to limit foreign ownership of firms in its IT, telecom sectors | Japan to limit foreign ownership of firms in its IT, telecom sectors
By Leika Kihara, Tetsushi Kajimoto3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s government said on Monday that high-tech industries will be added to a list of businesses for which foreign ownership of Japanese firms is restricted.
A man uses his smartphone next to a Japanese traditional Taiko drum during A man uses his smartphone next to a Japanese traditional Taiko drum during the preprartion for the upcoming Kanda festival in Tokyo, Japan, May 10, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato
The new rule, effective Aug. 1, comes amid heightening pressure from the United States in dealing with cyber-security risks and technological transfers involving China.
The Japanese government made no mention of specific countries or companies that will be impacted by applying existing foreign ownership restrictions to the IT and telecoms industries.
The announcement came on the same day visiting U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are holding talks in Tokyo on trade and other issues.
The United States has warned countries against using Chinese technology, saying Huawei Technologies could be used by Beijing to spy on the West. China and Huawei have strongly rejected the allegations.
“Based on increasing importance of ensuring cyber security in recent years, we decided to take necessary steps, including addition of integrated circuit manufacturing, from the standpoint of preventing as appropriate a situation that will severely affect Japan’s national security,” Japanese ministries said in a statement.
Japan wants to prevent a leakage of technology deemed important for national security or damage to defense output and technological foundation, they added.
The new rule will be applied to 20 sectors in information and communications industries, according to the joint statement by the finance ministry, trade ministry and communications ministry.
Under the foreign exchange and foreign trade control law, Japan brings certain industries such as airplanes, nuclear-related sectors and arms manufacturing under foreign capital controls.
The law requires foreign investors to report to the Japanese government and undergo inspection in case they buy 10% or more of stocks in listed Japanese companies or acquire shares of unlisted firms.
If the government finds any shortcomings, it can order foreign investors to change or cancel their investment plans.
Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chris Gallagher and Richard BorsukOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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5bf288282827a95bb900e092476edc0c | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-report/japan-government-downgrades-economy-view-as-u-s-china-trade-war-bites-idUSKCN1R10SD | Japan government downgrades economy view as U.S.-China trade war bites | Japan government downgrades economy view as U.S.-China trade war bites
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s government downgraded its assessment of the economy in March for the first time in three years, blaming a bruising U.S.-China trade war for slumping exports and industrial output.
FILE PHOTO: A man makes his way in a business district in Tokyo, Japan May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
The Cabinet Office, which helps coordinate government policy, said on Wednesday the economy is in gradual recovery, but exports and output are showing signs of weakness.
The monthly economic report for March was a downgrade from February, when the Cabinet Office simply said the economy is in gradual recovery.
The March report gave a pessimistic outlook, saying this bout of weakness could continue for some time in the future.
The downbeat assessment could fuel calls for the government to delay a nationwide sales tax hike scheduled for October, and increase speculation that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will take some steps to bolster economic growth.
Exports fell for a third straight month in February and industrial output in January saw its sharpest decline in a year as tit-for-tat tariffs between Washington and Beijing slowed China’s economy and reduced demand for mobile phone parts and chip-making equipment from Japan.
The Cabinet Office downgraded its assessment of industrial production for the second consecutive month, saying it has shown signs of weakness and flatlined.
Despite the damage from the trade war, Japan’s economy should continue to grow moderately because consumer spending and capital expenditure are holding up, a Cabinet Office official told reporters at a briefing.
For March, the government left unchanged its assessment that consumer spending is recovering and capital expenditure is increasing.
However, there are concerns that companies will start cutting capital expenditure plans for fiscal 2019 in April due to uncertainty about global trade policy.
Japan’s manufacturing sector is exposed to the trade war because it sends electronic parts and capital goods to China, where they are used to make finished products destined for the United States.
The government is scheduled to raise the nationwide sales tax to 10 percent from 8 percent in October, but there are concerns this will weaken consumer spending and harm growth.
The BOJ last week cut its view on exports and output, but left its radical easing policy unchanged.
Reporting by Stanley White; editing by Darren SchuettlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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34e5b36dd8e1a1e2a54a619388bb6339 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-retail/japan-november-retail-sales-down-1-percent-year-on-year-idUSKBN0UA0OT20151227 | Japan November retail sales down 1 percent year-on-year | Japan November retail sales down 1 percent year-on-year
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
A shopper looks at packs of vegetables at a market at a shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, December 6, 2015. Picture taken December 6, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese retail sales fell 1.0 percent in November from a year earlier, more than a median market forecast for a 0.6 percent decline, government data showed on Monday.
Reporting by Izumi Nakagawa; Editing by Edmund KlamannOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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36a33bfa99853e32c4ea87fb0ef80a3b | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-spending/japan-november-household-spending-seen-falling-at-slower-pace-reuters-poll-idINKBN1Z70F7?edition-redirect=in | Japan November household spending seen falling at slower pace: Reuters poll | Japan November household spending seen falling at slower pace: Reuters poll
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s household spending likely fell at a slower annual rate in November as consumers were probably slowly getting over a hike in the sales tax in October, though its effect would still keep a lid on spending, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.
FILE PHOTO: A woman chooses clothes at a shop in Tokyo, Japan, January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
After the increase in tax, household spending fell 5.1% in October, its fastest pace of decline since March 2016. But the poll of 12 economists predicted November would show a fall of 1.7% from a year earlier.
Household spending is expected to have fallen 1.7% in November from a year earlier, the poll of 12 economists showed. In October, it fell 5.1%, the fastest pace of decline since March 2016.
From the previous month, household spending was seen rising 3.4% in November, rebounding from a 11.5% decline in October.
Japan increased the sales tax to 10% from 8% on Oct. 1, a move that is seen as critical for fixing the country’s tattered finances.
“The pace of recovery in household spending after it tumbled in October due to the sales tax hike likely be slow,” said Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
“Big falls in consumer spending in October-December can’t be avoidable.”
The government will publish household spending data at 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 10 (2330 GMT, Jan. 9).
A separate data showed Japan’s inflation-adjusted real wages declined at their fastest pace in four months in November, clouding the outlook for an economy already under pressure from a nationwide tax increase.
The economy grew an annualized 1.8% in July-September thanks to resilient domestic demand but economists project a contraction in the fourth quarter as the sales tax hike hurt consumer spending and the U.S.-China trade friction hit exports.
Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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636bab54c7c2d0cbd77bd018bbfa2537 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-spending/japan-october-household-spending-seen-falling-after-sales-tax-hike-reuters-poll-idINKBN1Y30EF?edition-redirect=in | Japan October household spending seen falling after sales tax hike - Reuters poll | Japan October household spending seen falling after sales tax hike - Reuters poll
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s household spending is expected to have fallen at the fastest pace in about 1-1/2-years in October after a hike in the sales tax, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.
FILE PHOTO: Shoppers look around goods at a shop in Tokyo, Japan October 1, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Household spending likely fell 3.0% in October from a year earlier, the poll of 15 economists found, the fastest pace of decline since May 2018 when it fell 3.8%.
Japan raised the sales tax to 10% from 8% on Oct. 1, a move that is seen as critical for fixing the country’s tattered finances.
From the previous month, household spending was seen falling 9.8% in October, the fastest pace of drop since April 2014 when the nation previously raised the sales tax.
In September, household spending year-on-year rose at the fastest pace on record as consumers rushed to buy goods before the tax increase.
“We expect spending on such as durable goods and luxury products fell after it was boosted ahead of the tax hike,” said Koya Miyamae, senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities.
“Also a huge typhoon during the three-day holiday last month likely damaged service spending.”
The government will announce household spending data at 8:30 a.m. Japan time on Dec. 6 (2330 GMT, Dec.5).
Data last week showed retail sales fell at the fastest pace in more than 4-1/2 years in October, raising a red flag over the strength of domestic demand, which has been helping buoy the economy in the face of a prolonged export slump.
A slew of gloomy data this week may further fuel calls on the government to compile a large stimulus package to help the economy.
Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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10d2b4249ec153c48df106a5d3f05d20 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-stimulus-idINKBN27R0P3?edition-redirect=in | Japan's third extra budget for stimulus may exceed 15 trillion yen: lawmaker | Japan's third extra budget for stimulus may exceed 15 trillion yen: lawmaker
By Yoshifumi Takemoto2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: Hakubun Shimomura, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's policy research council chief, speaks during an interview with Reuters at the party's headquarters in Tokyo, Japan October 9, 2020. Picture taken October 9, 2020. REUTERS/Izumi Nakagawa
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s third extra budget for economic stimulus steps may need to be bigger than 15 trillion yen ($142.5 billion), a senior lawmaker in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga instructed his cabinet on Tuesday to compile a package of stimulus measures to revitalise an economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The package aims to cushion the blow from COVID-19, foster structural changes in the economy and boost productivity through digitisation.
Hakubun Shimomura, the LDP’s policy research council chief, said the party wanted the extra budget to be compiled on Nov. 27, adding it may need to be “more than 10 trillion to 15 trillion yen”.
Cabinet ministers have said the size of the new package had not been decided yet, but ruling party lawmakers have called for 10 trillion to 30 trillion yen in new measures.
Shimomura also told reporters the size of the package would need to be substantial as it would include steps such as an extension or tweaks to subsidies for firms to keep people in employment, as well as a national campaign to boost travel and tourism.
He also said the new package would also need to contain measures to help achieve Japan’s pledge to cut greenhouse gases to zero.
($1 = 105.2700 yen)
Reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto, writing by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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e3101f609ae487a4f53eb038683617a6 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-suga/japans-government-tries-to-talk-down-rising-yen-idUSKCN1G00LL | Japan's government tries to talk down rising yen | Japan's government tries to talk down rising yen
By Stanley White2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Dollar and Japan Yen notes are seen in this June 22, 2017 illustration photo. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s top government spokesman said on Friday that recent moves in the currency market were one-sided and that the government would take appropriate measures if needed.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, speaking to reporters, declined to comment when asked whether appropriate measures included intervention.
Suga’s blunt assessment came shortly before a regular meeting of representatives from the finance ministry, the Bank of Japan and the financial regulator to discuss recent moves in financial markets.
The yen has been pushing higher versus the dollar this week, which tends to worry Japanese policymakers because it can hurt exporters’ earnings and curb inflation by lowering import prices.
“In the past few days we have seen some one-sided moves in the foreign exchange market,” Suga said.
“We have agreed at the Group of Seven and the Group of 20 that excessive foreign exchange moves are undesirable because they can harm the economy. Foreign exchange stability is extremely important.”
The yen rose versus the dollar to the strongest level in more than a year, taking its gains so far this year to nearly 6 percent.
Earlier on Friday, the government reappointed BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda for a second term and chose an advocate of bolder monetary easing as one of his deputies.
Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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b77cc876bc2e81ea8dcab9ce01c3946f | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-suga/japans-suga-says-stable-currency-moves-extremely-important-idUSKBN27M049?il=0 | Japan's Suga says stable currency moves 'extremely important' | Japan's Suga says stable currency moves 'extremely important'
By Leika Kihara, Kaori Kaneko2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga gives his first policy speech in parliament as an extraordinary session opens in Tokyo, Japan October 26, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday vowed to work closely with overseas authorities to keep currency moves stable, signalling his readiness to respond to any yen spike that threatens to derail the country’s fragile economic recovery.
“Exchange-rate stability is extremely important,” Suga told parliament, when asked how Japan will respond to any changes a new U.S. administration could make to its dollar policy.
“We will respond appropriately on markets, while keeping in close contact with overseas authorities,” Suga said. He declined to comment on specific currency levels or moves.
Suga’s remarks followed those by Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, who said on Wednesday the central bank will work closely with financial authorities to help keep currency moves stable.
The dollar fell to 103.59 yen in Asia on Friday, close to an eight-month low, as a contentious U.S. presidential election diminished hopes for large stimulus to support the economy any time soon.
A yen spike has historically been a trigger for monetary easing by the BOJ and jawboning from authorities keen to prevent yen rises from hurting Japan’s export-reliant economy.
Many analysts see 100 yen to the dollar as Japan’s line-in-the-sand. But the hurdle for intervening in the currency market is high, as Tokyo is unlikely to win consent from other countries also suffering from the hit to their economies from the coronavirus pandemic, analysts say.
Some market players expect the BOJ to deepen negative interest rates if the yen spikes, though that option is also controversial given the strain years of ultra-low rates are inflicting on financial institutions’ profits.
Reporting by Leika Kihara and Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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6b07eaade8fda8df2f5cae4ef9ecd891 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-tankan/boj-to-revamp-tankan-survey-to-add-details-on-fx-rates-idINKBN1YR0O8?edition-redirect=in | BOJ to revamp 'tankan' survey to add details on FX rates | BOJ to revamp 'tankan' survey to add details on FX rates
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO : A security guard walks past in front of the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo, Japan January 23, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan will make changes to its closely watched “tankan” quarterly survey starting from the next time it is due in March next year, the central bank said on Monday.
The move is aimed at providing markets more information on how globalization is affecting companies’ behavior.
From March 2020, the exchange rates component of the survey will be extended to cover all industries excluding financial institutions and holding companies, and cover euro-yen rates as well as dollar-yen rates.
The BOJ previously conducted the exchange rates survey only among large manufacturers and it was limited to dollar-yen rates.
Starting from March next year, the central bank will also release a summary of its survey on companies’ inflation expectations on the day the main survey is put out.
Another change the BOJ is making is that it will include a component on firms’ overseas business activity, beginning in June 2020.
For that, the BOJ will conduct a survey on actual results and forecasts of sales, overseas sales, current profits, fixed investment and overseas fixed investment on a consolidated basis among parent enterprises with capital of 1 billion yen ($9.1 million) or more.
($1 = 109.3700 yen)
Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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54f0d73406409b6844b0df5bf6222113 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-tankan/japan-business-mood-gloomiest-in-nearly-seven-years-as-trade-war-bites-idUSKBN1YG2U6 | Japan business mood gloomiest in nearly seven years as trade war bites | Japan business mood gloomiest in nearly seven years as trade war bites
By Leika Kihara, Kaori Kaneko4 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese big manufacturers’ business mood sank to a near seven year low in the fourth quarter, a closely watched central bank survey showed, as the U.S.-China trade war and soft global demand weighed on the export-reliant economy.
FILE PHOTO: A worker is seen among newly manufactured cars awaiting export at port in Yokohama, Japan, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
Companies expect conditions to remain unchanged or even worsen three months ahead, the Bank of Japan’s “tankan” quarterly survey showed, suggesting that the fallout from the trade conflict could hurt broader sectors of the economy.
But there were some bright signs. Non-manufacturers’ sentiment appeared to weather the hit from October’s sales tax hike with companies maintaining robust capital expenditure plans, reinforcing market expectations the BOJ will hold off on expanding stimulus at next week’s rate review.
“The tankan suggests that the economy is slowing rather than collapsing so the BOJ is unlikely to cut interest rates at next week’s meeting,” said Marcel Thieliant, senior Japan economist at Capital Economics.
The headline index for big manufacturers’ sentiment stood at 0 in December, down from plus 5 in September and worse than a median market forecast of plus 2, the tankan showed on Friday.
It marked the fourth straight quarter of decline and hit the lowest reading since March 2013, a month before BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda deployed his “bazooka” monetary stimulus to pull Japan out of deflation.
Underscoring the pain from the trade war, an index gauging big automakers’ sentiment turned negative for the first time in more than three years.
Some steel and cement makers also saw demand ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games peak, a BOJ official told reporters.
“The weakness in automakers’ sentiment is noteworthy. The global economy is taking longer to recover and that uncertainty is affecting Japanese companies,” said Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at NLI Research Institute.
A sales tax hike that rolled out in October weighed on Japan’s service sector, with the index for big non-manufacturers sliding to plus 20 from plus 21 in September. But the reading exceeded a Refinitiv estimate of plus 17.
“Domestic demand wasn’t hurt much by the sales tax hike so far. Public works projects to be earmarked under the government’s spending package will underpin growth,” said Mari Iwashita, chief market economist at Daiwa Securities.
Big firms plan to increase capital expenditure by 6.8% in the current business year ending in March 2020, up slightly from their plan made three months ago, the survey showed. It compared with a median market forecast of a 6.0% gain.
The reading backs the BOJ’s view that robust corporate spending plans will keep domestic demand firm and help the economy weather heightening overseas risks, analysts say.
“Domestic demand may slow temporarily ... though in the long-term, it will stay resilient,” BOJ Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya said on Thursday, adding that now was the time to stand pat and carefully watch upcoming data.
Capital expenditure has been among the few bright spots in Japan’s economy as companies continue to invest in high-tech and labor-saving technology to cope with a labor crunch.
Japan’s economy expanded at a much faster pace than initially reported in the third quarter, as solid domestic demand and business spending offset the pain from weak exports and output.
But many analysts anticipate a slowdown this quarter as the October sales tax hike weighs on consumption.
The tankan’s sentiment indexes are derived by subtracting the number of respondents who say conditions are poor from those who say they are good. A positive reading means optimists outnumber pessimists.
Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta & Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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d7c717c47828e77ca59f68cbba2f2b16 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-tankan/japan-business-mood-slumps-to-decade-low-on-coronavirus-hit-reuters-tankan-idUSKCN21X3GT | Japan business mood slumps to decade low on coronavirus hit: Reuters Tankan | Japan business mood slumps to decade low on coronavirus hit: Reuters Tankan
By Daniel Leussink4 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese business confidence plunged to fresh decade lows in April as firms reported widespread damage from the coronavirus pandemic which is threatening to throw the world economy into recession, the Reuters Tankan survey showed on Thursday.
FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a kimono stands in front of a crosswalk at a shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, November 11, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
The global spread of the highly contagious virus has caused entire regions to be placed on lockdown, upended supply chains and halted services and production around the world.
The poll showed both manufacturers and service-sector firms in Japan expected to see a further sharp deterioration in business sentiment in the three months ahead.
The weak business confidence could deal a hard blow to capital spending, one of the few bright spots in the world’s third-largest economy, likely raising calls on the government to roll out more supportive measures.
Last week, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency to fight coronavirus infections in major population centres and unveiled a nearly $1 trillion stimulus package to soften the economic blow.
Sources told Reuters the Bank of Japan will discuss further steps to ease corporate funding strains at this month’s rate review after it eased monetary policy last month to help firms grappling with the coronavirus crisis.
All manufacturing industry categories were pessimistic about business conditions, according to the Reuters poll of 499 large- and mid-sized non-financial companies, of which 239 firms responded on condition of anonymity.
Among the service sector, no industry categories were optimistic about the business mood except the real estate/construction and information/communications sectors.
A manager at a real estate firm said business conditions didn’t see any impact from the coronavirus yet, while adding that some cancellations had started to come in.
“Due to the impact from the virus, orders are decreasing across almost all industries, focused on those for the automobile industry,” a manager at an electrical parts maker wrote in the survey.
A manager at a transportation equipment maker said: “Because of the COVID-19 impact, sales are dropping to an extent never seen before.”
Ninety-three percent of companies said they expected the impact of the virus on supply and demand their business has experienced to last at least for a number of months or could not say when the impact would end.
“As there is no precedent, we can’t predict what things will be like,” said a manager at a retailer.
The sentiment index at manufacturers slumped to minus 30 in April from minus 20 in the previous month, hitting the lowest since October 2009, when the world economy was still on shaky ground from the global financial crisis.
The service-sector gauge dropped to minus 23 from minus 10, the Reuters Tankan poll showed, the worst reading since Feb 2010. A negative figure means pessimists outnumber optimists.
Both manufacturers and service-sector firms forecast the mood to be even more downbeat in three months’ time. Manufacturers’ sentiment was seen dropping to minus 47 in July, while the service-sector mood was seen slumping to minus 44, the survey showed.
The economy is expected to have already slipped into recession - two straight quarters of contraction - in the March quarter due to the worsening COVID-19 pandemic, following a slump in the final quarter of 2019.
Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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ae9f36f36ecd5a51d14ef37b6339ef2e | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-tankan/japan-manufacturers-remain-gloomy-reuters-tankan-idINKBN1ZE2XN?edition-redirect=in | Japan manufacturers remain gloomy: Reuters Tankan | Japan manufacturers remain gloomy: Reuters Tankan
By Tetsushi Kajimoto3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese manufacturers remained in a pessimistic mood in January as Sino-U.S. trade frictions and sluggish global demand weighed on the export-reliant economy, the Reuters Tankan survey showed.
FILE PHOTO: A man cycles past chimneys of facotries at the Keihin Industrial Zone in Kawasaki, Japan September 12, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
But some believed conditions would improve in the next few months, according to the monthly poll, which tracks the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) closely watched tankan quarterly survey.
Service sector firms, meanwhile, were expected to remain largely upbeat.
The survey came as the World Bank cut its global growth forecasts slightly for 2019 and 2020 due to a slower-than-expected recovery in trade and investment.
In the poll of 502 large- and mid-sized companies, in which 260 firms responded on condition of anonymity, many complained about weak global demand for cars and other goods as well as the hit from Japan’s Oct. 1 sales tax hike on consumer sentiment and spending.
“Customers are taking a wait-to-see stance due to effects of the U.S.-China trade war, which has led to inventory adjustments and curbed demand,” a paper/pulp maker wrote in the survey.
A chemicals maker wrote: “Car markets are cooling globally with the major Chinese market particularly being weak.”
The Reuters Tankan index readings are derived by subtracting the percentage of respondents who say conditions are poor from those who say they are good. A negative reading means that pessimists outnumber optimists.
The sentiment index for manufacturers stood at minus 6, unchanged from the previous month, according to the survey conducted Dec. 25-Jan. 10. But it was seen rising to zero in April.
The service-sector index was also unchanged, at plus 14, and was seen slipping one point to plus 13 in April.
The BOJ’s tankan showed last month that big manufacturers’ mood hit a near seven-year low in October-December as the trade war between the world’s two largest economies dragged on.
But business sentiment globally has picked up after Washington and Beijing agreed on a Phase 1 trade deal in mid-December. The agreement, to be signed on Jan. 15, will de-escalate but not end the trade war.
Japan’s economy grew at an annualized clip of 1.8% in July-September as brisk business expenditures offset weak external demand, although economists expect the world’s third-largest economy to slump in the last quarter as the Oct. 1 sales tax hike bites.
The BOJ is likely to revise up slightly its economic forecast for the fiscal year starting in April to reflect an expected boost from the government’s latest spending package, sources familiar with its thinking said.
Any upward revision will allow the central bank to justify keeping monetary policy steady at the Jan. 20-21 rate review.
Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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febfe391b0dbdafeee57cef844cf5b9c | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-tax-idUSKBN0TV02D20151212 | Japan to cut corporate tax rate to 29.74 percent in two stages: sources | Japan to cut corporate tax rate to 29.74 percent in two stages: sources
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
A man walks in the shadows of office skyscrapers in a business district in Tokyo August 20, 2015. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s government is set to cut the corporate tax to 29.97 percent in the 2016 fiscal year that begins in April and further trim it in coming years in a bid to spur business investment and growth, government and ruling party sources told Reuters.
At present, Japan’s corporate tax rate is 32.11 percent.
The government initially planned to reduce the rate to below 30 percent in fiscal 2017 after cutting it to 31.33 percent in fiscal 2016. But plans to have a rate below 30 percent were brought forward to help Japanese firms be more competitive.
The revised plan, contained in a draft of the ruling bloc’s annual tax code revision reviewed by Reuters, would further cut the effective corporate tax rate to 29.74 percent in fiscal 2018, the sources said on condition of anonymity because the plan has not been finalised.
The plan is set to be approved on Thursday by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner Komeito.
The premier hopes the tax cut will encourage companies to spend some of their cash piles for investment on plants and equipment.
To fund the planned two-stage corporate tax cut, the government would expand taxes imposed based on firms based on measures such as capital and payroll size, the sources said, confirming reports by domestic media. Such taxes are levied not only on profitable companies but also loss-making ones.
The government will abolish tax breaks on capital expenditures at the end of March 2017, the sources added.
Reporting by Takaya Yamaguchi; Writing by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Richard BorsukOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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04d6df48b4aee35b477e02b42e3d451d | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-tax/japan-ruling-party-weighs-up-inheritance-tax-exemption-for-foreigners-idUSKBN28C0BX | Japan ruling party weighs up inheritance tax exemption for foreigners | Japan ruling party weighs up inheritance tax exemption for foreigners
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s ruling coalition is discussing inheritance tax exemption on overseas assets for foreigners, as it prepares to compile by about Dec. 10 an annual tax code reform measure for the next fiscal year.
Akira Amari, head of the tax commission of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), told a Nikkei seminar that he wanted to ensure unlisted companies would also be allowed to categorise performance-based compensation to foreigners as expenses.
A former economy minister, Amari added that companies risked being excluded from a supply chain if they did not move to rein in emissions and boost cybersecurity.
Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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ccd1438abd15d56ee0dad6402c027cce | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-trade/japan-exports-fall-for-first-time-since-2016-as-trade-war-fears-mount-idUSKCN1MS02R | Japan exports fall for first time since 2016 as trade war fears mount | Japan exports fall for first time since 2016 as trade war fears mount
By Tetsushi Kajimoto5 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s exports fell in September for the first time since 2016 as shipments to the United States and China declined, likely impeding third quarter economic growth and adding to concerns about the broadening impact of an escalating Sino-U.S. trade war.
The data comes days after a Reuters poll showed a third of Japanese companies - not just exporters - have been affected by the trade conflict between the world’s two biggest economies, and more than half worried about its fallout on their business.
Japanese policymakers also remain wary about the overall economic impact of the international trade frictions. A string of natural disasters that struck Japan has added to the strain on factories, disrupting output and physical distribution.
The U.S.-Sino tariff row has yet to materially hurt trade activity, but a slowdown in external demand has bolstered views that Japan’s economy, the world’s third largest, likely slowed sharply in the July-September quarter.
“The economy probably grew only slightly in the third quarter, led by firm consumption and brisk capex. External demand likely made no contribution,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.
“Assuming the U.S.-China trade frictions have widespread effects on global trade, Japan’s exports will struggle to grow.”
Minami said declines in shipments to the United States and China - the two key export destinations for Japan - are a source of concern as each of them accounts for about 20 percent of Japanese exports, respectively.
Ministry of Finance (MOF) data out on Thursday showed Japanese exports fell 1.2 percent in September from a year earlier, against a 1.9 percent increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll, and followed a 6.6 percent gain in August.
It was the first decline since November 2016.
FILE PHOTO: A worker rides a bicycle in a container area at a port in Tokyo April 21, 2014. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo
In volume terms, exports fell 4.8 percent in the year to September, the first drop in seven months.
Japan’s exports to the United States declined 0.2 percent in the year to September, dragged down by falling shipments of construction and mining machinery, auto parts and medicines.
U.S.-bound auto exports amounted to some 143,000 cars, down 7.0 percent year-on-year in a snapback from the previous year’s brisk shipments, a sign that car sales have leveled off.
Imports from the United States rose 3.1 percent in September, led by crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas, helping reduce Japan’s trade surplus with the United States by 4.0 percent year-on-year to 590 billion yen ($5.24 billion).
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office told Congress on Tuesday it would open trade talks with Japan, describing the country as an important yet underperforming market for U.S. exports.
TRUMP THREAT
Tokyo and Washington last month agreed to start trade talks in an arrangement that, for now, avoids the worst-case scenario of an imminent 25 percent tariff on cars.
Trump has made clear he is unhappy with Japan’s $69 billion trade surplus with the United States - nearly two-thirds of it from auto exports - and wants a two-way agreement to address it.
Tokyo pushed back on a straight bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that Washington had sought, fearing it could put Japan under pressure to open politically sensitive sectors such as agriculture.
Thursday’s trade data showed exports to China, Japan’s biggest trading partner, fell 1.7 percent in the year to September, the first decline in seven months, dragged down by semiconductor production equipment.
Shipments to Asia, which account for more than half of Japan’s overall exports, rose 0.9 percent.
Overall imports rose 7.0 percent in the year to September, versus the median estimate for a 13.7 percent annual increase.
The trade balance was surplus of 139.6 billion yen, compared with the median estimate for a shortfall of 50.0 billion yen.
“External demand has likely put a drag on Japan’s economy,” said Koya Miyamae, senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities.
“Going forward, exports may recover from supply constraints, but effects from slowdown in emerging markets, and the U.S.-China trade war remain a source of concern.”
($1 = 112.5700 yen)
Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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a85f1e1ba3f67d3bf78511da47d1ba0e | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-trade/japans-exports-shrink-for-12th-month-as-u-s-china-demand-falls-idUSKBN1YM022 | Japan's exports shrink for 12th month as U.S., China demand falls | Japan's exports shrink for 12th month as U.S., China demand falls
By Daniel Leussink4 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s exports slipped for a 12th straight month in November, as declining shipments to the United States and China hit the trade-reliant economy, raising the risk of a fourth-quarter contraction.
FILE PHOTO: An industrial port is pictured in Tokyo, Japan, May 23, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
Official data released on Wednesday showed Japan’s exports fell 7.9% year-on-year in November, a smaller decline than the 8.6% decline expected by economists in a Reuters poll.
However, it was the longest run of declines in exports since a 14-month stretch to November 2016 as shipments of cars and construction machinery to the United States and chemical products to China fell.
“Exports are quite weak. A recovery remained out in November even when looking at it on a volume basis,” said Atsushi Takeda, chief economist at Itochu Economic Research Institute.
Exports in volume terms, which exclude the exchange rate impact, dropped 5.0% in the year to November, the largest fall since August and the fourth consecutive month of declines.
Japan’s economy grew at a much faster pace than initially reported in the third quarter, data showed last week, thanks largely to improvements in business spending and private consumption.
But there are worries the third-quarter strength is masking widening cracks in the economy after the government went ahead with a nationwide tax hike in October, giving a big hit to corporate and household sentiment.
Japan’s economy has been caught in the crossfire of the trade war between the United States and China this year, with increased protectionism and a related global slowdown hurting output and exports from the country.
Industrial output slipped at the fastest pace in nearly two years in October while retail sales and household spending slumped after consumers tightened their purse strings following the sales tax hike.
The Bank of Japan, however, is seen keeping monetary policy on hold at its two-day policy meeting ending on Thursday as progress in U.S.-China talks and a $122 billion fiscal package at home take some pressure off the central bank to support growth.
By region, exports to China, Japan’s biggest trading partner, lost 5.4% year-on-year in November, down for the ninth month as shipments of chemicals and car parts declined.
Exports to Asia, which account for more than half of Japan’s overall exports, dropped 5.7% in the year to November largely due to declining shipments of flat rollers to Thailand.
Japan’s shipments to the United States declined for the fourth straight month, falling 12.9% in the year to November, hurt by reduced shipments of cars, construction machinery and car parts.
The weakness in U.S.-bound shipments is largely thanks to weak car sales as car and car parts, which account for about half of the exports to the United States, even as consumption and the world’s top economy overall are doing well, said Itochu’s Takeda.
“The U.S. and China have agreed on a Phase One Trade deal so it’s likely tariffs ill be reduced and a worsening of tensions has been stopped,” Takeda said.
He expects Japanese exports to the United States to stage a recovery in the coming months with U.S. capital spending set to rebound.
Under the trade agreement announced last week, Washington will reduce some tariffs on Chinese imports in exchange for Chinese purchases of agricultural, manufactured and energy products increasing by about $200 billion over the next two years.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe previously agreed his own limited trade deal with the United States, which was approved by Japan’s parliament this month, clearing the way for tariff cuts next year on items including U.S. farm goods and Japanese machine tools.
The nation’s overall imports sank 15.7% year-on-year, marking their biggest decline since Oct. 2016, and a larger fall than the median estimate for a 12.7% decrease. That was partly due to weakened consumption after October’s sales tax hike, economists said.
That decline in imports led to a 82.1 billion yen trade deficit, smaller than the 369.0 billion yen shortfall seen by economists.
Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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1bd133ddcf0792a7f2c0f58cf5c641ce | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-trade/japans-exports-slip-for-eighth-month-sales-to-china-drop-as-recession-fears-grow-idUSKCN1V9015 | Japan's exports slip for eighth month, sales to China drop as recession fears grow | Japan's exports slip for eighth month, sales to China drop as recession fears grow
By Daniel Leussink, Tetsushi Kajimoto5 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s exports slipped for an eighth month in July, while manufacturers’ confidence turned negative for the first time in over six years as China-bound sales slumped again in a fresh sign the Sino-U.S. trade war could tip the economy into recession.
FILE PHOTO: A man in a bicycle drives past containers at an industrial port in Tokyo, Japan, May 22, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
The gloomy data underscored the challenge for Japanese policymakers worried that prolonged weakness in external demand will drive a sharp economic downturn at home.
Exports in July fell 1.6% from a year earlier, Ministry of Finance data showed on Monday, dragged down by China-bound shipments of car parts and semiconductor production equipment. That compared with a 2.2% decrease expected by economists.
It marked the longest run of declines in exports since a 14-month stretch from October 2015 to November 2016. Yet there was some glimmer of hope for shippers, as export volume rose 1.5% in July year-on-year - the first positive reading in nine months.
Separately, the Reuters Tankan survey showed Japanese manufacturers’ business confidence turned negative for the first time since April 2013 in August.
“My impression is that the year-on-year rise in the export volume was slightly stronger than expected. That’s a positive as falling exports is the biggest issue faced by the Japanese economy,” said Taro Saito, executive research fellow at NLI Research Institute.
“But it’ll be hard for exports to recover going forward, since there’s no solution in sight for the U.S.-China trade war, and the global economy and manufacturing remain weak.”
Indeed, the negative reading underlined the darkening outlook for the Japanese economy even as the most recent quarter showed a welcome improvement. Gross domestic product grew faster than expected in April-June to mark the third straight quarter of expansion, as robust domestic consumption and business investment offset the negative contribution from external demand.
Though service-sector activity remains firm in Japan, simmering international trade tensions have caused manufacturers’ sentiment to worsen.
Analysts at Capital Economics said they expect imports will continue to outpace exports as consumers are seen bringing forward demand ahead of a planned sales tax hike in October.
“The upshot is that net trade may remain a drag on growth in the third quarter,” the analysts wrote in a note to clients.
RECESSION FEAR
Anxiety about a global slump rose to fever pitch recently after an inversion in the U.S. Treasury yield curve implied a growing risk of a recession there, and data showed Germany’s economy was in contraction and China’s was worsening.
Exports to China, Japan’s biggest trading partner, shrank 9.3% year-on-year in July, down for a fifth month. The contraction was led by sizable declines of 31.5% in semiconductor production equipment, 35% in car parts and 19% in electronics parts, the data showed.
Manufacturers’ exports to China of semiconductors and electronics parts slumped as a rush of demand ahead of a U.S. ban on federal purchases of telecommunication equipment from Huawei Technologies Co Ltd wound down, analysts said.
Shipments to Asia, which account for more than half of Japan’s overall exports, declined 8.3% in the year to July.
Export-reliant economies such as Japan have been hit hard by the Sino-U.S. tariff row, which has already upended supply chains and undermined global trade, investment and corporate earnings.
Japan has also been embroiled in an intensifying trade row with South Korea, further threatening to hurt the outlook for its manufacturers.
Japan’s exports to the United States rose 8.4% in the year to July, driven by a jump in semiconductor production equipment, construction and mining machinery and airplanes.
It marked the tenth straight month of exports growth to the United States, following a 4.9% increase in June, which could raise the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump who has criticized Japan and other trading partners for running what he sees as unfair trade imbalances with his country.
The two countries are set to hold ministerial-level trade talks in Washington this week, with eyes on an early trade deal including U.S. beef exports and Japan’s auto exports.
Imports from the United States climbed 3.5% in July, sending Japan’s trade surplus with the world’s biggest economy up 15.6% from a year earlier to 579.4 billion yen ($5.45 billion), the data showed.
Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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1b8b32c23645ec465fef22a46073b722 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-unemployment-idUSKCN2510C4 | Japan considering extending special employment subsidy: labour ministry official | Japan considering extending special employment subsidy: labour ministry official
By Tetsushi Kajimoto3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is considering extending a special employment subsidy to help firms hit by the coronavirus pandemic that would keep furloughed workers on the payroll, but no decision has been made yet, a labour ministry official told Reuters on Wednesday.
FILE PHOTO: Job seekers attend orientation sessions at company booths during a job fair held for fresh graduates in Tokyo, Japan, March 20, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo
The comments come after the Nikkei business daily reported the ministry was working to extend the subsidy, citing an unnamed ruling party official.
The news underscores concerns among policymakers that the expiration of the subsidy could trigger a spike in job losses as many firms struggle to make ends meet amid difficult financing conditions.
“It has not been decided yet, but we are considering it,” the labour ministry official told Reuters on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
“Lawmakers have floated an extension to the year-end during a meeting with us yesterday.”
The special measure was designed to increase a subsidy, given to companies who keep furloughed employees on their payroll, for the six months through to the end of September.
The daily payment was raised to up to 15,000 yen ($141.80) per employee from up to 8,330 yen previously.
Some 2.36 million people were furloughed as of June, up 0.9 million from a year earlier, government data showed, prompting lawmakers to urge an extension of the special measure.
The government has set aside about 1.6 trillion yen for the special subsidy, and as of the end of July, had already provided 585.1 billion yen of that to companies.
The government will make the necessary arrangements to deal with an increase in the fiscal burden stemming from an extension, the business daily said.
Japan’s job market has been cooling as the spread of the coronavirus forced businesses to close and people to stay home.
Although the restrictions were lifted late in May, policymakers have had to balance containing the virus with the need to resume economic activity as the world’s third-largest economy faces its deepest recession in decades.
($1 = 105.7800 yen)
Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Sam Holmes and Ana Nicolaci da CostaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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f9b33101a1762754e3f77bb91e6393c9 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-wages-error-aso/japan-to-revise-wages-calculation-in-gdp-likely-also-amend-budget-due-to-data-errors-idUSKCN1P50KN | Japan to revise wages calculation in GDP, likely also amend budget due to data errors | Japan to revise wages calculation in GDP, likely also amend budget due to data errors
By Tetsushi Kajimoto4 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s government said on Friday it will amend the calculation of workers’ compensation in the nation’s gross domestic product and probably revise its draft budget after it understated wages data for more than a decade due to faulty polling methods.
FILE PHOTO - Pedestrians walk at a scramble crossing at Shibuya shopping district in Tokyo, Japan September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo
The revisions are not expected to change the pace of economic growth. All the same, it is an embarrassment for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, because his government has enacted several policies to eliminate the risk of deflation by encouraging wages to rise.
Inaccurate wage data makes it difficult to assess whether Abe’s policies are working and could raise questions about the credibility of other data, leaving policy makers blind-sided in their efforts to foster sustainable economic growth.
“Escaping deflation is Abe’s biggest economic goal, so if you can’t trust the data you can’t make appropriate policy decisions,” said Hiroshi Miyazaki, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
“Only a year ago the government changed the sampling method to try to improve wages data. And now they’re saying they understated the data. Do we really know what’s going on?”
The Cabinet Office, which compiles GDP, said on Friday it will publish revisions for wages from 2016 to 2017 around the end of this month. Next month it plans to publish revisions to data from 2015 and earlier.
Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso also said on Friday the government is likely to revise its budget draft for the next fiscal year to pay for a shortfall of employment insurance benefits caused by errors in the country’s wage data.
The likely budget revision - a rare move - would follow the revelation that the labor ministry miscalculated workers’ average wages for years.
The data error has caused the ministry to underestimate payments made under Japan’s employment insurance program, which includes unemployment benefits, and another insurance covering compensation for workplace accidents.
“Economic indicators provide the basis for decision on fiscal and economic policies and they must always be accurate,” Aso told reporters after a cabinet meeting. “It’s very regrettable that the wages data will be recompiled.”
The Labor Ministry said on Friday it understated monthly regular wage data from 2004 to 2017 due to inaccurate polling methods that reduced the sample size.
Labor Minister Takumi Nemoto told reporters he is still investigating the motives behind using a smaller sample size.
In compiling the monthly data, which covers some 33,000 firms with five or more full-time employees, the labor ministry is supposed to collect samples from all the companies that employ 500 or more workers.
But it turned out that the data sampling failed to cover two-thirds of some 1,400 businesses in Tokyo for an unspecified period of time, ministry officials said. Domestic media reported the sampling error extends back for 15 years.
To rectify its error, the labor ministry on Friday revised regular wage data from January 2012 to October 2018.
“We use monthly wage data for some charts in our economic outlook report,” a spokesman at the Bank of Japan said.
“We want to examine the impact of this incident based on material released today and the results of the (labor ministry’s) investigation.”
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Friday the government would examine all economic indicators.
The budget draft was compiled in December and was due to be sent to the parliament later this month for approval before April 1.
Abe’s cabinet last month approved a record 101.5 trillion yen ($937.12 billion) annual budget draft, featuring spending to offset the pain of a planned sales tax hike scheduled for October.
($1 = 108.31 yen)
Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by and Richard Borsuk & Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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bed28d3e99b6139aeb178d2c3ed73358 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-wages-idUKKBN24731W?edition-redirect=uk | Japan May real wages fall at quickest pace in nearly five years | Japan May real wages fall at quickest pace in nearly five years
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: A worker walks in a factory at the Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki, Japan February 17, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s May inflation-adjusted real wages dropped at the fastest pace in nearly five years, government data showed on Tuesday, in a sign of labour market stress as the economy takes a heavy blow from the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The world’s third-largest economy is bracing for its worst postwar slump in the quarter through June, with economists expecting an annualised contraction of over 20% after a massive demand shock due to lockdown measures in response to the virus outbreak.
Real wages, a gauge of household purchasing power, tumbled 2.1% in May from a year earlier, labour ministry data showed, falling at the fastest pace since a 2.8% decline in June 2015.
“The impact from the coronavirus led to a reduction in overtime pay which caused real wages to fall a lot,” a labour ministry official told Reuters.
Overtime pay, a barometer of strength in corporate activity, saw its biggest decline since comparable data became available in January 2013, slumping 25.8% in May from a year earlier, down for a nine straight month.
The monthly wage data showed nominal total cash earnings dropped 2.1% in the year to May, also seeing their largest fall since June 2015, following a revised 0.7% drop in April.
Regular pay - or base salary, which makes up most of total cash earnings - was up, rising 0.2%, the data showed. One-off special payments shed 14.0% following a downwardly revised 6.4% gain in April.
The ministry defines “workers” as 1) those who were employed for more than one month at a company that employed more than five people, or 2) those who were employed on a daily basis or had less than a one-month contract but had worked more than 18 days during the two months before the survey was conducted, at a company that employs more than five people.
Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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b79ebb705227a9fd485ef2659f77a4e9 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-wages/japan-firms-wary-of-wage-hike-as-economy-wobbles-amid-trade-war-global-slowdown-idINKBN1QT10O?edition-redirect=in | Japanese firms offer smaller pay raises as economy wobbles | Japanese firms offer smaller pay raises as economy wobbles
By Tetsushi Kajimoto, Izumi Nakagawa5 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Big Japanese firms offered smaller pay increases at annual wage talks on Wednesday as the economy sputters, tempering hopes that domestic consumption will offset external risks to growth.
FILE PHOTO: Members of the workers' union of Toyota Motor Corp. raise their fists as they shout slogans during a rally for the annual "shunto" wage negotiations at the company headquarters in Toyota, Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo March 7, 2017. Kyodo via REUTERS/File Photo
Major firms are set to raise wages for a sixth straight year as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe kept up the pressure on businesses to boost pay in an effort to beat deflation that has dogged Japan for nearly two decades.
But as economic growth slows, firms have grown wary about offering big pay increases because that commits them to higher fixed costs at a time of uncertainty as company profits are leveling off.
Caught between the fear of a profit squeeze and the need to raise pay scales for low-paid part-timers and those employed at small firms to address the country’s labor shortages, Japanese firms cannot afford to hike wages much for full-time workers, analysts say.
“Momentum towards wage hikes may weaken as underlying inflation remains weak,” said Hisashi Yamada, senior economist at Japan Research Institute.
“Uncertainty is high on the external outlook such as the U.S.-China trade war and Europe’s unstable politics. On top of that, a national sales tax is scheduled to increase in October. Without enough wage hikes, it’s difficult to defeat deflation.”
The results of the “shunto” talks between management and unions - announced by major companies in sectors such as cars and electronics - set the tone for full-time employees’ wages across the nation, which have implications for consumer spending and inflation.
GLOBAL UNCERTAINTIES
A slowdown in the global economy, the Sino-U.S. trade war and trepidation over the final shape of a deal to seal Britain’s exit from the European Union have sharply increased strains on businesses worldwide.
Faced with the heightened uncertainty about the growth outlook, cautious Japanese firms focus more on the annual total sum payment including bonuses than monthly base pay, which will determine retirement payment and pension benefits.
Bellwether Toyota Motor Corp 7203.T, Japan's largest automaker, offered on Wednesday a pay raise of 10,700 yen ($96.21) on average, down 1,000 yen from last year.
“We made the decision as the sales tax rises in autumn, while taking into account the need to raise productivity, competitiveness and respond to unionists’ motivations,” Tatsuro Ueda, chief officer at Toyota’s general administration and human resources group, told reporters.
Honda Motor Co 7267.T offered a base salary increase of 1,400 yen, down 300 yen from 2018, while Nissan Motor Co 7201.T came up with a rise of 3,000 yen, unchanged from last year.
Electronics giants such as Panasonic Corp 6752.T, Hitachi Ltd 6501.T and Mitsubishi Electric Corp 6503.T all offered a base pay raise of 1,000 yen, down 500 yen from last year.
“The trend of wage hikes remains intact. I hope wage growth will continue to boost the economy’s virtuous cycle,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters.
A survey by the Institute of Labour Administration, a think tank, predicted wage growth will slow to 2.15 percent this year, pulling away from last year’s 2.26 percent and the 17-year peak of 2.38 percent in 2015, despite hefty corporate cash piles.
A Reuters Corporate Survey last month found a slim majority - 51 percent of firms polled - saw wages rising around 1.5-2 percent this year.
But while companies are conservative with pay raises, many have directed their large cash piles toward share buybacks to ensure better returns for their investors.
PAY HIKE OR WORK-STYLE REFORM
In the coming fiscal year from April 1, Abe’s government will start to implement work-style reform to curb Japan’s notoriously long work hours.
The reform also includes “equal pay for equal work” aimed at narrowing the pay gap between full-time employees and contract workers or part-timers, and raising the retirement age to cope with the ageing population.
The move has shifted focus away from pay hikes with both unions and management, dashing policymakers’ hopes of stoking a virtuous cycle of a tight job market boosting wages to stimulate consumption and spur inflation to the BOJ’s 2 percent target.
Japan’s unions tend not to be so aggressive in pressing their demands as those in the West because they attach greater importance to job security and retain a sense of company loyalty.
The dwindling union membership has deprived unionists of bargaining powers, with companies hiring more non-unionized part-timers and nonregular employees, who represent nearly 40 percent of workers.
“At this year’s shunto, both companies and unions don’t seem to put greater emphasis on wage hikes than before,” said Kiichi Murashima, economist at Citigroup Global Markets Japan.
“Instead, they are considering a wider range of issues like pay disparity, labor productivity and work-life balance.”
($1 = 111.2200 yen)
Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Izumi Nakagawa; additional reporting by Maki Shiraki and Yoshiyasu Shida; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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74ef2b11baf81cae7f7b584a1bb115d2 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-wages/japans-real-wages-fall-in-november-posing-a-threat-to-demand-idUKKBN1Z62P0?edition-redirect=uk | Japan's real wages fall in November, posing a threat to demand | Japan's real wages fall in November, posing a threat to demand
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s inflation-adjusted real wages declined at their fastest pace in four months in November, government data showed on Wednesday, clouding the outlook for an economy already under pressure from a nationwide tax increase.
FILE PHOTO: A worker cycles in a factory at the Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki, Japan February 17, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
Japan’s economy has suffered in recent months from soft global demand and a slide in consumer spending, after the government raised sales tax to 10% from 8% in October.
Labour ministry data showed real wages, a gauge of household purchasing power, fell 0.9% in November from November a year ago, their fastest decline since July. They also were revised down to a 0.4% contraction in October.
Nominal total cash earnings fell 0.2% in November from a year earlier, their first decline in three months. Their 0.5% gains in October were revised down to no change.
“The fall in real wages was larger in November due to the impact from a rise in the consumer price index,” a labor ministry official told Reuters, adding that fresh food prices increased.
One-off special payments slumped 3.9% in November after a revised 8.5% drop in October. Regular pay - or base salary, which makes up most of total cash earnings and determines a wage trend - inched up 0.1%, according to the data.
Overtime pay, a barometer of strength in corporate activity, declined 1.9% in November from a year earlier, after it was revised down to a 0.1% fall in October. Those figures particularly show reduced overtime hours among manufacturers, the official said.
Revelations last year that labor ministry officials used faulty polling methods, which forced revisions, cast doubt on the accuracy of the ministry’s wage data from 2004 to 2017. The flaw has made it harder to gauge the actual wage trend.
The ministry defines “workers” as 1) those who are employed for more than one month at a firm that employs more than five people, or 2) those who are employed on a daily basis or have less than a one-month contract but had worked more than 18 days during the two months before the survey was conducted at a firm that employs more than five people.
To view the full tables, see the labor ministry's website at: here
Reporting by Daniel LeussinkOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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764b7f5e0febe8e8b8bcbe4f0f6fdc26 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-wages/japans-top-business-lobby-calls-on-members-to-raise-wages-by-3-percent-idUSKBN1F50ZU | Japan's top business lobby calls on members to raise wages by 3 percent | Japan's top business lobby calls on members to raise wages by 3 percent
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s top business lobby on Tuesday called on companies to raise wages by 3 percent during annual salary negotiations with unions this spring, a boost to the government’s efforts to encourage inflation.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been pushing Japanese companies to raise wages by 3 percent or more to support consumer spending. The government will introduce tax breaks from April for companies that comply with the call.
The Keidanren business lobby represents only the country’s largest firms, but its vocal endorsement of wage hikes could encourage more mid-sized firms to follow suit.
“It is becoming more important to not only raise wages but also improve total compensation,” Yasumi Kudo, a vice chairman at Keidanren, told reporters.
“Earnings are better than last fiscal year, and (a 3 percent wage increase) is part of a social mandate, meaning we should actively consider this.”
Since taking office in late 2012, Abe has appealed directly to the largest business lobbies to raise wages at annual negotiations with unions that take place in the spring.
Abe’s overriding goal is to make sure consumers have enough money in their pockets to keep spending - vanquishing the threat of deflation and making it easier to finally meet the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent inflation target.
In November, the core consumer price index, which includes oil products but excludes fresh food, rose only 0.9 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Last year, the average wage increase among 312 major companies was 2.11 percent before bonuses, according to labor ministry figures.
Successive years of tiny, or even zero, wage increases may be coming to an end at some companies at least – which in turn could provide consumer spending and inflation with a welcome boost this year.
Abe’s government plans to introduce legislation to the regular session of parliament beginning later this month that will lower the corporate tax rate to 25 percent from around 30 percent for companies that raise wages by 3 percent or more.
The proposed legislation, which is almost certain to pass, would also cut taxes for companies that invest in cutting-edge technology.
Reporting by Izumi Nakagawa; Writing by Stanley White; Editing by Richard BorsukOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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b30f786da1675022e2436ff66aaeceb4 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-elderly-drivers-idUST29921020080318 | Tokyo tries to entice elderly to give up driving | Tokyo tries to entice elderly to give up driving
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo businesses are to start offering benefits to elderly people who give up their drivers’ licences, backing a police effort to cut back on the ballooning number of traffic accidents caused by drivers over 65.
Among more than 30 special offers, one small bank will give higher interest rates, while Mitsukoshi department store chain plans to provide free delivery from its Tokyo stores and a hotel will offer a 10 percent discount on meals in a program starting next month, Tokyo police said on their Web site.
“Have the courage to give up your licence,” the police say on the site. “If you have lost confidence in your driving ... if your family says they are worried about you driving ... please think about handing in your licence.”
Japan has the largest proportion of over-65s in the world and faces a growing problem with elderly drivers, who caused 100,000 traffic accidents last year, about twice the figure 10 years earlier, broadcaster NHK said.
Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by Bill TarrantOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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41e9155b1ee146a897f5e1706e9570de | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-election-idUSKCN1UG017 | Japan's pro-constitution reform forces fall short of two-thirds upper house majority: NHK | Japan's pro-constitution reform forces fall short of two-thirds upper house majority: NHK
By Linda Sieg, Kiyoshi Takenaka4 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling bloc won a solid majority in an upper house election on Sunday but his coalition and allies fell short of a two-thirds majority needed to begin revising the pacifist constitution, public broadcaster NHK said.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is also leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), attends a news conference a day after an upper house election at LDP headquarters in Tokyo, Japan July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato
Abe, who took office in December 2012 pledging to restart the economy and bolster defense, is on track to become Japan’s longest-serving premier if he stays in office until November, a stunning comeback after he abruptly ended a first, troubled one-year term in 2007.
However, turnout fell below 50% for the first time in a national election since 1995, a sign many voters feel they lack an attractive option. It would be the second-lowest level since records began after World War Two, the government said.
Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior partner, the Komeito party, were assured 71 of the 124 seats being contested in parliament’s 245-seat upper house, NHK showed.
However, NHK said the ruling bloc and its allies fell short of the 85 seats needed to retain the two-thirds “super majority” required to begin revising the constitution’s pacifist Article 9 to further legitimize the military, a controversial step.
Abe said the size of the victory showed voters wanted to debate changing the charter for what would be the first time since its enactment after Japan’s defeat in World War Two.
“Of course, we cannot take the timing as a given, but I would like to achieve it (constitutional reform) somehow during my term,” Abe said on television on Sunday evening. His term as LDP president runs until September 2021.
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Changing the charter would be hugely symbolic, underscoring a shift away from post-war pacifism already underway.
Article 9, if taken literally, bans maintenance of a military but has been stretched to allow armed forces for self-defense.
Without the two-thirds majority, Abe is likely to try to lure other opposition lawmakers to back his proposal to enshrine the military in the constitution, but that could be tough with a lower house election certain between now and 2021.
VOTERS DIVIDED
Surveys show voters are divided over changing the charter, with opponents worried doing so would increase the risk of Japan getting entangled in U.S.-led conflicts.
Any change must be approved by two-thirds of both houses of parliament and a majority in a public referendum. The LDP-led bloc has a two-thirds majority in the lower house.
Slideshow ( 5 images )
Abe pushed his LDP-led coalition as the best bet for political stability during his campaign.
Opposition parties focused on voters’ finances, including a potential hit on spending from an October rise in the sales tax to 10% and strains in the public pension system due to Japan’s quickly ageing population.
LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai told a TV broadcaster he would support Abe if the premier wanted to seek a fourth term as party president, which would require a change in party rules. “Of course, I’d support him. Because he has the support of the people,” Nikai said.
Abe, however, said later that he was “not thinking at all” now about running for a fourth term and was focusing on the tasks that remained during the rest of his term.
Abe had already led his party to victory in five national elections since 2012, helped in part by a fragmented opposition and low turnout by voters.
The biggest opposition force, Constitution Democratic Party of Japan, was set to increase its seats but remain dwarfed by the LDP, NHK reported.
Reporting by Linda Sieg and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Additional reporting by Chang-Ran Kim, Kwiyeon Ha, Elaine Lies and Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Michael Perry, Christopher Cushing and Dale HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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eb011568db6a7cf9ab9d135de586d0e5 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-emissions/japan-to-set-emission-ambition-of-net-zero-by-2050-nikkei-idUKKBN2761EO?edition-redirect=uk | Japan to set emission ambition of net zero by 2050: Nikkei | Japan to set emission ambition of net zero by 2050: Nikkei
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
FILM PHOTO: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaks to the media during a press conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 21, 2020. Dita Alangkara/Pool via REUTERS
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s government will next week pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, Nikkei reported on Wednesday.
The goal will be announced by new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in a speech to lawmakers, and will include specific measures including promoting renewable energy, Nikkei here said.
Japan has been criticized for its heavy use of coal-fired power generation and is the only G7 nation still building coal plants at home.
Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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bf7b68e32badf3e1ec32b5f223b9d506 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-emperor-comments-idUSKCN10G0XR?il=0 | Japan's Emperor Akihito to address nation on Monday following abdication report | Japan's Emperor Akihito to address nation on Monday following abdication report
By Stanley White, Elaine Lies2 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Emperor Akihito will make a video address to the nation on Monday, the Imperial Household Agency said, amid media reports that the 82-year-old monarch wants to abdicate.
Slideshow ( 4 images )
Public broadcaster NHK reported last month that the emperor, who has had heart surgery and been treated for prostate cancer, had expressed his intention to abdicate in a few years.
Ordinary Japanese sympathize with Akihito’s desire to retire, but Japan currently has no legal provision for abdication. The idea faces stiff opposition from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s conservative base, who worry abdication will trigger debate about allowing a woman to become emperor.
“I think the Japanese people want to allow the emperor to abdicate,” said Miiko Kodama, a professor emeritus at Musashi University.
“However, it would be unfortunate for the Crown Prince if he takes the throne because the people do not have the same emotional response to him as they do to the Emperor.”
The video address will be aired at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT), said the Imperial Household Agency, the government department responsible for imperial matters.
Akihito has been cutting back on official duties recently, his place taken by his heir, 56-year-old Crown Prince Naruhito.
Conservatives have raised objections to changing the law to let Akihito step down. Some worry that if the government even starts debate on changing the law, some liberal politicians will take that as an opportunity to push for women to be allowed to become emperor or other reforms.
Naruhito has only one daughter. Since only males can inherit the Chrysanthemum Throne, the throne after Naruhito would pass to his brother, Prince Akishino, and then to nine-year-old nephew Hisahito.
Before Hisahito’s birth, no male had been born into the imperial family for more than four decades. This prompted discussion of equal inheritance for women, a move opposed by traditionalists eager to preserve a male line they believe goes back more than 2,000 years.
Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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d8648493dabc91979c0276ae1931060d | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-emperor-enthronement-voices-idUKKBN1X105C?edition-redirect=uk | Some Japanese welcome emperor's proclamation, others shrug | Some Japanese welcome emperor's proclamation, others shrug
By Kwiyeon Ha, Linda Sieg3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Emperor Naruhito, 59, the nation’s first monarch born after World War Two, officially proclaimed his enthronement to the world on Tuesday in a centuries-old ceremony attended by hundreds of dignitaries.
Below are some comments by ordinary Japanese people.
NOBUHIKO YABU, 37, ACCOUNTANT
“It is a new era and the emperor is the support for the Japanese people, so I feel very happy on this day,” Yabu said as he stood near a subway station in pouring rain. Asked about his expectations for the new emperor, he said: “Simply by existing, rather than by doing something, the emperor is a support for our hearts.”
YOSHIKAZU ARAI, 74, RETIRED SURGEON
“There is no need to make such a big fuss ... everyone knows it is happening, it’s been reported. There is no need for such an elaborate ceremony. Traffic has been restricted and it is causing inconvenience for ordinary people,” Arai said.
Asked about his hopes for the new emperor, he said he had none. “The emperor is necessary now as a symbol of the people, but at some point, the emperor will no longer be necessary. Things will be just fine without an emperor.”
RYOYA SUZUKI, 25, COMPANY EMPLOYEE
“It’ll be nice if the new emperor will be as kind-hearted as the former emperor and stay close to the people,” Suzuki said in front of the palace. He said he was a car buff and had come especially to see the emperor arrive in his limousine.
TOMOKO SHIRAKAWA, 51, KYOTO RESIDENT
“As he is young and energetic with outstanding leadership, I hope he’ll support the people of Japan, which has faced continuous disasters and typhoons,” said Tomoko Shirakawa, 51, who was waiting in front of the palace.
She said she was visiting Tokyo from the ancient capital of Kyoto, in western Japan, so decided to come to the palace.
JUNKO CHIJIWA, 64, HOUSEWIFE AND DAUGHTER, NATSUKI, 30
“I would like the new emperor to be close to us, the people, and stand with us, just like his father did. I am always moved to see them console disaster victims,” said Chijiwa, who came from her home in Kyushu, southwestern Japan, in hopes of seeing the parade that had been scheduled for after the ceremony.
The parade was cancelled after Typhoon Hagibis caused huge flooding in parts of northeast Japan.
“I was born in the first year of the Heisei era,” said Chijiwa’s daughter, Natsuki, referring to the imperial era that began in 1989, when Naruhito’s father Akihito inherited the throne and ended when he abdicated on April 30.
“So, this is the first time for me to see a new emperor taking the throne. I have been watching the former emperor standing by the people, and I want the new emperor and empress to inherit that spirit.”
Reporting by Linda Sieg, Kwiyeon Ha and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Paul TaitOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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56a03663cd53a62af4d8535711f48a06 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-emperor-prince/fate-of-japans-imperial-dynasty-rests-on-shoulders-of-13-year-old-idUSKBN1WX01R | Fate of Japan's imperial dynasty rests on shoulders of 13-year-old | Fate of Japan's imperial dynasty rests on shoulders of 13-year-old
By Linda Sieg4 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - When Japan’s youngest prince, Hisahito, visited Bhutan in August on his first overseas trip just months after his uncle Naruhito became emperor, his trip was regarded as the debut of a future monarch on the world stage.
Greeting his hosts in traditional “hakama” kimono and trying his hand at archery, the visit was rare public exposure for the boy on whose shoulders the future of the monarchy rests.
Emperor Naruhito, 59, who became monarch on May 1 following the abdication of his father, Akihito, will proclaim his enthronement in an Oct. 22 ceremony before foreign and domestic dignitaries.
Japan only allows males to ascend the ancient Chrysanthemum Throne and changes to the succession law are anathema to conservatives backing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Hisahito, 13, the lone royal male in his generation, is second in line to the throne after his father Crown Prince Akishino, 53, the emperor’s younger brother.
(GRAPHIC - Japan's royal family, )
“Under the current rules of succession, Prince Hisahito ... will eventually bear the entire burden of perpetuating the imperial family,” the Asahi newspaper said in an editorial this year.
“The pressure this prince would eventually come under is too formidable to contemplate.”
Slideshow ( 18 images )
Hisahito’s birth in 2006 was seen as a miracle by conservatives eager to preserve the males-only succession.
No imperial males had been born since 1965 and after eight years of marriage, the emperor’s wife, Masako, gave birth to a girl, Princess Aiko, spurring moves to revise the succession law and let women inherit and pass on the throne.
But Hisahito’s birth put those moves on hold. “Conservatives felt that the will of heaven had been revealed,” said Hidehiko Kasahara, a professor of political science at Keio University.
ROYAL ROLE, IMPERIAL SUCCESSION
Now, some experts and media are wondering whether Hisahito is being properly groomed for the future.
“It is important to have him realize that he is in a position to inherit the throne when interacting with people, and to keep them in mind, from an early age,” Kasahara said.
Japan’s post-World War Two constitution gives the emperor no political authority, and designates him the “symbol of the State and of the unity of the people”.
Hisahito is attending a junior high school affiliated to Ochanomizu University, making him the first imperial family member since the war to study outside the Gakushuin Junior High private school.
Slideshow ( 18 images )
Unlike his grandfather, Akihito, who carved out an active role as a symbol of peace, democracy and reconciliation with victims of Japan’s wartime aggression, Hisahito has no special mentor to help him prepare for his future kingship.
Akihito was mentored by Shinzo Koizumi, a former president of Keio University, among others, and then became the role model for his son, Naruhito, scholars say.
“It is necessary to have someone who can determine with him what is appropriate for a 21st century monarch,” said Naotaka Kimizuka, an expert in European monarchies at Kanto Gakuin University.
“But it is not clear to what extent Crown Prince Akishino or the Imperial Household Agency is seriously considering that.”
Whether Hisahito bears the full responsibility for continuing the imperial line is as yet unclear.
When parliament passed a special law allowing Akihito to abdicate in 2017, it adopted a non-binding resolution asking the government to consider how to ensure a stable succession.
One option is to allow females, including Aiko and Hisahito’s two elder sisters, to retain their imperial family status after marriage and inherit or pass the throne to their children, which surveys show most ordinary Japanese favor.
Conservatives want to revive junior royal branches stripped of imperial status after the war.
Abe, though, is unlikely to want any thorny discussions. “They want to put off debate as much as possible,” Kasahara said.
Reporting by Linda Sieg; Editing by Karishma SinghOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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2c5506f0f264b69edf026331f33d96d0 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-emperor-reaction/japanese-thank-departing-emperor-whose-era-marked-shift-from-1980s-boom-idUSKCN1S60AA | Japanese thank departing emperor whose era marked shift from 1980s boom | Japanese thank departing emperor whose era marked shift from 1980s boom
By Malcolm Foster3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese expressed warmth and gratitude toward Emperor Akihito ahead of his abdication on Tuesday, but judged his three-decade Heisei era as a period of difficulty and transition for Japan after the economic boom and confidence of the 1980s.
A woman watches a television report on Emperor Akihito in Tokyo, Japan, April 30, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
More than anything, people said they hoped peace would define the reign of Crown Prince Naruhito, who will become emperor on Wednesday, ushering in the Reiwa era.
“Heisei had a lot of disasters and the economy stagnated,” 47-year-old Kaori Hisatomi said in the capital Tokyo, where ceremonies were underway at the Imperial Palace.
“It was a period of transition from the high-growth era, with its ‘can-you-work-24 hours’ mentality. Young people these days don’t think that way. Now it’s more, ‘What can I do to survive?’”
Japan is marking the transition to 59-year-old Naruhito, who will ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne on Wednesday, with an unprecedented 10-day holiday.
The Heisei era began in early 1989, just before the collapse of Japan’s “bubble economy,” when sky-high stock and land prices plunged. The decades of tepid growth and deflation that followed have tempered expectations about the economic future and Japan’s place in the world.
“Thinking patterns have changed,” Hisatomi said. “There’s not much confidence the economy will grow in a healthy way.”
Japan suffered several tragedies in the past three decades, including a huge earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that led to a nuclear crisis. In 1995, a quake devastated the port of Kobe, and sarin attacks launched by a cult in Tokyo’s subway system shattered the myth of public safety.
Visits to disaster areas by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, and their efforts to connect with ordinary people, have made them a popular royal couple.
TURNING POINT
Standing outside the Imperial Palace in a drizzle, 64-year-old Naoomi Kuroshima, from the northern island of Hokkaido, said he was there to “pay my last respect, to say my ‘thank you.’”
He recalled the couple’s visit to Hokkaido after it was hit by a quake last year. “I’m so grateful for that.”
Walking to a Shinto shrine to mark the day with his wife, 56-year-old Masatoshi Kujirai said he had mixed feelings.
“I’m sad but also hopeful about the next era,” he said. “I hope it will be a peaceful, gentle period for the second half of my life.”
Masato Saito, a 40-year-old construction worker, said he had not given the abdication or the coming new era much thought.
“It’s a normal day. That kind of political stuff is irrelevant to us ordinary people,” he said. “As long as they make our lives easy to live, that’s all I care.”
Eiji Kaneko, a restaurant owner from Osaka, said the abdication was a turning point for Japan in becoming a more open country and accepting of foreigners.
“More tourists and foreigners are coming to Japan and that’s helping the economy and starting to change attitudes,” he said, visiting Tokyo with his wife and 4-year-old son.
“Japan is opening up, and Asia is opening up.”
Reporting and writing by Malcolm Foster; Additional reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Darren SchuettlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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29b6c7e82ee5bdd5296b1e7af50c2737 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-emperor-ritual/japan-monarch-spends-symbolic-night-with-goddess-to-end-throne-rituals-idINKBN1XN2VA?edition-redirect=in | Japan monarch spends symbolic night with goddess to end throne rituals | Japan monarch spends symbolic night with goddess to end throne rituals
By Elaine Lies4 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - In the chill pre-dawn hours of Friday, Japan’s Emperor Naruhito emerged from a shrine compound where he had spent a symbolic night with the sun goddess from whom conservatives believe his family descends, completing the rituals of his accession.
The “Daijosai” rite, centred on the goddess Amaterasu Omikami, began soon after sunset on Thursday and is the most overtly religious of all the rituals around Naruhito’s succession after his father, Akihito, abdicated in April.
Amid flickering torchlight and chanting by priests, Emperor Naruhito emerged from behind the white curtains of the shrine at around 3:00 a.m., concluding a ceremony observed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and 400 dignitaries in an outdoor pavilion.
“This ritual is basically a feast involving the sun goddess and the emperor,” said John Breen, a professor at Kyoto’s International Research Center for Japanese Studies, who added that most coronations have mystical elements.
“The emperor is transformed by partaking of this feast.”
Observance of the ritual has prompted lawsuits from critics ranging from communists to Christians, who say it smacks of the militaristic past and violates the constitutional separation of church and state, as the government pays the cost of 2.7 billion yen ($25 million).
Persistent rumours have held that the emperor has conjugal relations with the goddess, a view dating from the era before World War Two, when the emperor was considered divine. Naruhito’s grandfather Hirohito, in whose name Japan fought the war, was stripped of his divinity after its defeat.
Slideshow ( 5 images )
But the government and scholars say the ritual is a meal, at which the emperor offers foods ranging from rice and millet to abalone and persimmons to the goddess in the final ceremony that seals his new status as emperor.
Preparations began months ago, with the construction of a special shrine compound within the palace grounds and, later, the harvest of rice from two fields chosen by heating a turtle shell and reading the pattern of cracks.
DINING WITH GODDESS
Soon after sunset, in scenes broadcast live on television, Naruhito was ushered through dark wooden corridors, shielded by a ceremonial umbrella and preceded by courtiers holding torches. Empress Masako followed, in 12-layered white robes.
After disappearing behind white curtains into a dimly-lit room, kneeling by the side of piled straw mats draped in white, the emperor, accompanied only by two shrine maidens, arranged offerings for the goddess on 32 oakleaf plates.
Then he bowed and prayed for the peace of Japan.
Slideshow ( 5 images )
Afterwards, they shared a meal of rice, millet and rice wine before he left the chamber. An identical ritual began in a different room around midnight.
Critics say that while a form of the ritual existed more than 1,000 years ago, its current shape dates from efforts in the late 1800s to unite Japan around the emperor.
Koichi Shin, 60 and head of a group suing to ban the ritual, cited the rite’s nationalistic underpinnings as one reason for its opposition. Another is the use of public funds.
Shin said there were fewer objections to Thursday’s event and other imperial rites than at Akihito’s accession in 1990, with less critical press coverage and fewer protests. Just 318 people sued the government this time, down from 1,700 then.
“We don’t expect good results,” Shin said. “But we think it’s important to use everything we can to get across the idea that merging religion and state isn’t good.”
Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Gareth Jones and Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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0043e47fd1fb471d8c8c18df6af17dc9 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-energy-hydrogen/japan-aims-to-set-up-commercial-hydrogen-fuel-supply-chain-by-2030-idUKKBN2700PM?edition-redirect=uk | Japan aims to set up commercial hydrogen fuel supply chain by 2030 | Japan aims to set up commercial hydrogen fuel supply chain by 2030
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will seek to create a commercial hydrogen fuel supply chain by around 2030 to support reducing carbon emissions, Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama said during a virtual hydrogen conference late on Wednesday.
Japan will try to speed up technological developments to help scale up a transportation system for hydrogen using ships by around 2030, Kajiyama said, pointing to a plan by Kawasaki Heavy Industries to ship liquefied hydrogen from Australia to Japan early next year for the first time in the world.
Kawasaki launched the world’s first liquefied hydrogen carrier last December.
Japan unveiled a basic hydrogen strategy in 2017 aiming to import about 300,000 tonnes of hydrogen in 2030.
To support making hydrogen fuel more commercial, Kajiyama said his ministry has requested a hydrogen budget of $800 million for the next fiscal year, 20% more than this year.
“Given growing momentum in actions taken by many countries toward wider use of hydrogen, we have come to share a common understanding that hydrogen is an essential energy for decarbonisation,” Kajiyama said.
Hydrogen has been touted as a clean alternative to fossil fuels. Now, as major economies prepare green investments, advocates are trying to push the niche energy into the mainstream.
In northern Japan’s Fukushima prefecture, the world’s biggest renewable energy-powered hydrogen plant, with 10 megawatts of capacity, was built in March.
Chiyoda Corp succeeded in a pilot project in June to ship hydrogen in a chemical form, methylcyclohexane, from Brunei to Japan as fuel for power generation.
Also on Wednesday, Toyota Motor and eight other firms said that they will form a new nation-wide hydrogen association in December to promote hydrogen supply chains and global alliances.
Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Christian SchmollingerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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991c2b37007bef0d516aa62c8156ead0 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-energy/japan-energy-panel-sees-role-for-nuclear-in-2050-emissions-targets-idUSKBN1HH0MR | Japan energy panel sees role for nuclear in 2050 emissions targets | Japan energy panel sees role for nuclear in 2050 emissions targets
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - An influential Japanese energy panel on Tuesday left the door open to building nuclear plants to help meet long-term emissions targets, urging rapid technology improvements to allow industry to develop safer and more economic reactors.
The advisory panel, whose recommendations will feed into a review of the country’s 2030 basic energy plan and its measures to cut carbon emissions by 2050, said Japan should reduce its dependence on nuclear power, shift from coal to gas and boost renewable energy.
However, it listed nuclear power as an option for decarbonization in 2050, implying the possibility of new reactors, which is not part of the current policy of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
“The report does not specifically talk about possible building of new reactors or replacing existing reactors, but it does not deny such a possibility either,” Shogo Tanaka, director of the ministry’s energy strategy office told reporters.
Nuclear faces strong public opposition in the wake of the deadly 2011 Fukushima disaster, with just five of the country’s 39 commercially viable reactors currently operating.
The closures have boosted Japan’s reliance on coal and natural gas and it is currently the world’s fifth-biggest carbon emitter.
The country has pledged to trim its emissions from 2013 levels by 26 percent by 2030 and by 80 percent by 2050. It is currently aiming for a 2030 electricity mix of 22-24 percent renewables, 20-22 percent nuclear and 56 percent fossil fuels including 27 percent gas and 26 percent coal.
In the fiscal year to March 2017, fossil fuels accounted for 83 percent of Japan’s electricity, renewables 15 percent and nuclear just 2 percent.
The advisory panel, made up of industry and academic representatives and including Hitachi Ltd Chairman Hiroaki Nakanishi, did not give a proposed energy mix for future years.
It called for a further boost in renewable energy to make the sector a key and economically independent power source by 2050, citing accelerating development in hydrogen and energy storage technology.
While urging a shift away from coal, it also recommended the continued development and export of high-efficient coal power technology to help curb emissions overseas.
Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; editing by Richard PullinOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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3aefadbd79a283227d42651fbf8676db | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-facebook-libra-idINKCN1US0SK?edition-redirect=in | Former Japan central banker warns Facebook's Libra may undermine monetary policy | Former Japan central banker warns Facebook's Libra may undermine monetary policy
By Leika Kihara, Takahiko Wada3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Central banks may see the impact of their monetary policies diminish significantly if Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency becomes widely used in their countries, a former Bank of Japan executive warned on Friday.
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Global policymakers have raised alarm over Facebook Inc's FB.O plan to issue Libra, concerned that the tech giant's ambitions for a new global cryptocurrency may weaken their control over monetary and banking policies.
“If Libra becomes more widely used than the sovereign currency of a particular country, the effect of monetary policy may be severely undermined,” said Hiromi Yamaoka, former head of the BOJ’s division overseeing payment and settlement systems.
While Yamaoka did not say whether he thought Libra would succeed as a cryptocurrency or not, he said its adoption could trigger or accelerate capital flight in countries where market trust in their currencies is low, as it gives users an easy way to move money out.
“It won’t be a big problem for countries that enjoy strong market trust in their currencies,” Yamaoka said.
“Still, the emergence of Libra would pressure policymakers to discipline themselves,” and ensure they don’t take measures that undermine the value of their currencies, he told Reuters.
Currently a board member at IT consulting firm Future Corp, Yamaoka oversaw the BOJ’s research into digital currencies and is well versed in cryptocurrencies.
Under Facebook’s plan, Libra would be backed by a reserve of real assets such as bank deposits and short-term government securities that would be denominated in major currencies.
Any change in the composition of assets could move markets, including exchange rates, which are a source of concern for policymakers as it encroaches on currency policy, Yamaoka said.
Policymakers must coordinate regulation globally given such new payment tools allow money to cross borders easily, he said.
“Any inconsistency in rules among countries creates a loophole that renders the rules ineffective,” Yamaoka said.
The G7 finance ministers and central bankers warned last month that digital currencies such as Libra raise serious concerns and must be regulated as tightly as possible to ensure they do not upset the world’s financial system.
Despite concerns over money laundering and privacy protection, prohibiting the launch of Libra altogether would be difficult and counter-productive, he said.
“It might be difficult for Facebook to launch Libra in the first half of 2020, as initially scheduled. But it’s easy for other operators to create something similar,” he said.
“There’s no way to stop innovation.”
Reporting by Leika Kihara and Takahiko Wada; Editing by Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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9b93e48cb378dacc49d008d8db674900 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-fintech-blockchain-idUSKCN10S2GN | Expert shortage hampers Japanese financials in blockchain race | Expert shortage hampers Japanese financials in blockchain race
By Thomas Wilson6 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese financial firms risk falling behind on the world stage as efforts to adopt blockchain technology that promises to save billions of dollars in backroom processing and revolutionize the finance industry are hamstrung by a dearth of specialists.
Hard disks are pictured inside a server room at a company in Bangkok, Thailand, April 5, 2016. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo
Banks, brokerages and insurers in global financial centers are investing in the computer code that underlies the bitcoin virtual currency. They hope to draw on its ability to share vast amounts of sensitive data securely and in real-time, and eliminate stages of transactions like third-party verification.
But blockchain is so new that financial institutions are often forced to seek engineers and developers, not from the tech giants with which they have long collaborated, but among startup companies - the traditional incubators of embryonic technology.
In Japan, however, there are relatively few startups in a country that often ranks low for entrepreneurship. Consequently, blockchain talent is scarce, and finance houses risk being left behind as global peers pass blockchain savings on to clients.
“At the moment, there just aren’t any technicians in Japan,” said Chief Executive Hiroshi Shimo of Consensus Base, hired by Japan’s second-biggest brokerage by revenue, Daiwa Securities Group Inc, to develop a blockchain application.
“There was nobody who could do it inside the company or at the big IT firms,” said Shimo, the sole full-time employee in the company he set up last year.
LEFT BEHIND
Consultancy Accenture reckons the efficiency of blockchain will cut annual costs in the financial industry by more than $20 billion by 2021. The technology, for instance, could simplify the interaction between buyers, brokers and clearing houses that currently make equities trades take up to three days to settle.
The prospect has prompted financial institutions since last year to develop, test and even implement the technology. Fuelling the trend are startups in so-called fintech hubs such as London, New York and Toronto that provide a steady stream of experts, said recruiters in Britain and Canada.
“There will be a paradigm shift in terms of banks’ cost structures,” said Chief Executive Takao Asayama of blockchain firm Tech Bureau Corp. “With blockchain, fees consumers are charged by foreign banks will get much lower.”
A shortage of talent, however, may delay Japanese finance houses in reaching the same level of competitiveness.
“It’s difficult to recruit blockchain engineers” in Japan, said Director Pascal Hideki Hamonic of fintech recruiter Descartes Search, LLC. “There just aren’t enough of them.”
Blockchain positions attract on average around two qualified candidates versus 10 for other software positions, Hamonic said.
CRUCIBLE CRUNCH
The paucity of blockchain experts in particular is partly down to the stunted growth of fintech startups in Japan.
Well-funded startups are crucibles in which the technology is learnt, recruiters and blockchain companies said. But Japan has produced relatively few blockchain ventures, and those that have emerged have attracted less funding than global rivals.
The world’s third-largest economy is barren ground for entrepreneurs. Last year, Japan ranked 28th for access to finance and 61st for commercial and legal infrastructure, showed data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor.
In fintech, 167 startups are registered with Japan Venture Research, which tracks entrepreneurs in Japan. In the United States, venture capital database CB Insights counts 3,300.
Japan has around 20 blockchain-related startups, said Chief Executive Yasunori Sugii of fintech firm Currency Port, while the U.S. has over 130. Those in Japan have raised $66 million over 10 deals since 2014, showed data from CB Insights, compared with the global total of $1.2 billion from 377 deals.
RARE PARTNERSHIP
One of those Japanese blockchain startups is Consensus Base, which with Daiwa Securities launched a three-month test in June of an application that processes trades on the Yangon Stock Exchange in Myanmar, part-owned by the brokerage.
Daiwa initially approached a number of big IT firms but a lack of blockchain expertise forced it to turn to startups, said Yoshiaki Ito of Daiwa Institute of Research, who is overseeing the test.
“Venture firms have the best understanding of the core technology,” Ito said. “We’ve been meeting them much more on the things some major (IT) vendors can’t do, like blockchain.”
It was an unusual step. Japanese finance houses tend to be reluctant to pair with startups because of strict compliance rules, said Asayama of Tech Bureau, further complicating their search for experts.
Other financial services providers such as Mizuho Financial Group Inc and Orix Corp have been able to explore blockchain with big-name IT firms such as Fujitsu Ltd and NTT Data Corp respectively.
Inevitably, the number of blockchain experts will rise and IT firms as well as finance houses will have their pick. To help increase supply, Japan’s Blockchain Collaborative Consortium launched a series of teaching seminars on Wednesday.
But the situation will not change overnight, said Chief Executive Yuzo Kano of bitcoin exchange bitFlyer, who has struggled to recruit blockchain experts. The technology is complex and relatively unknown, and producing a steady supply of skilled engineers will likely be a slow process, Kano said.
“It’s not as if blockchain can be learnt in a couple of months,” he said.
Reporting by Thomas Wilson; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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847cd2f3eaccd71149a2b3ef1e7fba4d | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-fire-idUSKBN1FL3HT | Fire at Japanese senior welfare residence kills 11 | Fire at Japanese senior welfare residence kills 11
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Eleven people were killed in a fire at a low-rent residence in northern Japan that mainly housed elderly people on welfare, police said on Thursday. Five people were rescued.
The cause of Wednesday night’s fire in the city of Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido, was still being investigated and victims were still being identified, police said.
Public broadcaster NHK coverage of the fire showed flames engulfing the three-storey building surrounded by piles of snow. Aerial footage from Thursday morning showed the blackened, smokey remains of the building.
Three of the survivors were being treated at hospital but their condition was not life-threatening, police said.
The facility was run by a Sapporo organization that helps people on welfare by providing food and assistance finding jobs, NHK said. Renters paid 36,000 yen ($330) a month, it said.
Japan is a rapidly ageing society. Over 35 million Japanese people were 65 or older last year, or 27.8 percent of the total population, up from 21.5 percent a decade ago, government data showed.
In March 2010, seven people at a Sapporo nursing home for elderly people with dementia were killed in a fire.
Last month, 37 people died in fire at a hospital without sprinkler system in South Korea injuring more than 150 people.
Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Malcolm Foster, Paul Tait and Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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f1b0bae001192cd4c144a41e3e57c13b | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-fire-suspect/suspected-japan-arsonist-a-reclusive-quarrelsome-gamer-neighbor-says-idUSKCN1UF0DS | Suspected Japan arsonist a reclusive, quarrelsome gamer, neighbor says | Suspected Japan arsonist a reclusive, quarrelsome gamer, neighbor says
By Naomi Tajitsu4 Min Read
OMIYA, Japan (Reuters) - The man suspected of killing 34 people in an arson attack in Japan lived alone, hundreds of kilometers from the torched Kyoto Animation studio, where he played video games non-stop and had “terrified” his neighbor just days earlier.
A woman prays in front of a row of flowers placed for victims of the torched Kyoto Animation building in Kyoto, Japan, July 20, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Police late on Saturday issued an arrest warrant for 41-year-old Shinji Aoba, suspected of causing Japan’s worst mass killing in two decades on Thursday when he went to the studio in western Japan, poured fuel around the entrance and shouted “Die” as he set the building ablaze, according to public broadcaster NHK.
They plan to arrest Aoba, who suffered serious burns and on Saturday was airlifted to a university hospital for treatment, once he recovers, NHK said.
Police said Aoba had previously been convicted of robbing a shop.
Aoba lived alone on the ground floor of a two-floor apartment building on the outskirts of Omiya, a commuter suburb of Tokyo and some 500 km (310 miles) east of Kyoto. His next-door neighbor recalled Aoba as pudgy and unkempt, with blemished skin. He kept odd hours and barely spoke to anyone.
“I’ve never seen him go out during the day, not even to the convenience store. I would regularly hear him go out around midnight,” the neighbor, a 27-year-old man who declined to be identified, told Reuters.
Music from video games blared from Aoba’s apartment at all hours, the neighbor said, adding that there had been complaints from residents about the noise in the last year.
On July 14, days before the attack, Aoba grabbed and threatened the neighbor over an apparent misunderstanding. It started when Aoba began pounding on the wall to complain about noise, the neighbor said.
When the neighbor went to Aoba’s front door to tell him the noise was coming from another unit, he heard a loud wail inside the apartment and then the door opened.
“When he came out of his apartment, his eyes were bloodshot, and he started yelling at me to my face to shut up,” the neighbor said.
“He grabbed me by the collar and started pulling my hair. It was terrifying.”
MENTAL ILLNESS
After the Kyoto attack, Aoba told police he had done it because the studio had plagiarized his novel, Kyodo news reported. Kyoto Animation is well known in Japan and abroad for its series and movies, including “Violet Evergarden”, which has been on Netflix.
Aoba had lived in the Omiya apartment for about three years, the neighbor said. Japanese media said he had moved into it at some point following his release from his prison for robbing a convenience store east of Tokyo in 2012. He had also received care for mental illness, NHK said.
The apartment block is typical of the prefab apartments that crowd Japanese commuter suburbs: small, identical units, built with thin walls. Single air conditioners rest on narrow balconies outside each unit. The apartments are usually meant for single occupants and are popular with lower-income and younger workers.
Residents in the area - a rural subdivision off a busy road where recently built homes and unkempt vegetable patches fight for space with a tiny cemetery - said they were shocked by the news of the arson.
“I’ve lived here all my life, and until very recently, this area has never had any incidents of violence, or talk of violent people living in the neighborhood,” said an engineer in his 20s en route to visit his parents who live near Aoba’s apartment.
“It’s unsettling.”
Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by David Dolan and Clare FallonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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b41fd38f9f0f087dc7dfd75d11ae4fee | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-floods-idINKCN24E0KT?edition-redirect=in | Japan to utilise over $3.7 billion to support rain-hit Kyushu: PM Abe | Japan to utilise over $3.7 billion to support rain-hit Kyushu: PM Abe
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: People walk past debris on a road after floods caused by torrential rain, in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture southwestern Japan, July 9, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will utilise more than 400 billion yen ($3.7 billion) to support the rain-hit Kyushu region where dozens have been killed, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters on Monday.
Abe, who was visiting Kyushu’s Kumamoto prefecture, said part of the government spending would come from emergency budget reserves.
Reporting by Takashi Umekawa; Editing by Chris GallagherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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d961de7f6de153c89804d731eb163020 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-forcedlabour-southkorea/thousand-koreans-sue-government-over-wartime-labor-at-japan-firms-idUSKCN1OJ0F7 | Thousand Koreans sue government over wartime labor at Japan firms | Thousand Koreans sue government over wartime labor at Japan firms
By Hyonhee Shin4 Min Read
SEOUL (Reuters) - More than a thousand South Koreans sued the government on Thursday for compensation for forced labor for Japanese firms during World War Two in a fresh twist to one of several historical disputes souring ties between the two countries.
Seoul and Tokyo have been struggling to contain fallout from a landmark ruling in October by South Korea’s Supreme Court that Japan’s Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp must compensate four South Korean forced laborers as their rights to reparations were not terminated by a 1965 treaty that normalized diplomatic ties.
Under the deal, South Korea received a package of $300 million in economic aid and $500 million in loans from Japan in exchange for Seoul considering all pre-treaty compensation issues settled. And the money was spent to rebuild its infrastructure and economy ravaged by the 1950-53 Korean War.
Similar verdicts in favor of the forced laborers followed suit, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said last week that he respects the decision upholding their individual rights to compensation.
A group of 1,103 former forced laborers and their families said it had filed a lawsuit demanding the South Korean government provide 100 million won ($88,500) to each of them in compensation because it had received funds from Japan.
The case adds to three suits previously raised since last year by a total of 283 victims and their families.
The foreign ministry declined to comment.
“The two governments signed the 1965 deal without asking a single forced laborer,” Choi Yong-sang, who leads a victims’ organization and the latest suit, told reporters.
The two countries share a bitter history that includes Japan’s 1910-45 colonization of the Korean peninsula, the forced mobilization of labor at Japanese companies and the use of comfort women, Japan’s euphemism for girls and women, many of them Korean, forced to work in its wartime brothels.
The rows over wartime history have long been a hurdle for relations between the neighbors at a time when there is a need for concerted efforts to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear and missile program.
More than 220,000 South Koreans have registered with the government as former forced labors since the issue came to a head following a 2005 release of some diplomatic cables in the run-up to the 1965 pact.
The government had offered “condolence funds” of up to 20 million won to the families of nearly 80,000 of them who died overseas, went missing or were injured, but the remainder, including the 1,103, did not receive any money, they said.
“We’re not saying the $300 million aid was ours, but we believe it had the nature of compensation for forced labor and the government used it,” said Park Jong-gang, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, citing undisclosed diplomatic cables.
Several surviving victims and around 300 members of bereaved families gathered at the conference, some donning traditional white hats saying “compensation” and others holding a banner reading “the government must compensate”.
There are now about seven or eight survivors nationwide, according to the group.
Lee Won-soo, a 89-year-old survivor who said he worked at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd at age 16, said he had almost given up on receiving an apology from Japan and any compensation.
“I thought I was going to die, crushed and left alone, as no one had ever bothered to comfort me for my suffering under Japanese rule,” Lee told reporters.
“But now I believe the world won’t let it pass.”
Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Nick MacfieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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00c5853881a34ed8dfcd16ccfeb0d742 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-fsa-bloggers-idUSKBN19W2UC | Bloggers are Japan regulator's new weapon in fund fight | Bloggers are Japan regulator's new weapon in fund fight
By Tomo Uetake5 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s financial regulator is trying a new tack in its fight with asset managers by bringing in bloggers to shame an industry it says provides retail investors with poor service.
Motoyuki Yufu (C), Deputy Director-General of Planning and Coordination Bureau at Financial Services Agency (FSA), and other FSA staff members hold a meeting with investors and influential bloggers at FSA in Tokyo, Japan June 29, 2017. Picture taken June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato
The Financial Services Agency (FSA) has accused the nation’s “toshin” investment funds of charging high fees, delivering poor returns and pushing investors from one trendy product to the next to generate fees.
It hopes that inviting internet writers to meetings with investors can help spread its message further than via traditional media and so influence the “toshin” fund industry to change.
Persuading Japanese to move their savings out of bank accounts and government bonds and into riskier assets is vital for reinvigorating Japan’s long-sluggish economy and financing the retirements of its rapidly ageing people, government and financial experts say.
But that is less likely to happen so long as investors receive poor service and low returns from fund managers.
“Fund distributors have gotten their asset-management subsidiaries to create products that help themselves make money, ignoring customer needs,” wrote 44-year-old blogger Kenichi Minase, who joined a recent meeting of bloggers, investors and FSA officials.
Bloggers go by pseudonyms in Japan and the FSA did not require them to give their real names at the meetings. Minase is one of Japan’s best-known bloggers among retail investors and his blog has been viewed 41 million times since January 2016. He declined to be identified other than by his pseudonym.
“That led to creation of too many small toshin and churning of funds,” he wrote. “I think the industry’s sin is grave. We need to have a system where the industry takes into account not only their own interest but also investors’ interest.”
A lack of attractive investment trusts, critics argue, partly explains why Japanese keep more than half of their 1,800 trillion yen ($16 trillion) in personal financial assets in bank accounts generating virtually no interest, rather than in shares and other investments that would reap higher returns.
Slideshow ( 4 images )
Individuals hold barely 10 percent of their total assets in stocks, with less than 6 percent in “toshin” funds. In the United States, households have 35 percent of their financial assets in stocks and 11 percent in mutual funds, according to Bank of Japan and U.S. Federal Reserve data.
The FSA broadside was delivered in a speech in early April by Commissioner Nobuchika Mori, who said about 280 active Japanese stocks funds over the last 10 years had returned an average of 1.4 percent after deducting fees. He said a third had made losses, while the benchmark Nikkei share average produced annual gains of 3 percent during that period.
Mori’s speech hit a nerve. Japan’s investment trusts that month saw their first net outflow of funds in six months, data from the Japan Investment Trusts Association showed.
The association’s vice chairman, Yoshio Okubo, said the organization was studying the challenges facing funds and asset managers and was seeking to strengthen governance.
“We take the FSA’s criticism seriously,” he said. “But some of its comments, such as those on churning and aggressive selling of funds with monthly dividends, have more to do with sales agents rather than fund management companies.”
Satoshi Nojiri, head of Fidelity Investor Education Institute at FIL Investments Japan, said the FSA is right to promote “a shift to wealth development from savings” but said it was not clear what the authorities are seeking to do by inviting in the bloggers.
“It would be better to include the financial industry as well so both investors and the industry can move ahead hand in hand.”
The FSA regularly meets with financial professionals and other experts and began its “grassroots blogger project” in April by reaching out to individual investors and the internet writers.
“This project is ground-breaking for us - we normally don’t do this,” said Motoyuki Yufu, deputy director-general at the agency’s Planning and Coordination Bureau. “We decided to try this new approach as we felt that communication through existing channels such as mass media has its limits, and that bloggers’ influence is powerful and this could be a major channel of communication.”
The FSA has adopted some of the bloggers’ opinions as policy, officials said, such as the criteria funds need to meet to be eligible for a new type of Nippon Individual Savings Accounts, or NISAs, the equivalent of Britain’s tax-free ISAs.
“Some FSA officials may have thought of us as a bit dodgy at first,” said 38-year-old investment blogger Mushitori Kozou, who declined to be identified beyond his pseudonym. “But we have things to say. I’m glad that the FSA is listening to us.”
($1=113.77 yen)
Reporting by Tomo Uetake; Editing by Billy Mallard and Neil FullickOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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6405089f17b6524f2e83a4890bd7e904 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-fukushima-asylumseeker-idINKBN16F0YN?edition-redirect=in | Bangladeshi asylum seekers tricked into radiation clean-up: media | Bangladeshi asylum seekers tricked into radiation clean-up: media
By Minami Funakoshi, Thomas Wilson3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Two Bangladeshi asylum seekers in Japan cleared up radioactive contamination from one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters on the false promise doing so would win them permission to stay in the country longer, media reported on Wednesday.
FILE PHOTO - Big black plastic bags containing radiated soil, leaves and debris from the decontamination operation are dumped at a seaside, devastated by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Tomioka town, Fukushima prefecture, near Tokyo Electric Power Co's (TEPCO) tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant February 22, 2015. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo
The Fukushima nuclear plant suffered multiple meltdowns after being hit by a tsunami triggered by a big earthquake on March 11, 2011. Companies decontaminating areas around the plant, which usually involves removing radioactive top soil, have struggled to find workers willing to do the job.
The two men, who arrived in Japan in 2013 saying they were escaping political persecution, said they were told by brokers and construction companies that their visas would be extended if they did decontamination work, the Chunichi newspaper reported.
“We believed the visa story because they said it’s a job Japanese people don’t want to do,” Chunichi quoted one of the men, Monir Hossain, as saying.
Reuters was not able to reach the two men.
The men did the decontamination work in Iitate village, about 50 km (30 miles) south of the plant, from January to March 2015, Chunichi said.
Japan maintains tight controls on the entry of foreign workers but asylum seekers are allowed to work while their applications are reviewed. Many have permits allowing them to stay and work that have to be renewed every six months.
Mitsushi Uragami, a justice ministry official who oversees refugee recognition, said there were no residence permits on offer for people doing decontamination.
“The length of asylum seekers’ residence permits and them doing decontamination work are unrelated. If anyone is giving inaccurate explanations about this, it’s problematic,” Uragami told Reuters.
The department was investigating the case, he said.
Takuya Nomoto, an environment ministry official overseeing decontamination, said the Chunichi report did not give the names of the companies or labor brokers involved, and as such the ministry was not able to confirm it.
“The ministry expects all contractors involved in decontamination to comply with the law,” he said.
The Fukushima Labour Bureau said this month more than half of the 1,020 companies involved in decontamination violated labor and safety laws last year.
Reuters revealed in 2013 that homeless men were put to work clearing radioactive soil and debris in Fukushima for less than the minimum wage.
Reuters also found the clean-up depended on a little scrutinized network of subcontractors - many of them inexperienced with nuclear work and some with ties to organized crime.
Reporting by Minami Funakoshi; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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8ad321bfd4ff87324d80ea48624ab57c | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-fukushima-insight-idUKBRE97D00M20130814?edition-redirect=uk | Insight: After disaster, the deadliest part of Japan's nuclear clean-up | Insight: After disaster, the deadliest part of Japan's nuclear clean-up
By Aaron Sheldrick, Antoni Slodkowski9 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is preparing to remove 400 tons of highly irradiated spent fuel from a damaged reactor building, a dangerous operation that has never been attempted before on this scale.
A general view of the cover installation for the spent fuel removed from the cooling pool at the No.4 reactor building at Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO) tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture in this June 12, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Toshifumi Kitamura/Pool/Files
Containing radiation equivalent to 14,000 times the amount released in the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima 68 years ago, more than 1,300 used fuel rod assemblies packed tightly together need to be removed from a building that is vulnerable to collapse, should another large earthquake hit the area.
Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) is already in a losing battle to stop radioactive water overflowing from another part of the facility, and experts question whether it will be able to pull off the removal of all the assemblies successfully.
“They are going to have difficulty in removing a significant number of the rods,” said Arnie Gundersen, a veteran U.S. nuclear engineer and director of Fairewinds Energy Education, who used to build fuel assemblies.
The operation, beginning this November at the plant’s Reactor No. 4, is fraught with danger, including the possibility of a large release of radiation if a fuel assembly breaks, gets stuck or gets too close to an adjacent bundle, said Gundersen and other nuclear experts.
That could lead to a worse disaster than the March 2011 nuclear crisis at the Fukushima plant, the world’s most serious since Chernobyl in 1986.
No one knows how bad it can get, but independent consultants Mycle Schneider and Antony Froggatt said recently in their World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2013: “Full release from the Unit-4 spent fuel pool, without any containment or control, could cause by far the most serious radiological disaster to date.”
Tepco has already removed two unused fuel assemblies from the pool in a test operation last year, but these rods are less dangerous than the spent bundles. Extracting spent fuel is a normal part of operations at a nuclear plant, but safely plucking them from a badly damaged reactor is unprecedented.
“To jump to the conclusion that it is going to work just fine for the rest of them is quite a leap of logic,” said Gundersen.
The utility says it recognizes the operation will be difficult but believes it can carry it out safely.
Nonetheless, Tepco inspires little confidence. Sharply criticized for failing to protect the Fukushima plant against natural disasters, its handling of the crisis since then has also been lambasted.
Last week, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered the government to take a more active role in controlling the overflow of radioactive water being flushed over the melted reactors in Units 1, 2 and 3 at the plant.
GIANT FRAME
The fuel assemblies are in the cooling pool of the No. 4 reactor, and Tepco has erected a giant steel frame over the top of the building after removing debris left behind by an explosion that rocked the unit during the 2011 disaster.
The structure will house the cranes that will carry out the delicate task of extracting fuel assemblies that may be damaged by the quake, the explosion or corrosion from salt water that was poured into the pool when fresh supplies ran out during the crisis.
The process will begin in November and Tepco expects to take about a year removing the assemblies, spokesman Yoshikazu Nagai told Reuters by e-mail. It’s just one installment in the decommissioning process for the plant forecast to take about 40 years and cost $11 billion.
Each fuel rod assembly weighs about 300 kilograms (660 pounds) and is 4.5 meters (15 feet) long. There are 1,331 of the spent fuel assemblies and a further 202 unused assemblies are also stored in the pool, Nagai said.
Almost 550 assemblies had been removed from the reactor core just before the quake and tsunami set off the crisis. These are the most dangerous because they have only been cooling in the pool for two and a half years.
“The No. 4 unit was not operating at the time of the accident, so its fuel had been moved to the pool from the reactor, and if you calculate the amount of cesium 137 in the pool, the amount is equivalent to 14,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs,” said Hiroaki Koide, assistant professor at Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute.
Spent fuel rods also contain plutonium, one of the most toxic substances in the universe, that gets formed during the later stages of a reactor core’s operation.
INADVERTENT CRITICALITY
“There is a risk of an inadvertent criticality if the bundles are distorted and get too close to each other,” Gundersen said.
He was referring to an atomic chain reaction that left unchecked could result in a large release of radiation and heat that the fuel pool cooling system isn’t designed to absorb.
“The problem with a fuel pool criticality is that you can’t stop it. There are no control rods to control it,” Gundersen said. “The spent fuel pool cooling system is designed only to remove decay heat, not heat from an ongoing nuclear reaction.”
The rods are also vulnerable to fire should they be exposed to air, Gundersen said.
The fuel assemblies are situated in a 10 meter by 12 meter concrete pool, the base of which is 18 meters above ground level. The fuel rods are covered by 7 meters of water, Nagai said.
The pool was exposed to the air after an explosion a few days after the quake and tsunami blew off the roof. The cranes and equipment normally used to extract used fuel from the reactor’s core were also destroyed.
Tepco has shored up the building, which may have tilted and was bulging after the explosion, a source of global concern that has been raised in the U.S. Congress.
The utility says the building can withstand shaking similar to the quake in 2011 and carries out regular structural checks, but the company has a credibility problem. Last month, it admitted that contaminated water was leaking into the Pacific Ocean after months of denial.
The fuel assemblies have to be first pulled from the racks they are stored in, then inserted into a heavy steel chamber. This operation takes place under water before the chamber, which shields the radiation pulsating from the rods, can be removed from the pool and lowered to ground level.
The chamber is then transported to the plant’s common storage pool in an undamaged building where the assemblies will be stored.
Tepco confirmed the Reactor No. 4 fuel pool contains debris during an investigation into the chamber earlier this month.
Removing the rods from the pool is a delicate task normally assisted by computers, according to Toshio Kimura, a former Tepco technician, who worked at Fukushima Daiichi for 11 years.
“Previously it was a computer-controlled process that memorized the exact locations of the rods down to the millimeter and now they don’t have that. It has to be done manually so there is a high risk that they will drop and break one of the fuel rods,” Kimura said.
Under normal circumstances, the operation to remove all the fuel would take about 100 days. Tepco initially planned to take two years before reducing the schedule to one year in recognition of the urgency. But that may be an optimistic estimate.
“I think it’ll probably be longer than they think and they’re probably going to run into some issues,” said Murray Jennex, an associate professor at San Diego State University who is an expert on nuclear containment and worked at the San Onofre nuclear plant in California.
“I don’t know if anyone has looked into the experience of Chernobyl, building a concrete sarcophagus, but they don’t seem to last well with all that contamination.”
Corrosion from the salt water will have also weakened the building and equipment, he said.
And if an another strong earthquake strikes before the fuel is fully removed that topples the building or punctures the pool and allow the water to drain, a spent fuel fire releasing more radiation than during the initial disaster is possible, threatening about Tokyo 200 kilometers (125 miles) away.
When asked what was the worst possible scenario, Tepco is planning for, Nagai said: “We are now considering risks and countermeasures.”
(Corrects spelling of Hiroshima in second paragraph.)
Additional reporting by James Topham and Mari Saito; Writing by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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e20a3f980e8c3fc8bd177a7b6c6f205a | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-fukushima-nuclear-tourism/as-fukushima-residents-return-some-see-hope-in-nuclear-tourism-idUSKBN1JH081 | As Fukushima residents return, some see hope in nuclear tourism | As Fukushima residents return, some see hope in nuclear tourism
By Tim Kelly6 Min Read
FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - On a cold day in February, Takuto Okamoto guided his first tour group to a sight few outsiders had witnessed in person: the construction cranes looming over Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Seven years after a deadly tsunami ripped through the Tokyo Electric Power plant, Okamoto and other tour organizers are bringing curious sightseers to the region as residents who fled the nuclear catastrophe trickle back.
Many returnees hope tourism will help resuscitate their towns and ease radiation fears.
But some worry about drawing a line under a disaster whose impact will be felt far into the future. The cleanup, including the removal of melted uranium fuel, may take four decades and cost several billion U.S. dollars a year.
“The disaster happened and the issue now is how people rebuild their lives,” Okamoto said after his group stopped in Tomioka, 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) south of the nuclear plant. He wants to bring groups twice a week, compared with only twice a month now.
Electronic signs on the highway to Tomioka showed radiation around 100 times normal background levels, as Okamoto’s passengers peered out tour bus windows at the cranes poking above Fukushima Daiichi.
“For me, it’s more for bragging rights, to be perfectly honest,” said Louie Ching, 33, a Filipino programmer. Ching, two other Filipinos and a Japanese man who visited Chernobyl last year each paid 23,000 yen ($208.75) for a day trip from Tokyo.
NAMIE
The group had earlier wandered around Namie, a town 4 kilometers north of the plant to which residents began returning last year after authorities lifted restrictions. So far, only about 700 of 21,000 people are back - a ratio similar to that of other ghost towns near the nuclear site.
Slideshow ( 21 images )
Former residents Mitsuru Watanabe, 80, and his wife Rumeko, 79, have no plans to return. They were only in town to clear out their shuttered restaurant before it is demolished, and they chatted with tourists while they worked.
“We used to pull in around 100 million yen a year,” Mitsuru said as he invited the tourists inside. A 2011 calendar hung on the wall, and unfilled orders from the evacuation day remained on a whiteboard in the kitchen.
“We want people to come. They can go home and tell other people about us,” Mitsuru said among the dusty tables.
Okamoto’s group later visited the nearby coastline, where the tsunami killed hundreds of people. Abandoned rice paddies, a few derelict houses that withstood the wave and the gutted Ukedo elementary school are all that remain.
It’s here, behind a new sea wall at the edge of the restricted radiation zone, that Fukushima Prefecture plans to build a memorial park and 5,200-square-metre (56,000-square-foot) archive center with video displays and exhibits about the quake, tsunami and nuclear calamity.
For a graphic on Fukushima returnees, click tmsnrt.rs/2lv77E6
LURING TOURISTS
“It will be a starting point for visitors,” Kazuhiro Ono, the prefecture’s deputy director for tourism, said of the center. The Japan Tourism Agency will fund the project, Ono added.
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Ono wants tourists to come to Fukushima, particularly foreigners, who have so far steered clear. Overseas visitors spent more than 70 million days in Japan last year, triple the number in 2011. About 94,000 of those were in Fukushima.
Tokyo Electric will provide material for the archive, although the final budget for the project has yet to be finalised, he said.
“Some people have suggested a barbecue area or a promenade,” said Hidezo Sato, a former seed merchant in Namie who leads a residents’ group. A “1” sticker on the radiation meter around his neck identified him as being the first to return to the town.
“If people come to brag about getting close to the plant, that can’t be helped, but at least they’ll come,” Sato said. The archive will help ease radiation fears, he added.
SPECTACLE
Standing outside a farmhouse as workmen refurbished it so her family could return, Mayumi Matsumoto, 54, said she was uneasy about the park and archive.
“We haven’t gotten to the bottom of what happened at the plant, and now is not the time,” she said.
Matsumoto had come back for a day to host a rice-planting event for about 40 university students. Later they toured Namie on two buses, including a stop at scaffolding near the planned memorial park site to view Fukushima Daiichi’s cranes.
Matsumoto described her feelings toward Tokyo Electric as “complicated,” because it is responsible for the disaster but also helped her family cope its aftermath. One of her sons works for the utility and has faced abuse from angry locals, she added.
“It’s good that people want to come to Namie, but not if they just want to get close to the nuclear plant. I don’t want it to become a spectacle,” Matsumoto said.
Okamoto is not the only guide offering tours in the area, although visits of any kind remain rare. He said he hoped his clients would come away with more than a few photographs.
“If people can see for themselves the damage caused by tsunami and nuclear plant, they will understand that we need to stop it from happening again,” said Okamoto, who attended university in a neighboring prefecture. “So far, we haven’t come across any opposition from the local people.”
Reporting by Tim Kelly; additional reporting by Kwiyeon Ha and Toru Hanai; Editing by Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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4fe97d2ff2737d19b6b114e13f13f8ae | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-fukushima-support-idUSKBN13X00G?il=0 | Japan to increase loan to Fukushima operator Tepco to $123 billion: source | Japan to increase loan to Fukushima operator Tepco to $123 billion: source
By Takaya Yamaguchi2 Min Read
A Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) logo is pictured on a sign showing the way to the venue of the company's annual shareholders' meeting in Tokyo June 28, 2011. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/File Photo
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will increase an interest-free loan to the operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power 9501.T, by more than a third to 14 trillion yen ($123 billion), a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Spiraling costs from the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986 are threatening the viability of the utility known as Tepco and hampering its ability to clean up its wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The increase in the loan from 9 trillion yen is to cover the costs for compensation and decontamination areas around the plant, according to the source, who is not authorized to speak to the media.
Three reactors melted down at the plant after a magnitude 9 earthquake in March 2011, which sparked a tsunami that devastated a large section of Japan’s northeastern coastline.
More than 15,000 people were killed in the natural disaster, which also caused a loss of power and cooling at the Fukushima station.
Explosions in the wake of the reactor meltdowns led to a massive release of radiation that prompted the evacuation of 160,000 people from areas around the plant, many of whom will never be able to return.
The disaster is likely to cost 22.6 trillion yen ($199 billion), more than double an earlier government estimate.
Costs for decommissioning the wrecked reactors will be covered by a separate arrangement from the loan, according to the Nikkei newspaper, which earlier reported the increase in the loan for Tepco.
($1 = 113.7100 yen)
Reporting by Takaya Yamaguchi; Writing by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Richard PullinOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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500d6002cb860a01075a27625d596892 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-fukushima-water-idUKKCN1VV0CC?edition-redirect=uk | Japan may have to dump radioactive water into the sea, minister says | Japan may have to dump radioactive water into the sea, minister says
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Tokyo Electric Power 9501.T will have to dump radioactive water from its destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean as it runs out of room to store it, the environment minister said on Tuesday.
FILE PHOTO: Storage tanks for radioactive water are seen at Tokyo Electric Power Co's (TEPCO) tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan February 18, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
Tokyo Electric, or Tepco, has collected more than 1 million tonnes of contaminated water from the cooling pipes used to keep fuel cores from melting since the plant was crippled by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
“The only option will be to drain it into the sea and dilute it,” the minister, Yoshiaki Harada, told a news briefing in Tokyo.
“The whole of the government will discuss this, but I would like to offer my simple opinion.”
The government is awaiting a report from an expert panel before making a final decision on how to dispose of the radioactive water.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, in a separate press briefing, described Harada’s comments as “his personal opinion”.
Tepco was not in a position to decide what to do but would follow the policy once the government made a decision, a spokesman for the utility said.
The utility says it will run out of room to store the water by 2022. Harada did not say how much water would need to be dumped into the ocean.
Any green light from the government to dump the waste into the sea would anger neighbors such as South Korea, which summoned a senior Japanese embassy official last month to explain how the Fukushima water would be dealt with.
“We’re just hoping to hear more details of the discussions that are under way in Tokyo so that there won’t be a surprise announcement,” a South Korean diplomat told Reuters, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of bilateral ties.
South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement said it had asked Japan “to take a wise and prudent decision on the issue”.
Relations between the East Asian nations are already frosty following a dispute over compensation for Koreans forced to work in Japanese factories in World War Two.
Coastal nuclear plants commonly dump into the ocean water that contains tritium, an isotope of hydrogen that is hard to separate and is considered to be relatively harmless.
Tepco, which also faces opposition from fishermen, admitted last year that the water in its tanks still contained contaminants beside tritium.
“The government must commit to the only environmentally acceptable option for managing this water crisis which is long term storage and processing to remove radioactivity, including tritium,” Shaun Burnie, senior nuclear specialist with Greenpeace Germany, said in an email.
Reporting by Tim Kelly; additional reporting by Hyonhee Shin in SEOUL and Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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15a038e3bf9d8d3fbddf530829226455 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-gasoline/old-people-power-japans-rural-elderly-reverse-gas-station-closures-idUSKCN1BR00S | Old people power: Japan's rural elderly reverse gas station closures | Old people power: Japan's rural elderly reverse gas station closures
By Osamu Tsukimori5 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - In Shimukappu, a village on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido and home to a popular skiing resort, residents are to reopen the sole gas station in the area, which closed four years ago as sales declined.
A 'Temporarily Closed' sign is displayed at a gas station in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Japan June 28, 2017. Picture taken June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato
It’s a similar story elsewhere in Japan, where oil demand has dropped by nearly a third since 2000 as the country’s population dwindles and new car sales are also down by around a third since 1990.
With that waning demand, the number of gas stations, which also supply winter heating fuels, has roughly halved from a 1995 peak to 31,000 nationwide.
That has left many mainly elderly people in remote areas a long way from the nearest pump station to fill up.
About 15 percent of villages, towns and cities in the world’s third-largest economy have three or fewer gas stands, and the trade ministry has urged local governments to do more to keep these essential lifelines open.
While most shuttered gas stations are abandoned and chained, some have had a make-over and are now shops, cafes, and launderettes.
Amid a national trend of a declining population, which is accelerating in remoter parts of Japan, local governments have increasingly taken an active role in buying closed facilities and offering subsidies to keep them operational.
But in some rural villages, elderly people power is leading the rescue effort as younger generations move to the cities in search of work.
“The nearest gasoline stands in the next town are around 30 km (19 miles) away,” said Mitsuhiko Hirakawa, head of Shimukappu city office’s Tomamu area that hosts the ski resort. “The lack of gas stands is very inconvenient.”
Slideshow ( 4 images )
A local survey showed residents ranked the lack of a filling station as their second-biggest source of dissatisfaction, prompting the local government to step in and buy the shuttered stand, which is due to reopen next month, Hirakawa said.
The industry ministry says local communities in at least a dozen other villages have taken over abandoned fuel stations, closed due to falling sales, a lack of people to run them, and the cost of replacing ageing underground fuel tanks.
The issue is becoming so acute that the central government is budgeting several tens of millions of dollars a year to support the refurbishment of rural gasoline stands.
Even in the more rural western districts of the capital Tokyo - the world’s most populous metropolitan area - some residents have to drive more than 15 km to fill up.
And a shift towards electric cars (EVs) isn’t yet helping as vehicles still have a limited mileage per charge, says Yoshikazu Goto, another Shimukappu village official. Japan has just 7,000 quick EV-charging stations, according to the industry ministry.
The head of Japan’s oil refiners’ association, Yasushi Kimura, said one solution is to combine fuelling services with stores selling other household goods.
“A decline in the number of gas stands is to a certain extent inevitable as long as demand for oil including gasoline continues to decline,” Kimura said. “We would need to think about how to make the gas stands survive in the community by making them part of the goods store, for example.”
In Shimanto City, with a population of around 35,000 in the west of the country, local residents chipped in to help buy the area’s only gas stand, which now operates as part of a store also offering home-delivery for goods, said Takehiko Okamura, a store clerk.
“This area’s elderly people ratio exceeds 50 percent, and the population has decreased by 70 since the store began in 2006,” he said. “So the business is getting tougher every year.”
And in Kawakami village, also in western Japan, the aging owner of the last pump stand handed the business for free to the village, and a public cooperative reopened it in April, offering various services for the elderly, including a mobile supermarket.
(For a graphic on dwindling Japan gasoline sales, click reut.rs/2xEqCji)
(For a graphic on declining number of Japan gasoline stands, click reut.rs/2fpU81v)
Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Ian GeogheganOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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e34be776d0b2c809daf86f33c1e1c815 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-germany-idUSKCN1PT0WX | Japan, Germany share responsibility to work towards global peace: PM Abe | Japan, Germany share responsibility to work towards global peace: PM Abe
By Andreas Rinke, Elaine Lies3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel share a responsibility to work towards global peace and prosperity, with both hoping for a prompt, democratic solution to Venezuela’s leadership crisis.
Merkel, on a two-day visit to Japan, said that Germany recognises opposition leader Juan Guaido as the nation’s interim president, joining many European nations, and said he should organise new elections as soon as possible.
“Guaido is the person with whom we are talking and who we expect to initiate an election process as quickly as possible, and he is the legitimate interim president for this task from the German perspective and also from the perspective of many European partners,” Merkel told a news conference with Abe.
“And we hope that this process is as short as possible and of course peaceful,” she added.
Abe emphasized his cooperation with Merkel during a visit aimed a forging an “alliance of multilateralists” to resist U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” approach to trade and China’s pursuit of narrow national interests.
“Our responsibility towards working for global prosperity and security has merely increased,” he said, adding that the two leaders would work for a global order “based on rules.”
Merkel referred to an EU-Japan trade deal that entered into force on Feb. 1, saying: “All in all, a trip at a time in which we have demonstrated that, even at times when multilateral agreements are in difficult straits, we are ready to conclude such things.”
Slideshow ( 5 images )
“..very good win-win situations can occur when all partners talk to each other. Of course, fairness and reciprocity are part of this, but that is what we advocate.”
Abe did not comment on Guaido’s status, but he said Japan wanted a stable, democratic and prompt solution to Venezuela’s political crisis. Several European nations have joined the United States in recognising Guaido as interim president, intensifying a global showdown over Nicolas Maduro’s socialist rule.
Merkel said Germany would do everything possible to avoid a no-deal Brexit, but she did not want to see Britain’s divorce deal with the EU - the so-called Withdrawal Agreement - renegotiated.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday she would seek a “pragmatic solution” to a parliamentary impasse over the terms on which Britain leaves the European Union when she tries to reopen talks with Brussels less than two months before Britain is due to leave the bloc on March 29.
“There are definitely options for preserving the integrity of the single market, even when Northern Ireland isn’t part of it because it is part of Britain, while at the same time meeting the desire to have if possible no border controls,” Merkel said.
“To solve this point you have to be creative and listen to each other, and such discussions can and must be conducted,” she added. “We can still use the time to perhaps reach an agreement if everyone shows good will.”
Reporting by Elaine Lies; additional reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; editing by Darren SchuettlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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757cdae00a21339b3057168968dffc7b | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-giantrobot/japanese-engineer-builds-giant-robot-to-realize-gundam-dream-idUSKBN1HK0HX | Japanese engineer builds giant robot to realize 'Gundam' dream | Japanese engineer builds giant robot to realize 'Gundam' dream
By Megumi Lim2 Min Read
SHINTO, Japan (Reuters) - Japanese engineer Masaaki Nagumo had always dreamed of suiting up as a robot from “Mobile Suit Gundam”, his favorite animation series growing up. Now he has made it a reality by creating a giant humanoid inspired by the science fiction franchise.
Developed at Sakakibara Kikai, a maker of farming machinery, LW-Mononofu is an 8.5-meter (28-feet) tall, two-legged robot weighing in at more than 7 tonnes. It contains a cockpit with monitors and levers for the pilot to control the robot’s arms and legs.
“I think this can be turned into a business opportunity,” Nagumo, 44, told Reuters, noting the popularity of the iconic series that has spawned movies, manga, video games and more.
Sakakibara Kikai has developed other robots and amusement machines alongside its main agriculture equipment business and rents them out for about 100,000 yen ($930) an hour, for kids’ birthday parties and other entertainment, he said.
The company has created robots as varied as the 3.4-metre tall Landwalker, the smaller Kid’s Walker Cyclops and the MechBoxer boxing machine - but the mighty Mononofu towers over them all and executes more complex movements.
It can move its fingers and turn its upper body, and walk forward and backward. It is no speedster, however, moving at less than 1 km per hour.
But what it lacks in pace, it makes up for with power: the bazooka-like air gun on its right arm shoots sponge balls at around 140 kph (87 miles per hour).
“As an anime-inspired robot that one can ride, I think this is the biggest in the world,” said Nagumo.
Mononofu, however, might be a bit too large: it is unable to leave the factory without being dismantled because it was built taller than the entrance.
Reporting by Megumi Lim; Writing by Chris GallagherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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2bc2f8f91947667662e85bb6727752e8 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-gpif-bonds-exclusive/exclusive-japans-gpif-to-allow-investing-up-to-31-in-foreign-bonds-sources-say-idINKBN21D0JY?edition-redirect=in | Exclusive: Japan's GPIF to allow investing up to 31% in foreign bonds, sources say | Exclusive: Japan's GPIF to allow investing up to 31% in foreign bonds, sources say
By Takashi Umekawa, Takaya Yamaguchi2 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund will allow as much as 31% of its assets to be invested in foreign bonds, two sources familiar with the matter said, reflecting more leniency for the fund to overshoot its formal allocation target.
FILE PHOTO: The sign of Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) is seen in Tokyo, Japan, November 16, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
The world’s largest pension fund will raise its foreign bond allocation target to 25% from 15% in its new portfolio which the it is due to disclose later this month, Reuters previously reported.
The permissible range of deviation in foreign bonds from the allocation target will be extended to 6% from the current 4%, said the government sources, who declined to be identified because the plan has not been made public. That will boost the upper limit of investment in foreign bonds to 31% from 19%.
A spokeswoman for GPIF, which managed 169 trillion yen ($1.5 trillion) as of end-December, declined to comment.
Another 11 trillion yen would be poured into foreign bonds if the fund invests 25% in the asset, shows Reuters’ calculation based on the fund’s results as of end-June.
The fund halted disclosing the amount and ratio of investments in different asset classes from the second quarter last year, as it aimed to avoid affecting the market with such details ahead of the portfolio review.
While raising the foreign bonds allocation target, the fund will cut its domestic bond allocation target to 25% from 35%, the sources said.
The changes will mean that without deviations, the fund’s portfolio will be evenly split at 25% each across domestic and foreign stocks and domestic and foreign bonds.
In the current portfolio, the allocation targets are 25% each for domestic and foreign stocks, 35% for domestic bonds, and 15% for foreign bonds.
Japanese government earlier this week appointed Masataka Miyazono, a former Norinchukin Bank executive, as the new GPIF head, after Reuters reported his impending appointment.
Reporting by Takashi Umekawa and Takaya Yamaguchi; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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f5087c815b20472ed741ccbcc4b73fe1 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-graves-idCAKBN25M0XP?edition-redirect=ca | Over 1,500 human bones found at Osaka historical grave site | Over 1,500 human bones found at Osaka historical grave site
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
Slideshow ( 5 images )
TOKYO (Reuters) - An excavation in the western Japanese city of Osaka has unearthed more than 1,500 human bones at what is thought to be a burial site dating back some 160 years, city officials have said.
The site, dubbed the “Umeda Tomb”, is believed to be one of seven historical grave sites from the late Edo and early Meiji periods around the 1850s to 1860s.
Researchers discovered 350 small graves at the site as well as the remains of animals including four piglets, horses, and cats, city officials announced earlier this month.
The Osaka City Cultural Properties Association said people buried at the site were likely local residents from around Osaka Castle town, with many believed to be in their 30s or small children. Some looked to have had signs of disease on their hands and feet, it said.
Multiple bodies were found in some graves. Experts believe they were buried together due to deaths related to an epidemic disease, the association said.
Reporting by Akiko Okamoto; Editing by Giles ElgoodOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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c3c0395eae9bc78a256381fc41b83128 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-hitler-idUSKBN19K1KT | Japanese central banker praises Hitler's economic policies | Japanese central banker praises Hitler's economic policies
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: Newly-appointed Bank of Japan (BOJ) board member Yutaka Harada speaks during a news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo March 26, 2015.
TOKYO (Reuters) - A Bank of Japan policymaker praised Adolf Hitler’s economic policies on Thursday, but said they enabled the Nazi dictator to do “horrible” things to the world.
Yutaka Harada, a member of the board of Japan’s central bank, said Western policymakers helped bring Hitler to power by being slow to apply John Maynard Keynes’ proposals to fight the Great Depression.
Hitler had taken “wonderful” fiscal and monetary stimulus steps, which in turn led to “something horrible for the world” as his strengthened grip on power led to the Holocaust and massive human casualties during World War Two, Harada said in a seminar on monetary policy in Tokyo.
Hitler became German chancellor in 1933.
“Because Hitler had taken appropriate fiscal and monetary policy steps, tragedy resulted. What I’m saying is that someone should have taken appropriate fiscal and monetary policy steps before Hitler did,” said Harada, an academic-turned BOJ policymaker.
Fiscal policy involves setting government spending and tax rates, whereas monetary policy involves money supply and interest rates set by a central bank.
A BOJ spokesman said the central bank could not comment as it was not aware of the details of Harada’s remarks.
Public figures in Japan, which was part of the World War Two Axis powers with Germany and Italy, have sometimes caused controversy with favorable comments about some aspects of the Nazi regime. At the same time, however, Holocaust-denial and neo-Nazi movements are essentially unknown in Japan.
Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso drew criticism from a U.S.-based Jewish rights group over comments he made in 2013, but were later retracted, that were interpreted as praise for Germany’s Nazi regime and Hitler’s rise to power.
Reporting by Leika Kihara and Sumio Ito; Editing by Nick MacfieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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2ab009a97a3c1d48e7dbd9c87c2384a6 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-hpv-vaccine-study/japans-halt-of-regular-hpv-vaccine-to-cause-thousands-of-cancer-deaths-study-idINKBN2050K9?edition-redirect=in | Japan's halt of regular HPV vaccine to cause thousands of cancer deaths: study | Japan's halt of regular HPV vaccine to cause thousands of cancer deaths: study
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - A decision by Japan to stop recommending adolescent girls receive a HPV vaccination will likely result in almost 11,000 deaths from cervical cancer if it is not reversed, according to a study in a prestigious medical journal.
The HPV vaccine has been a political lightening rod in Japan, where claims of side effects prompted the government to halt active recommendation of the shots in June 2013.
A study published in The Lancet Public Health on Monday said that policy would lead to more than 24,600 cervical cancer cases that could have been prevented.
Using Japanese population and medical data and forecasted cervical cancer incidence, the study found that, if nothing changes, there would be 10,800 preventable deaths from cervical cancer over the next 50 years.
“If the government were to resume promoting the HPV vaccine in Japan, our study shows that we could avoid most of this loss of life,” said study co-author Sharon Hanley, a professor at Hokkaido University in northern Japan.
The Japanese government could not immediately be reached for comment on the Lancet report. Kei Tamura, deputy director of the Health Ministry’s immunization office, said in an interview in December that “there is a sort of inner conflict in that we are not aggressively, proactively recommending it, but I do think it’s better to take it.”
HPV, which stands for the human papilloma virus, causes genital warts in both sexes and cervical cancer in women. Each year, about 10,000 Japanese women are newly diagnosed with the cancer while 3,000 die from it.
Uptake was swift when the vaccine was introduced in Japan in 2009, with immunization reaching about 70% in adolescent girls.
However, the vaccination rate has since slid to below 1% after the health ministry suspended its active recommendation after reports of side effects including muscle pain, sleep disorders, and light and sound sensitivity.
Females aged 12-16 can still get free HPV vaccines under Japan’s national healthcare system if they ask for it. Everyone else must pay out of pocket.
In November, ruling party legislator Junko Mihara, a cervical cancer survivor, said lawmakers would hold talks on the vaccine this summer. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and eight other regional leaders signed a letter supporting HPV vaccination.
The Health Ministry said in December it was working on improving leaflets on the vaccine, but had no time table for a return to regular immunization.
Reporting by Rocky Swift; editing by Jane WardellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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a3bc90772f2e259d006c3acefbbcb68b | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-idemitsu-kosan-basf/japans-idemitsu-kosan-to-end-petrochemical-jv-with-basf-close-plant-idINKCN25F0I5?edition-redirect=in | Japan's Idemitsu Kosan to end petrochemical JV with BASF, close plant | Japan's Idemitsu Kosan to end petrochemical JV with BASF, close plant
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
Slideshow ( 2 images )
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan said on Wednesday it will end its petrochemical joint venture with German chemical manufacturer BASF due to slumping demand at home and an oversupply caused by plant expansions in Asia.
The joint venture will in December close its Chiba plant for making butanediol, an organic compound used in stretchable fibres and engineering plastics.
Idemitsu said it will exit from the butanediol business.
Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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e1431cfde09d437d308194dac20fa946 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-insurance-m-a-idUSKCN1PT08P | Japan insurers to target China M&A in new phase after $50 billion overseas push | Japan insurers to target China M&A in new phase after $50 billion overseas push
By Sumeet Chatterjee, Taiga Uranaka6 Min Read
HONG KONG/TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese insurance companies have spent more than $50 billion on acquisitions over the past five years to become the world’s second-largest buyer of insurance assets, and the deals spree won’t be slowing down any time soon.
FILE PHOTO : A man walks past a logo of Japanese life insurer Nippon Life at the company's headquarters in Tokyo April 21, 2011. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao
The cashed-up insurers are expected to step up their hunt in new markets, with Asia, mainly China, at the top of their wish list, bankers and insurance sector sources said.
Two sector giants - Nippon Life Insurance and Tokio Marine Holdings - said last month they were seeking more deals overseas, at a time when not many regional or global insurers have the appetite to splurge cash on assets.
Japanese insurance firms have been busy scooping up assets in countries, from Australia to the United States, in the last few years, as they sought to cushion the impact of negative interest rates and a fast-maturing market at home.
They struck M&A deals worth $6.1 billion last year, up 66 percent from 2017, Refinitiv data showed. Japanese insurers have spent $53 billion on deals since 2014, the second most by insurers of any country after the United States.
The overseas push, however, largely excluded China, the world’s No.3 insurance market after the United States and Japan, due to foreign ownership curbs and fragile diplomatic relations between the two Asian economies.
That will change with China set to allow foreigners to own majority stakes in domestic insurance joint ventures, and Beijing and Tokyo looking to forge closer business ties amid rising trade tensions with Washington, the bankers said.
“Now finally with the easing of foreign shareholding, they would jump in,” said Linda Sun-Mattison, an Asian insurance analyst at Bernstein, referring to Japanese insurers. “China is probably the biggest opportunity in the life insurance sector.”
(GRAPHIC: Acquisitions by Japanese insurance companies - tmsnrt.rs/2TofYEx)
China is in the process of easing foreign ownership curbs for life insurance joint ventures that will allow overseas firms to own 51 percent in those units compared to the current 50 percent. Foreign firms have already been allowed to operate wholly-owned non-life units in the country.
Beijing has pledged to remove the foreign ownership limit in life insurance ventures completely in three years.
In a sign of the growing interest in China, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, a unit of Japan’s MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc, agreed in May to buy Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s 37.5 percent stake in mid-sized BoComm Life for $477 million.
Bankers who work with Japan insurers said firms including Dai-ichi Life Holdings Inc and Sompo Holdings Inc were expected to step up their search for Chinese targets in the years ahead.
“While you will see a few big deals happening in the U.S., the number of transactions will definitely be more in Asia ... where the Japanese insurers need to consolidate their position,” said a Hong Kong-based financials head at an investment bank.
The banker said his firm was already working on a few possible acquisition deals by Japanese insurers in China. He declined to be named as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
“We do not have a plan in China during the current medium-term business plan period, but we will continue to study the market,” said a spokeswoman for Dai-ichi Life.
A Sompo spokesman said the company “will study strategies for emerging countries including China”. A Tokio Marine spokesman said: “At this moment, we have no deal decided in China.” A Nippon Life spokesman said the company is working to grow its Chinese joint venture Nissay-Greatwall Life Insurance.
DIVERSIFICATION GOAL
Nippon Life and other Japan insurers including Tokio Marine that have operations in China have not been able to scale up there in competition with dominant local players and global rivals including Prudential and Sun Life.
Top Chinese firms such as China Life Insurance and Ping An Insurance Group collectively hold about 90 percent of the Chinese life insurance market.
“China has not been an easy market for Japanese insurers, but it is a huge market still despite slower growth prospects,” said Tokyo-based Goldman Sachs managing director Teppei Takanabe, who specializes in the financial sector.
With a low life insurance market penetration of 3 percent of gross domestic product and a growing middle class, the easing of ownership curbs is set to make China the next battleground for insurers seeking growth outside their home markets.
Fitch said in a December report that Japanese insurers’ M&A in the mature insurance markets of the United States, Britain and Australia would provide “only moderate growth”, forcing some of them to divest “unneeded” foreign units.
For property-and-casualty insurers including Tokio Marine, Sompo and MS&AD, China’s opening up comes as they themselves are looking to diversify geographically. They are seeking income from new markets that can help offset the impact of enhanced payouts due to a series of natural disasters hitting Japan.
As a result of the easing of foreign ownership rules in China, “we will not rule out the possibility of M&A deals by Japanese insurers, if they are looking for earnings growth and diversification in the longer term,” said Akane Nishizaki, associate director for insurance ratings at Fitch.
Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee in Hong Kong and Taiga Uranaka in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Kane Wu in Hong Kong and Gaurav Dogra in Bengaluru; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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08284423a65992039c8682be907d1c7e | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-insurer-fukoku-life/japans-fukoku-life-triples-domestic-stock-investment-as-yields-tumble-idUKKBN1WW0QZ?edition-redirect=uk | Japan's Fukoku Life triples domestic stock investment as yields tumble | Japan's Fukoku Life triples domestic stock investment as yields tumble
By Stanley White, Mariko Sakaguchi4 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Co plans to triple its investment in domestic stocks this fiscal year as global monetary easing has crushed overseas bond yields, reducing the appeal of foreign debt.
Fukoku, which had 6.28 trillion yen ($57.74 billion) in total assets as of March, plans to halve its investments in foreign bonds this fiscal year.
The company bets it can generate better returns on domestic stocks with attractive dividends, Yusuke Onodera, general manager of investment planning at Fukoku, told Reuters.
In August, government bond yields around the world plunged to unprecedented levels, pushing yields on some debt into minus territory. In some cases, entire yield curves went negative, which has made some institutional investors more cautious.
“Given low domestic bond yields and the risks from investing in overseas bonds, it makes sense to buy Japanese stocks that promise to deliver good dividends,” Onodera said in an interview on Wednesday.
Bond yields have since risen from their lows touched in August, but expectations are still strong that central banks in Europe, the United States and elsewhere will need to ease monetary policy further.
A bruising trade war between the United States and China is slamming the brakes on global economic growth, and the situation could get worse unless the world’s two-largest economies find a way to quickly scale back punitive tariffs.
For the year ending March 2020, Fukoku plans to invest 60 billion yen in Japanese equities. This is an upward revision from the 20 billion yen in purchases it had planned in May, the insurer said.
The insurer will look to buy Japanese equities on dips that have higher dividend yields than returns expected from overseas debt, Fukoku’s Onodera said.
Some equity analysts are worried that corporate profits will weaken, but the chance of corporate share buybacks and expectations for stable dividends still make Japanese shares attractive, he said.
In fiscal 2019, Fukoku will buy 20 billion yen in foreign bonds, half the 40 billion yen it had planned in May. Fukoku will reduce purchases of currency-hedged overseas debt to 40 billion yen from its previous plan of 50 billion yen in purchases.
The insurer now plans to sell 40 billion yen in unhedged overseas debt this fiscal year, more than its previous plan for a 30 billion yen reduction.
The U.S. Federal Reserve has cut interest rates twice this year in response to sluggish inflation and worries about the U.S.-China trade war. Traders are betting that the Fed will cut rates further, futures show.
In September, the European Central Bank stunned investors by agreeing to cut rates deeper into negative territory and revive purchases of government debt as the continent struggles with the threat of recession.
Fukoku will reduce holdings of yen-denominated debt by 50 billion yen in fiscal 2019, more than its previous plan of a 30 billion yen reduction issued in May.
Years of aggressive monetary easing by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) has depressed yields, making it harder for institutional investors to generate returns on Japanese government bonds.
Expectations are growing that the BOJ will expand its negative interest rate policy due to worries about the economy but take some measures to steepen the yield curve.
Onodera questioned the BOJ’s ability to steepen the yield curve, saying the central bank can push down yields at the short end but has not found a way to make longer-term yields gain.
Reporting by Stanley White, Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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f5ebc649d294216c8590fe1cb9d6c0e9 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-insurer-idINKBN27C12J?edition-redirect=in | Japanese insurers look to domestic bonds as yield gaps with foreign peers narrow | Japanese insurers look to domestic bonds as yield gaps with foreign peers narrow
By Tomo Uetake4 Min Read
(Reuters) - Japanese life insurers, among country’s largest institutional investors, are returning to the domestic bond market after many years of forays into foreign debt as the yield gaps between them have shrunk following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of them plan to increase their holdings of domestic fixed income assets while planning to reduce those of foreign debt in the second half of the current financial year to March, officials said at news conferences or in interviews with Reuters.
“We have long been investing primarily in U.S. dollar bonds but now that their yields have fallen to so low, we are not in a position to buy them aggressively anymore,” said Koichi Nakano, general manager for investment planning at Meiji Yasuda Life.
Foreign bonds have been a major source of income for Japanese institutional investors who had been deprived of interest income at home due to the Bank of Japan’s hyper-easy monetary policy.
The coronavirus outbreak and subsequent monetary easing around the world to shore up battered economies, however, knocked down bond yields in the United States and elsewhere, shrinking the yield gaps between Japan and the rest of the world.
The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield US10YT=RR, having slumped to a record low of 0.318% in March, has stayed mostly in 0.5-0.8% range in the current financial year.
Many investors are turning cautious about holding foreign bonds without currency hedges, as they expect the dollar/yen JPY=EBS could weaken following the dollar's broad decline in the middle of this year.
With hedges, returns from U.S. bonds, the mainstay of Japanese investors, are more depressed.
The cost of hedges with three-month currency forward contracts has been more than 0.50% per annum in the current fiscal half, though it can vary, depending on time, currency and instruments they use.
BACK TO HOME
Five of the top ten insurers Reuters talked to said they will reduce sovereign debt, or foreign bonds in general, while only one saw an increase in holdings of foreign currency debt.
Six insurers look to increase domestic bonds, with only one having an explicit plan to reduce them.
“We plan to increase the holdings of Japanese government bonds (JGBs) regardless of market environment. But if their yields rise further, we could consider accelerating buying,” said Akifumi Kai, general manager of investment planning at Dai-ichi Life.
Yields on long-dated JGBs have edged up lately as the BOJ has been quietly trying to talk up superlong bond yields to mitigate damages to the country’s yield earners, such as insurers and pension funds.
The 20-year yield has risen above 0.40% JP20YTN=JBTC, compared with a three-year low of 0.015% hit in September last year.
Many of them expect market volatility after U.S. elections on Nov. 3 though Sumitomo Life [SMTLI.UL] and Japan Post Insurance 7181.T said they are keen to buy stocks when the market corrects.
Japanese insurers are also stepping up adoption of ESG (environmental, social and governance) investing.
Nippon Life, the industry leader, said it will start incorporating ESG perspectives on all its investments, beginning in April next year. Dai-ichi said it expanded ESG to all its foreign stocks portfolio in September.
Reporting by Tomo Uetake in Sydney and Tokyo Markets Team; Editing by Hideyuki Sano and Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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7bfd55e5d6aa97f9146c87923d74b08e | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-iran-mufg/japans-mufg-bank-to-halt-iran-related-trade-due-to-u-s-sanctions-document-idUKKBN1K20X0?edition-redirect=uk | Japanese banks MUFG, Mizuho to stop Iranian transactions | Japanese banks MUFG, Mizuho to stop Iranian transactions
By Osamu Tsukimori, Taiga Uranaka3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese banks are moving to stop handling all Iran-related transactions to meet a November deadline set by the United States, after President Donald Trump in May pulled out of a nuclear program agreement with Tehran.
FILE PHOTO: A man walks past a signboard of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and MUFG Bank at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan April 3, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
Japan's biggest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG) 8306.T, will halt all Iran transactions to comply with the reimposition of U.S. sanctions against Tehran later this year, according to a document seen by Reuters on Thursday.
The banking unit of Mizuho Financial Group Inc 8411.T said later on Thursday it would take the same action. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC) 8316.T will carefully consider its response in compliance with the law and based on U.S. sanctions, it said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
The move by MUFG is likely force a halt in Iranian crude oil purchases by Japanese companies as its banking unit handles the bulk of those imports, industry sources have told Reuters.
The bank was fined hundreds of millions of dollars in 2014 for misleading U.S. regulators about its transactions with sanctioned countries including Iran.
“The bank is afraid of U.S. sanctions, so cannot handle trade transactions. Other Japanese banks are likely to be in the same position,” said a Japanese analyst who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Trump in May withdrew the United States from a multi-party deal on Iran’s nuclear program and ordered the reimposition of U.S. sanctions against Tehran that were suspended under the 2015 agreement.
Washington later told countries to stop buying Iran’s crude oil, that nation’s most important export item, by Nov. 4 or face financial consequences.
Japan is one of the biggest buyers of Iranian crude but the country’s oil refiners have said they may have to stop loading Iranian crude oil from October if they cannot get an exemption from U.S. sanctions to allow imports to continue.
Beyond oil, trade between Japan and Iran is minimal.
MUFG Bank Ltd [MTFGTU.UL] has informed customers in Japan about its decision, given that dealings with Iranian financial institutions will be prohibited after a 180-day wind-down period, which ends on Nov. 4, the document showed.
MUFG may revise its policy should additional guidance be given by the United States, the bank said in the document.
MUFG did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(GRAPHIC: Iran crude oil exports to major Asian clients in H1 2018 - reut.rs/2NIum8v)
Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori and Taiga Uranaka; Writing by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Christopher Cushing and David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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1e49f5b16da83d9fff4668489571f14a | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-iran-zarif-abe/pm-abe-says-japan-wants-to-develop-ties-with-iran-idUSKCN1SM07D | PM Abe says Japan wants to develop ties with Iran | PM Abe says Japan wants to develop ties with Iran
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, left, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, right, shake hands at Abe's official residence in Tokyo Thursday, May 16, 2019. Eugene Hoshiko/Pool via REUTERS
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan would like to maintain, and develop, its traditionally friendly ties with Iran, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday.
At the start of a meeting in the Japanese capital, Abe also told Zarif that he was concerned about growing tension in the Middle East.
U.S. President Donald Trump has ratcheted up sanctions on Iran since the United States withdrew a year ago from a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and global powers by which Tehran curbed uranium enrichment capacity in return for sanctions relief.
Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Chris Gallagher and Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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12501972158b9dfd04a058f05d57c8d3 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-jgb-issuance-exclusive/japan-to-trim-total-government-bond-issuance-next-fiscal-year-sources-idINKBN1YM030?edition-redirect=in | Japan to trim total government bond issuance next fiscal year: sources | Japan to trim total government bond issuance next fiscal year: sources
By Takaya Yamaguchi3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan plans to trim its overall government bond issuance to the market by 0.5% next fiscal year from current year’s levels, government officials said on Wednesday, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe balances supporting growth and reining in huge public debt.
The drop would mark the seventh straight year of declines in total debt issuance, despite rising fiscal spending as worries grow that cooling global growth and the U.S.-China trade war could hit corporate tax income in export-led Japan.
The government is set to sell 128.8 trillion yen ($1.19 trillion) of Japanese government bonds (JGBs) in the next fiscal year beginning in April 2020, down from this year’s 129.4 trillion yen, the two officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity because the plan has not yet been announced.
Of the total, the government is considering increasing issuance of JGBs with maturity of 40 years by 600 billion yen from the current fiscal year to 3 trillion yen, the officials said, in a nod to solid demand from investors hunting for yield amid years of ultra-low interest rates.
Issuance plans for other maturities will remain unchanged, they added.
New bond issuance for next fiscal year, which excludes bonds issued to roll over those reaching maturity, will fall for the 10th straight year to 32.56 trillion yen, versus this fiscal year’s 32.7 trillion yen, a draft obtained by Reuters showed.
The government is expected to approve its draft budget for next fiscal year on Friday.
The general-account budget will hit a record 102.66 trillion yen in spending due to increases in welfare to support the fast-ageing population as well as military outlay, according to the draft. Tax revenue is estimated at 63.51 trillion yen.
After peaking at a record 156.6 trillion yen issued in fiscal 2013, government bond issuance has been declining, supporting Abe’s arguments that Japan is keeping its fiscal house in order while boosting spending to reflate the economy.
The government has managed to trim the amount of JGBs sold to the market in recent years, partly by tapping funds raised in the past from “front-loading” JGB issuance, which took advantage of low borrowing costs.
Still, Japan’s public debt is the highest among advanced economies and total spending under next fiscal year’s budget is likely to hit a new record. And yet, bond yields have been kept low due to the Bank of Japan’s aggressive buying under a policy that caps 10-year government bond yields around 0%.
The BOJ’s ultra-loose monetary policy has crushed yields across the curve, forcing investors to hoard super-long government bonds in search of higher returns.
Wary of the implications of a flattening yield curve on financial institutions’ profits, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has repeatedly warned against excessive falls in super-long yields.
The increase in supply of 40-year bonds could alleviate the pain of investors, though many analysts doubt the effect on steepening the yield curve would be sustainable.
Writing by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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835903fbf5dfc4a8ad658be33f50daa1 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-lgbt-residence-idUSKCN1VX0QC | U.S. man in same-sex marriage sues Japan government for long-term visa | U.S. man in same-sex marriage sues Japan government for long-term visa
By Elaine Lies3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - A U.S. man whose marriage to his Japanese husband is legally recognized in his country sued the Japanese government on Wednesday for the same right to stay that a heterosexual couple would get, saying he was being denied a family life.
According to Japanese law, foreign nationals married to Japanese in heterosexual marriages are granted long-term residence status upon arrival in Japan, but those in same-sex marriages are not.
Though nearly two dozen Japanese cities, towns and wards issue certificates recognizing same-sex partnerships, they lack legal standing.
Japan remains deeply conservative and the constitution says marriage is between a man and a woman.
Andrew High, a U.S. citizen who met his Japanese husband 15 years ago in the United States, and married him there in 2015, sued the government to demand the same long-term residence rights that a foreign heterosexual spouse would get.
His husband, Kohei, who does not want his last name or occupation revealed, joined him in a separate suit demanding 11 million yen ($102,000) in damages, their lawyer, Masako Suzuki, told Reuters.
“It’s violating their constitutional rights and also international conventions, because it’s infringement of their right to have a family life,” Suzuki said.
The long-term residence status stretches from one to five years. High is on a short-term visa that expires next month.
A former software developer at a U.S. university, High has lived in Japan on and off with Kohei since 2009. At one point he founded his own company in Japan and gained a “business manager” visa, but lost that visa when the company ran into financial difficulties.
He then applied for a long-term residence visa granted under special circumstances but was rejected five times.
“If they’re separated because he has to leave Japan, it’s a violation of their right to have a family life. But then if his Japanese husband has to leave Japan so they can live together, it’s a violation of his right as a Japanese citizen to live in Japan,” Suzuki said.
A Justice Ministry official said they had yet to receive full details of the case and could not comment.
Suzuki said she was hopeful because of recent legal cases, including one in March in which a man from Taiwan was allowed to stay with his Japanese partner. Last month, a Southeast Asian transgender woman was also granted permission to stay.
Japan’s laws on LGBT rights are relatively liberal compared with those in many Asian countries, although many LGBT people in still conceal their sexuality.
But Japan’s conservative ruling Liberal Democratic Party said in its 2016 manifesto that “same-sex marriage is incompatible with the constitution”.
On Valentine’s Day, 13 same-sex couples filed suits in at least four Japanese cities, saying the government was violating their constitutional rights to equal treatment.
Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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7eba49885a9e78f7b8475d7e08d13b50 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-malaysia-mahathir/malaysia-pm-says-japan-to-consider-future-financial-support-idUSKCN1NB0HI | Malaysia PM says Japan to consider future financial support | Malaysia PM says Japan to consider future financial support
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad exchanges smiles with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the end of their joint news conference at Abe's official residence in Tokyo, Japan November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Issei Kato
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is ready to extend Malaysia support to help overcome its financial problems if the need arises, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Tuesday.
“Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe assured as that, if, in future, we have a need to seek Japanese support in solving our financial problems, he’s ready and the Japanese government is ready to consider (it),” Mahathir told a news conference.
Malaysia this month announced an expanded budget for 2019 and forecast a wider fiscal deficit, as Mahathir’s new administration grapples with shrinking revenue and large debt left by his predecessor.
Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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54da906b350bce647552dcbd955d8dfe | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-markets-nikkei-yen-analysis-idUKKBN27R0PI?edition-redirect=uk | Analysis: Japanese stocks catch global investors' eyes as post-COVID growth play | Analysis: Japanese stocks catch global investors' eyes as post-COVID growth play
By Stanley White, Tom Westbrook4 Min Read
TOKYO/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Japan’s traditionally overlooked stock market is winning new fans as global investors use the promise of a coronavirus vaccine and a new U.S. administration to hunt for more fairly valued, growth-oriented markets.
FILE PHOTO: A man wearing a protective face mask walks past a screen displaying a graph showing recent Nikkei share average outside a brokerage, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan November 2, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato
The Nikkei stock average .N225, historically an underperformer, has jumped to its highest in almost 3 decades and has become one of the developed world's top performers in the week since Democrat Joe Biden won the Nov. 3 U.S. election.
Investors are betting that a less fractious global trade policy under Biden and a COVID-19 vaccine will lead to a stronger economic rebound and higher bond yields.
As a result, many investors are now rotating out of “growth” stocks that comprise defensive, fast-growing sectors such as technology into those more attuned to fundamental economic strength.
That puts Japan, with its staple of consumer and industrial blue-chips, firmly in their cross-hairs.
“We feel that Japan is becoming very interesting again,” said Patrick Ghali, managing partner of hedge fund advisory firm Sussex Partners, which is recommending increased allocation.
“It feels like it’s the last fundamental place left, if you look at valuations.”
Even before the pandemic, some foreign fund managers were turning optimistic on Japan, which is often avoided because of corporate cash-hoarding and anaemic growth.
Those cash piles now look more attractive, as strong balance sheets spell steady dividends and more acquisitions.
In August, after years scouring the globe for a big purchase, legendary investor Warren Buffet splashed $6 billion on 5% stakes in each of Japan’s old-world trading conglomerates.
“For Japan, you get a developed market, you get the best dividend growth of any developed market and you’ve also got a market with a big chunk of earnings coming from outside of Japan,” said Jim McCafferty, joint head of Asia-Pacific equity research at Nomura Securities in Hong Kong.
Shares in Japan's two biggest car manufacturers, Toyota Motor 7203.T and Honda Motor 7267.T are at multi-month highs after the firms doubled operating profit forecasts, due to a recovery in demand from China, which highlights an economic decoupling from the West that Nomura's McCafferty says makes Japan appealing.
Graphic - Japanese stocks - historic underperformance:
A YEN FOR THE NIKKEI
The Nikkei hit a high of 25,401.30 this week and is up 55% since its trough in March, getting a big lift after positive results from Pfizer Inc's PFE.N coronavirus vaccine trial.
Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities in Tokyo, sees it at 26,000 early next year. Among the more bullish forecasts, Tokyo-based Monex Securities expects an 8.5% rise to 27,500 by March.
The surge in Japanese stocks this year has stumped many investors because it coincided with the yen's rise JPY= to an eight-month high versus the dollar, showing the market was increasingly less reliant merely on exports.
Graphic - Yen and Nikkei:
Japan’s government has been pushing companies to improve corporate governance, and the decades-long effort is starting to yield results as boards agree to give investors higher returns.
Dividend yields in Japan are around 2.8%, higher than 2.2% in the United States and on par with the 3.0% dividend yield for many emerging markets, according to Schroders.
“It should be noted that in previous global recessions, the profit recovery for Japanese corporates has always been a ‘V’ and we wouldn’t doubt this time will be different,” analysts at securities firm Jefferies said in a note last week.
Still, with so much hinging on the recovery from the pandemic, forecasts for the Nikkei are being revised up cautiously and gradually. Any setback in the development of a coronavirus vaccine will knock equities lower, Fujito warns.
Reporting by Stanley White in Tokyo and Tom Westbrook in Sydney, additional reporting by Eimi Yamamitsu in Tokyo; Editing by Vidya Ranganathan and Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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1de639646db1917f922fa0939de914ec | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-markets-yen-idUSKBN16U0OP | Rising yen bucks fundamentals, gives Japan a diplomatic breather | Rising yen bucks fundamentals, gives Japan a diplomatic breather
By Shinichi Saoshiro5 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese yen’s recent rise against the dollar has defied conventional market wisdom, but a stronger currency may actually support Japan as it confronts the Trump administration on matters of trade and foreign exchange.
Light is cast on a U.S. one-hundred dollar bill next to a Japanese 10,000 yen note in this picture illustration shot February 28, 2013. REUTERS/Shohei Miyano/Illustration/File Photo
The Federal Reserve’s explicit plan to raise interest rates this year, in stark contrast to the Bank of Japan’s persistently accommodative monetary policy, should in theory be a reason for investors to move out of the yen and seek yield in the greenback, the so-called carry trade.
However, growing investor doubts over President Donald Trump’s economic stimulus plans have hurt the dollar in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, now in a rare fifth year as leader, is battling scandals on two separate issues, driving funds into the safe haven yen.
While a stronger yen is typically bad news for Japan’s exporters, it provides some reprieve for an economy that the United States has accused of exploiting a cheap currency for growth.
“The Japanese authorities are aware of these trade threats and have been proactive in trying to manage the relationship with President Trump,” economists at Oxford Economics said in a report earlier this week.
And if the idea of a weak yen becomes a point of contention between the two countries, Japan could guide the yen to be stronger than Oxford Economics’ baseline projection of 118 to the dollar, they said.
The yen JPY= is now around 111 per dollar, the highs last seen just after Donald Trump was elected U.S. president in November. It hit 110.735 on Wednesday, its highest since late November.
Analysts expect the yen to remain strong.
“Dollar/yen should be around 114 considering current U.S.-Japan yield spreads, but it has drifted down to 111 on worries over political risks,” said Yukio Ishizuki, senior currency strategist at Daiwa Securities.
Ishizuki expects the dollar’s value will fall towards 110 yen in the next three months, occasionally even dropping below that threshold.
GOOD TIMING
The yen’s rise comes conveniently just weeks before U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Japan and meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, who doubles as Japan’s finance minister, to discuss bilateral economic issues.
Japan’s large trade surplus with the United States has stirred fears that the Trump administration might press for a stronger yen. Data on Wednesday showed Japan’s exports to the United States grew the most in roughly two years in February.
“There appear to be concerns about the feasibility of U.S. policies going forward,” said Shusuke Yamada, senior strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Tokyo, referring to the dollar flagging against the yen.
“Wariness that Trump won’t tolerate a stronger dollar, for example a rise by the currency to 120 yen, also seems to be limiting the scope for the dollar to gain against the yen.” Yamada said.
In theory, the yen should be weaker. Yield differentials between U.S and Japanese two-year bonds were at 1.6 percentage points earlier this month, their widest since August 2008.
The U.S.-Japan long-term yield differential rose above 2.5 percentage points in December, its widest in seven years, and has remained close to that level.
The tentative revival of interest in carry trades, in which investors borrow cheap currencies such as the yen at low rates and invest in assets that offer higher returns, should also technically weaken the yen.
As Abe faces questions on his ties to a nationalist school involved in a murky land deal and his defense minister faces calls to resign, political uncertainty is an added risk.
Japanese retail traders are betting against the yen and have tripled their long dollar positions over the span of a few days according to some trading platform providers.
And, the dollar’s woes may reverse if concerns about Trump’s policies abate. Investor confidence in the dollar faces a crucial test later Thursday when Trump’s own party votes on the government’s healthcare legislation, a rejection of which could delay tax reform and the infrastructure boost.
Editing by Vidya Ranganathan and Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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15d42b46f6e5169e0605de127fbedb23 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-minister-paternity-idCAKBN1ZG03B?edition-redirect=ca | It's a boy! Paternity leave looms for Japanese minister Koizumi | It's a boy! Paternity leave looms for Japanese minister Koizumi
By Elaine Lies4 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese environment minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who has said he will take paternity leave here in a rare move for a Japanese man, announced on Friday the birth of his first child: a boy.
Koizumi, son of charismatic former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi and seen as a future leader himself, said on Wednesday he was planning to take two weeks of leave over three months, in an effort to become a role model for Japan’s working fathers.
But some lawmakers have criticized his interest in taking parental leave, saying he should prioritize his public duties.
The telegenic Koizumi, popularly known as Shinjiro to distinguish him from his father, grabbed headlines in the summer of 2019 with news he was marrying Christel Takigawa, a French-Japanese television personality, and that they were expecting a child. Soon after, he was named environment minister.
Koizumi told reporters he had come straight from the hospital and had been by his wife’s side for the birth.
“As a father I’m really happy that a healthy boy was safely born,” a tired but happy Koizumi told a news conference. “Both of them are doing well, that’s the most important thing.”
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been trying to encourage more men to take paternity leave, and for businesses to allow a better work-life balance, as part of his “Womenomics” program of bolstering women’s employment.
While Japan’s parental leave policies are among the world’s most generous, providing men and women with partially paid leave of up to a year, or longer if there is no public child care, just 6% of eligible fathers take child care leave, and most of them for less than a week, according to government data.
“FOLLOW HIS EXAMPLE”
FILE PHOTO: Japan's new Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi arrives at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's official residence in Tokyo, Japan September 11, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato
Koizumi acknowledged that he had heard comments both for and against his decision.
“I’ll keep a priority on policy and on managing anything unexpected that comes up, while also carving out time for child care,” he said.
The reaction on the streets of central Tokyo was supportive.
“I think it’s a wonderful thing,” said Hitoshi Aoki, a 35-year-old company employee. “It is a very new and good thing for someone who has authority to take initiative with his action.”
Kotaro Suzuki, a 22-year-old university student, said: “I hope my boss would say ‘OK’ when I request to take (paternity leave). I wish our society becomes like that.”
Cabinet ministers also lauded Koizumi’s decision, with Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura - a father of three daughters - hoping it would have a positive social impact.
“I hope he can take as much time as possible. It’ll be really good if many more men follow his example and take time off.”
Koizumi seemed to still be adjusting to his new role.
“I don’t really feel like a father yet, but that should come soon. I want to be a father like my dad was,” he was quoted by NHK television as saying.
Shinjiro’s father divorced his mother when she was pregnant with their third son and never remarried. He told the couple when they announced their marriage that everybody “should try matrimony once”.
Additional reporting by Kaori Kaneko and Reuters TV; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Gerry Doyle and Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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7b970f3fac319486a477c2603c1bb008 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-missingboy-idUSKCN0YT0HZ | Japanese boy left in forest was crying so hard, he walked the wrong way: media | Japanese boy left in forest was crying so hard, he walked the wrong way: media
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - The seven-year-old Japanese boy abandoned in a forest by his parents for being naughty meant to follow his parents’ car but was crying so hard he went the wrong way, a newspaper said.
Feeling that the woods were “scary”, Yamato Tanooka kept walking along the road even after the sun set, eventually arriving at a military base where he found an unlocked building and slipped in.
The massive search for Yamato Tanooka, after his parents left him by the side of a road in northern Japan as discipline for throwing stones at cars, kept Japan riveted for nearly a week until his discovery on a Japanese military base.
It prompted a flood of social media comment, much of it critical of the parents, but police said on Monday that they would not file charges.
The Mainichi Shimbun newspaper said on Monday he was sobbing so hard he took the wrong direction.
“I walked for about five hours, I think,” Yamato was quoted as saying. After finding the building, “I was cold so I went inside to sleep.”
Wearing a baseball cap and holding a paper baseball, Yamato waved at journalists and well wishers gathered in front of the hospital on Tuesday, occasionally flashing a gap-toothed smile.
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Asked how he was feeling, the boy said: “I’m all right.” He added that he was looking forward to getting back to school as his father took his hand and led him to a car.
Yamato’s parents first said he disappeared while they foraged for edible plants, but later told police they had left him by the road to discipline him after he threw stones at people and cars.
They said when they drove back a few minutes later the boy had disappeared.
Yamato said he stayed in the unlocked building for the next six days with no food, although he drank water from an outdoor tap. Although he heard search helicopters flying overhead, he decided to stay where he was and await discovery, media said.
(This version of the story has been refiled to drop reference to Tuesday in first paragraph)
Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Nick MacfieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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4664000f3df0583efa3a7c0415e529ad | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-myanmar/rights-group-denounces-japan-envoy-for-disturbing-comments-on-myanmar-rohingya-idUSKBN1ZE0V7 | Rights group denounces Japan envoy for 'disturbing' comments on Myanmar Rohingya | Rights group denounces Japan envoy for 'disturbing' comments on Myanmar Rohingya
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo-based human rights activists on Wednesday decried recent remarks by Japan’s ambassador to Yangon, who told local media he did not think the Myanmar military committed genocide on the Rohingya Muslim minority in the country.
More than 730,000 Rohingya fled the Southeast Asian nation to Bangladesh in 2017 after a military-led crackdown. The United Nations has said the campaign was executed with “genocidal intent” and included mass killings and rape.
The military offensive has sparked a series of ongoing legal cases filed in recent months at courts across the globe, including the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), both based in the Hague.
Zaw Min Htut, vice president of an advocacy group, Burmese Rohingya Association in Japan, said the ambassador’s remarks were “disturbing”.
“I am very disappointed and appealing again to the Japanese government. Please try to help Rohingya people and don’t side with criminals,” Zaw Min Htut told foreign correspondents in Tokyo.
“Today the Japanese government do not even cooperate, not supporting U.N. actions on Myanmar,” he said.
His group supports about 250 Rohingya based in Japan.
Ichiro Maruyama, the Japanese ambassador to Myanmar, told local news website the Irrawaddy in December that he did not think the Myanmar military “committed genocide or (had the) intent of genocide”. He was previously quoted by the same outlet as saying that potential trade sanctions on Myanmar over the Rohingya crisis would be “utter nonsense”.
The ICJ, the United Nations’ highest court, will issue a decision on a request for emergency measures in a genocide case against Myanmar on Jan. 23, the Gambian Ministry of Justice said on Monday.
The mainly Muslim west African country filed a lawsuit in November, alleging Myanmar was committing “an ongoing genocide” against the Rohingya in the western state of Rakhine.
The Myanmar government has strongly disputed that conclusion, categorizing the military operation as a legitimate counter-terrorism response to attacks by Rohingya militants.
Japan’s foreign ministry said it was not in a position to comment on the legal case at the ICJ because it is between “third parties”.
“Ambassador Maruyama did not mean to prejudge findings or judgement of this ICJ case,” the ministry told Reuters in a statement. “Rather, he merely expressed impression as a person working in the country, including showing understanding of the complexity of the situations in Rakhine state.”
Reporting by Ju-min Park and Elaine Lies; additional reporting by Linda Sieg and Poppy McPherson; Editing by Antoni Slodkowski and Nick MacfieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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64cab8f41ba2d61af9e117d55b2a3cab | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-newzealand-idUSKCN18D1J2 | Japan, New Zealand to work together to revive TPP | Japan, New Zealand to work together to revive TPP
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
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TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his New Zealand counterpart, Bill English, on Wednesday said they would work together to bring to fruition the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), even after the United States ditched the free trade pact.
Ministers from Japan and New Zealand are among the remaining pact members gathering in Hanoi this weekend to find ways to revive the agreement after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew in favor of pursuing bilateral talks.
“As the flagbearers of free trade, we will maintain close cooperation and aim at early realization of TPP,” Abe told a joint news conference following a summit with English.
TPP rules have to be changed so it can take effect without U.S. participation, but Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso last month said Tokyo would not rule out the option of negotiating such a deal.
“At this time of international uncertainty, it’s more important than ever for outward-looking trading countries like New Zealand and Japan to state their principles clearly,” said English, urging commitment to international trade and regional economic integration.
“I’m very pleased that New Zealand stands alongside Japan, taking this important regional agreement forward.”
For the TPP to take effect without the United States it would have to drop a rule requiring ratification by at least six countries accounting for 85 percent of the combined gross domestic product of the original 12 member nations.
Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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4e9bab1a6a12adbd327efa01b5b4789a | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-nike-bullying/japan-nike-ad-on-bullying-racism-sparks-hot-online-response-idUSKBN28C0GM?il=0 | Japan Nike ad on bullying, racism sparks hot online response | Japan Nike ad on bullying, racism sparks hot online response
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - A video ad from Nike Japan against bullying and racism that features biracial athletes and other minorities, such as those of Korean descent, has prompted a sharp online response including calls to boycott the company.
FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Australian Open - Second Round - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 22, 2020 Japan's Naomi Osaka during the match against China's Saisai Zheng. REUTERS/Hannah Mckay
Japan has traditionally prided itself on being racially homogeneous, although successful mixed-race athletes such as tennis star Naomi Osaka are challenging that image.
The commercial, “Keep Moving: Yourself, the Future,” released on Nov 30, shows several teen girls bullied in school over their race or other differences, but who ultimately find confidence through soccer prowess.
One scene features a girl whose father is Black surrounded by fellow students, squealing and pulling her hair.
The video, viewed 14.1 million times on Nike Japan’s Twitter feed by noon (0300 GMT) Wednesday, had racked up 63,000 likes but also a cascade of critical comments from many who vowed never to buy Nike products again.
“Nowadays, you often see one or two people of different nationalities going to school perfectly peacefully. The one that’s prejudiced is Nike,” wrote one user named “hira1216”.
Another asked, “Is it so much fun to blame Japan?”
Although Japanese sports fans have celebrated Osaka, who counts Nike as a sponsor and makes a cameo appearance in the ad, she was once depicted as a cartoon character by another sponsor, Nissin, with pale hair and light brown hair, while a comedy duo said she “needed some bleach”.
Nike Japan was not immediately able to comment on the response, but said on its website it believes in the transformative nature of sports.
“We have long listened to minority voices, supported and spoken for causes that fit our values,” it added.
“We believe sports have the power to show what a better world looks like, to bring people together and encourage action in their respective communities.”
Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Karishma SinghOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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c851d26da51c27419bcae11294ece005 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-nintendo-breakingviews/breakingviews-nintendo-plays-winning-japanese-buyback-game-idUKKCN1QF0B5?edition-redirect=uk | Breakingviews - Nintendo plays winning Japanese buyback game | Breakingviews - Nintendo plays winning Japanese buyback game
By Jeffrey Goldfarb3 Min Read
Banners of Nintendo's new game console Switch are pictured at its experience venue in Tokyo, Japan January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
HONG KONG (Reuters Breakingviews) - Stock buybacks are often a silly financial engineering game, but in Japan they warrant serious consideration. Nintendo shows how they can be played to winning effect.
The Super Mario maker will repurchase shares for the first time since 2014, and is simultaneously cancelling a big slug of mostly useless treasury stock sitting in limbo. Although the acquisition accounts for less than 1 percent of the Kyoto-based company’s $33 billion market value, the reasons behind the decision are significant for Japan Inc.
Nintendo is essentially backstopping a secondary sale by five Japanese banks that want to offload shares because of greater regulatory attention on cross-holdings. Companies must now provide financial rationales for stakes they own.
Bank of Kyoto, for one, may struggle to justify the 277 different Japanese stocks – Nintendo being the largest holding – it was sitting on as of last March. At $9 billion, they were worth more than twice as much as the bank’s own market capitalisation. Travis Lundy, an analyst who publishes on SmartKarma, notes how hard it is for companies to generate a decent return on equity simply by collecting dividends from cross-holdings with one hand and paying them out with the other. The Nintendo transaction is a welcome sign that the new corporate governance code could be gaining traction.
Cash is abundant to help unwind these value-destructive arrangements. Japanese enterprises were holding so-called “internal reserves” worth $4 trillion at the end of the latest fiscal year. More than half of non-financial companies in Tokyo’s benchmark index are net cash, according to CLSA. Nintendo is one. And valuations across Japan, at just 12.5 times expected earnings, are low. As for treasury shares, they can artificially inflate market values and be misused as piggy banks for M&A.
Buybacks help address all these issues, and momentum is gathering. The Nintendo deal sent Bank of Kyoto shares up 8 percent, with investors potentially hoping it will pare more holdings. Share repurchases in Japan have surpassed a record 6.5 trillion yen ($58.7 billion) since April 1, and Goldman Sachs forecasts the figure will grow another 20 percent this coming fiscal year. SoftBank Group, Sony and others recently joined the buyback party. Many, like Nintendo, are also cancelling hoarded shares. For Japan, buy and hold is no longer the name of the game.
BreakingviewsReuters Breakingviews is the world's leading source of agenda-setting financial insight. As the Reuters brand for financial commentary, we dissect the big business and economic stories as they break around the world every day. A global team of about 30 correspondents in New York, London, Hong Kong and other major cities provides expert analysis in real time.Sign up for a free trial of our full service at https://www.breakingviews.com/trial and follow us on Twitter @Breakingviews and at www.breakingviews.com. All opinions expressed are those of the authors.
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a6e089ef5c866e3fbfed4f64ab9df5df | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-nuclear-decision-idUKKBN0ND02R20150422?edition-redirect=uk | Japan court rejects request to halt restart of Kyushu Electric's Sendai reactors | Japan court rejects request to halt restart of Kyushu Electric's Sendai reactors
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
KAGOSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - A Japanese court rejected a lawsuit to halt the restart of Kyushu Electric Power’s Sendai nuclear station, plaintiffs said on Wednesday, brushing aside the concerns of local residents worried about the safety of the plant.
The decision by the Kagoshima District Court clears another hurdle for the Sendai station to begin starting up as early as June as the government pushes to restart Japan’s idled nuclear industry four years after the Fukushima disaster.
A majority of the public remains opposed to restarting reactors due to safety fears after shortcomings highlighted by the meltdowns at Fukushima.
The Sendai reactors, on the coast of Kagoshima prefecture in southwestern Japan, are “very close” to getting final regulatory approval to being operations, an official from Japan’s nuclear regulator told Reuters earlier this month.
Reporting by Kentaro Hamada; Writing by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Ed DaviesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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2e44d02976d46a57145ae17e8684d73c | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-nuclear-idUSKBN0MU0AM20150403 | Japan's ruling party wants 20 percent nuclear power in energy mix: media | Japan's ruling party wants 20 percent nuclear power in energy mix: media
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s ruling party wants a revived nuclear power sector to eventually make up a fifth of electricity generation, local media said, a controversial move for a public opposed to nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.
A panel of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party approved a proposal in a closed-door session on Thursday that would boost stable “baseload” energy supplies - nuclear, coal, hydroelectric and geothermal - to about 60 percent by 2030 from 40 percent now, according to reports in several major media outlets.
This can only be achieved, the Asahi newspaper said, by getting nuclear back up to 20 percent of the energy mix, given the difficulty of burning more goal amid a global push to cut greenhouse gases or wringing more hydro power out of Japan’s heavily dammed rivers.
The LDP will present the proposal as early as next week to Abe, the Asahi said. Abe’s government supports reviving nuclear power, but must walk a delicate line as it deliberates the best energy mix for the world’s third-biggest economy.
Some members of a panel under the industry ministry floated a ratio of 15 to 20 percent for nuclear power discussions that began in January.
All of Japan’s reactors are offline as utilities strive to meet tougher standards imposed after the worst nuclear accident in a quarter century.
Two nuclear plants have cleared the main safety hurdles for restarts, but a wholesale return to nuclear reliance would run into big political and operational difficulties.
Opinion polls regularly show most Japanese people want to phase out nuclear power, which supplied about 29 percent of the country’s power before the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
The issue is also politically divisive. Abe’s coalition partner Komeito wants atomic energy gradually phased out, and the Asahi said some LDP members expressed opposition to the plan in Thursday’s meeting.
Logistically, too, reviving nuclear to 20 percent is problematic. The Asahi said that it would require either building more reactors or extending the working life of the oldest reactors - something the new regulator has said would be very difficult.
A Reuters analysis last year showed that 14 reactors will probably restart at some point, 17 are uncertain and 17 will probably never be switched back on, implying nuclear energy would eventually make up less than 10 percent of Japan’s power supply.
Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by William Mallard and Ed DaviesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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853a5b973ea1f97cd8737b1fcde03592 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-nuclear-idUSKCN0YI06Z | Japan to cut emphasis on nuclear in next energy plan: sources | Japan to cut emphasis on nuclear in next energy plan: sources
By Aaron Sheldrick4 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will cut reliance on nuclear power when it releases an updated energy plan as early as next year, reflecting public opposition and a recognition that current policy is unrealistic, three sources familiar with official thinking told Reuters.
Members of the media and Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) employees wearing protective suits and masks walk down the steps of a fuel handling machine on the spent fuel pool inside the No.4 reactor building at the tsunami-crippled TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture November 7, 2013. REUTERS/Tomohiro Ohsumi/Pool/File Photo
The move is expected to boost the country’s use of renewable energy, but will also likely cement its drive towards cheaper coal-fired generation following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis and the shutdown of reactors.
Public resistance to nuclear has remained strong in Japan, and a target by the pro-nuclear industry ministry for nuclear to provide about a fifth of the country’s electricity provoked widespread criticism when it was finalized in 2015.
At the same time, only two of the country’s 42 reactors are currently operating following safety shutdowns, and the industry faces a raft of constraints including aging units and legal challenges.
A target of 10-15 percent for nuclear by 2030 has been mooted, one of the sources said, down from 20-22 percent under current policy.
Cutting nuclear will likely mean higher targets for renewable energy, said Tomas Kaberger, energy and environment professor at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, who as chairman of the Renewable Energy Institute in Tokyo is a regular visitor to Japan.
“There is a more realistic attitude toward nuclear power taking hold in Japan so it would not surprise me to see a significantly larger role for renewable energy in the next energy plan,” Kaberger told Reuters while in Tokyo earlier this week.
The rethink on nuclear follows a recent court decision that forced the shutdown of one reactor.
But renewable energy’s improved competitiveness and the increasing technical challenges of restarting aging and long idled reactors are likely to have been a factor, said Kaberger, who is also on the board of state-owned Swedish utility Vattenfall.
Prior to the deadly 2011 earthquake and tsunami that caused meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, nuclear supplied about 30 percent of Japan’s electricity needs and an earlier energy plan envisaged increasing that to about 50 percent.
An official involved in forming policy at the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry said the timing or schedule for the next release of the basic energy plan or preferred energy mix had not been decided.
Asked if the ministry was considering lowering the target for nuclear, the official said there was no change in stance under current policy.
COAL USE TO RISE
Reducing the target for nuclear is likely to support Japan’s controversial push into coal for power generation, with more than 40 new stations using the dirtiest fuel planned in the coming years, putting its emissions targets at risk.
It may also mean more reliance on liquefied natural gas (LNG) by the world’s biggest importer of the fuel. LNG use surged in the aftermath of Fukushima and prices are expected to remain low for some time amid plentiful supplies, although it is still pricier than coal.
Japan has been inching back to nuclear energy, turning on its first reactor in mid-August after a two-year blackout, despite opinion polls showing consistent opposition.
Any reductions to nuclear targets are likely to be resisted by the powerful utilities, although some have already acted to close aging plants, with six units slated for decommissioning in the past year.
A Reuters analysis last year showed that of the reactors still in shutdown, just seven are likely to be turned on in the next few years.
Additional reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Richard PullinOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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b909a06985e59ad5fa322e15ac3474f7 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-nuclear-koizumi-sugawara-idUSKCN1VX0MD | Exiting atomic power unrealistic for Japan, minister says, disputing colleague | Exiting atomic power unrealistic for Japan, minister says, disputing colleague
By Ritsuko Shimizu, Linda Sieg3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Exiting nuclear power in Japan is unrealistic, the country’s new industry minister said on Thursday, in comments that reiterated the government’s line but are at odds with those made a day earlier by another newly installed cabinet member.
Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Isshu Sugawara attends a news conference at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's official residence in Tokyo, Japan September 11, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato
The conflicting comments by cabinet members appointed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday highlight the abiding sensitivities of nuclear power in Japan, more than eight years after the Fukushima catastrophe caused mass evacuations and Japan’s worst energy crisis in the modern era.
“There are risks and fears about nuclear power,” industry minister, Isshu Sugawara, told reporters a day after his appointment in a cabinet reshuffle.
“But ‘zero-nukes’ is, at the moment and in the future, not realistic,” he added.
The comments by Sugawara, himself once an anti-nuclear advocate, were at odds with those made by new environment minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, who said earlier that Japan should look at ways to exit nuclear power to avoid repeating the March 2011 Fukushima disaster.
“I would like to study how we will scrap them, not how to retain them,” Koizumi said at his first news conference late on Wednesday.
Japan’s nuclear regulator is overseen by Koizumi’s ministry, while energy policy is set by Sugawara’s ministry.
The comments by Koizumi, the son of former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, were out of step with government policy, which designates atomic power as an important element of the energy mix. The senior Koizumi became an anti-nuclear campaigner after Fukushima.
“The reality is that restarts have been not only delayed, but are increasingly difficult and many will be scrapped” said Martin Schulz, senior research fellow at Fujitsu Research Institute.
Shinjiro Koizumi’s comments were “a bit at odds with the government position – but not totally out of line,” Schultz said.
Three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi station run by Tokyo Electric Power melted down after being hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, spewing radiation.
Most of Japan’s nuclear reactors, which before Fukushima supplied about 30% of the country’s electricity, are going through a re-licensing process under new safety standards imposed after the disaster highlighted regulatory and operational failings.
Japan has six reactors operating at present, a fraction of the 54 units before Fukushima. About 40% of the pre-Fukushima fleet is set to be decommissioned after operators decided it would be too expensive to refit them to meet the new safety requirements.
The nuclear sector’s shutdown forced Japan to import record amounts of thermal coal and liquefied natural gas to replace the lost capacity, sending electricity bills for consumers and businesses higher.
Reporting by Ritsuko Shimizu and Linda Sieg; Writing by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by David Dolan and Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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ce636f803966d6876554d0e42a5ec03f | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-nuclear-koizumi/new-environment-minister-says-japan-should-stop-using-nuclear-power-idUSKCN1VX01E?il=0&fbclid=IwAR386v-xlU8XI6306cByxDy4Ms2yQ3-hZA7Dn83SD0XECML9sIy78SPSn8A | New environment minister says Japan should stop using nuclear power | New environment minister says Japan should stop using nuclear power
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
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TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s newly installed environment minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, wants the country to close down nuclear reactors to avoid a repeat of the Fukushima catastrophe in 2011.
The comments by the son of former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, himself an anti-nuclear advocate, are likely to prove controversial in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which supports a return to nuclear power under new safety rules imposed after Fukushima.
“I would like to study how we will scrap them, not how to retain them,” Shinjiro Koizumi said at his first news conference late on Wednesday after he was appointed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japan’s nuclear regulator is overseen by Koizumi’s ministry.
Three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi station run by Tokyo Electric Power melted down after being hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, spewing radiation that forced 160,000 people to flee, many never to return..
Most of Japan’s nuclear reactors, which before Fukushima supplied about 30 percent of the country’s electricity, are going through a re-licensing process under new safety standards imposed after the disaster highlighted regulatory and operational failings.
Japan has six reactors operating at present, a fraction of the 54 units before Fukushima. About 40 percent of the pre-Fukushima fleet is being decommissioned.
Shinjiro Koizumi’s father, a popular prime minister now retired from parliament, became a harsh critic of atomic energy after the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
Reporting by Elaine Lies and Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Paul TaitOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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dbbce121e60552b138b203bfa9863a19 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-nuclear-monju/japan-pulls-plug-on-monju-ending-8-5-billion-nuclear-self-sufficiency-push-idUSKBN14A0UX | Japan pulls plug on Monju, ending $8.5 billion nuclear self-sufficiency push | Japan pulls plug on Monju, ending $8.5 billion nuclear self-sufficiency push
By Osamu Tsukimori, Aaron Sheldrick3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan on Wednesday formally pulled the plug on an $8.5 billion nuclear power project designed to realize a long-term aim for energy self-sufficiency after decades of development that yielded little electricity but plenty of controversy.
People on vacation fish as the Japan Atomic Energy Agency's Monju nuclear power plant, a sodium-cooled fast reactor, is pictured in the background in Tsuruga, Fukui prefecture, July 2, 2011. REUTERS/Issei Kato
The move to shut the Monju prototype fast breeder reactor in Fukui prefecture west of Tokyo adds to a list of failed attempts around the world to make the technology commercially viable and potentially cut stockpiles of dangerous nuclear waste.
“We do not accept this,” Fukui Governor Issei Nishikawa told ministers involved in the decision.
“This abrupt change in policy breeds deep feelings of distrust for the government,” said Nishikawa who strongly backed the project because of the jobs and revenue it brought to a prefecture that relies heavily on nuclear installations. He said decommissioning work for Monju would not start without local government approval.
Four conventional commercial nuclear stations lie in close proximity to Monju, earning Fukui the nickname “nuclear alley.”
Those like most other nuclear stations in Japan remain closed pending safety reviews or decisions on decommissioning after the Fukushima nuclear crisis of 2011 led to the eventual shutdown of all reactors in the country.
The Fukushima crisis sparked strong anti-nuclear sentiment in Japan, making it harder to pursue projects like the Monju facility which has faced accidents, cover-ups and regulatory breaches since construction began in 1985.
The plant was built to burn plutonium derived from the waste of reactors at Japan’s conventional nuclear plants and create more fuel than it used, closing the so-called nuclear fuel cycle and giving a country that relies on overseas supplies for most of its energy needs a home-grown electricity source.
With Monju’s shutdown, Japan’s taxpayers are now left with an estimated bill of at least 375 billion yen ($3.2 billion) to decommission its reactor, on top of the 1 trillion yen ($8.5 billion) spent on the project.
Japan is still committed to trying to make the technology work and will build a new experimental research reactor at Monju, the government said.
But critics within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) think it will be another futile attempt.
“We need to terminate the impossible dream of the nuclear fuel cycle. The fast breeder reactor is not going to be commercially viable. We know it. We all know it,” senior LDP lawmaker Taro Kono said recently at a Reuters Breakingviews event in Tokyo.
Editing by Manolo Serapio Jr.Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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ae8ffa786a26414aa52afc9659e04e1e | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-nuclear-plutonium/japan-sends-331-kg-of-weapons-grade-plutonium-to-u-s-greenpeace-idUSKCN0WO0R5 | Japan sends 331 kg of weapons grade plutonium to U.S.: Greenpeace | Japan sends 331 kg of weapons grade plutonium to U.S.: Greenpeace
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - A ship loaded with weapons-grade plutonium left Japan for the United States on Tuesday in what is the largest such shipment of the highly dangerous material since 1992, the environmental group Greenpeace said.
The 331 kg (730 lb) of plutonium, enough to make about 50 nuclear weapons, was taken from a nuclear research center in the port town of Tokai Mura, and left on a British ship, the Pacific Egret, for transport to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina, Greenpeace said.
The website www.vesselfinder.com said the ship is a nuclear fuel carrier.
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), which is the government agency responsible for the nuclear material, has not commented on the Greenpeace statement. An agency spokesman cited security reasons.
The U.S. embassy in Tokyo also declined to comment.
Shipments of plutonium are highly sensitive because it can be used in nuclear weapons or to make a so-called dirty bomb. In Japan, public sensitivity is also high because it is the only country that has been attacked with nuclear bombs.
The shipment is a tiny portion of the nearly 50 tonnes of plutonium Japan holds. Most of it comes from reprocessing spent nuclear fuel burned in its reactors at power stations.
All but two of Japan’s reactors have been shut since a meltdown at a nuclear plant in Fukushima, north of Tokyo, after a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
The plutonium being shipped was supplied by the United States, Britain and France for the JAEA’s Fast Critical Assembly project in Tokai Mura, according to the International Panel on Fissile Materials.
The agreement to transfer the material to the United States was reached in March 2014, the panel said on its website.
Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick and Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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186e6f083b0181b51e2c64026b0bf933 | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-nuclear-restarts-idUSKBN1Y10K7 | Japan clears restart at nuclear reactor closest to epicenter of 2011 quake | Japan clears restart at nuclear reactor closest to epicenter of 2011 quake
By Aaron Sheldrick, Yuka Obayashi3 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Tohoku Electric Power said on Wednesday it has won initial regulatory approval to restart a reactor at its Onagawa power plant, more than 8 years after it was damaged in the earthquake and tsunami that caused the Fukushima disaster.
FILE PHOTO: Tohoku Power Electric Co.'s Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant is seen in Onagawa town, Miyagi Prefecture, September 7, 2011. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
Tohoku Electric said in a statement it has received a first green light from Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority to restart the No. 2 reactor at Onagawa, subject to a public consultation period.
Onagawa was the closest among Japan’s nuclear stations to the epicenter of the magnitude-9 quake in March 2011, which triggered a tsunami that killed nearly 20,000 people, as well as causing the worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.
The station was swamped by the tsunami, but survived with its cooling system intact, saving its reactors from the threat of meltdowns similar to those that occurred at Tokyo Electric Power’s Fukushima Daiichi station to the south.
Further approvals will be required before the restart, along with the consent of local authorities, which is not guaranteed.
The reactor is a boiling water reactor (BWR) with the same basic design as those that melted down in the Fukushima crisis.
Tohoku Electric expects to spend 340 billion yen ($3.1 billion) on safety upgrades at the Onagawa plant, including for a wall stretching 800 meters (2,625-ft) in length and standing as tall as 29 meters above sea level to protect it from tsunamis.
Restarting the No. 2 reactor will save the utility 35 billion yen each year in fuel costs, he said.
The Fukushima disaster led to the eventual shutdown of the country’s then-54 operational reactors, which once provided nearly a third of Japan’s electricity. All had to be relicensed under new standards after the disaster highlighted operational and regulatory failings.
While the approval will be a boost for Japan’s resurgent nuclear industry, the sector will still miss a government target of providing at least a fifth of the country’s electricity by 2030, an analysis by Reuters showed last year.
Nine reactors have been restarted, all of them pressurized water reactors located far from Tokyo, while the stigma of Fukushima still hangs over use of the older BWR technology.
The issue of nuclear safety in Japan was highlighted again earlier this week when Pope Francis - who met victims of the Fukushima nuclear disaster while in Japan over the weekend - said nuclear energy should not be used until there are ironclad guarantees that it is safe for people and the environment.
For a graphic on status of Japan's reactor fleet:
Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick and Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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807876154e7b8c7a34b79651751c705a | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-nuclearpower-environment/japan-not-eyeing-new-reactors-to-help-reach-2050-carbon-neutral-goal-idUKKBN27D0AN?edition-redirect=uk | Japan not eyeing new reactors to help reach 2050 carbon-neutral goal | Japan not eyeing new reactors to help reach 2050 carbon-neutral goal
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga gives his first policy speech in parliament as an extraordinary session opens in Tokyo, Japan October 26, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is not considering building new nuclear power plants to help it become carbon-free by 2050, the government’s top spokesman said on Wednesday.
For the world’s fifth-biggest emitter, reining in emissions from utilities that contribute about 4/5ths of carbon dioxide output is key to achieving the deadline set by its new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga.
“At this stage we are not considering the construction of additional nuclear power plants,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a regular news briefing.
The government is reviewing energy policy, looking to use renewable energy sources and existing nuclear plants that can be operated safely, he added.
Suga unveiled the 2050 goal after Japan said it aimed to be carbon-free sometime in the second half of the century, which brings it in line with the European Union.
“We will look at all possibilities, including renewables and nuclear,” Suga said later, replying to a question in parliament, but did not say if that included building new reactors or not.
Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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93edb87094b201e58625288e83bbe56d | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-office-snacks-idUSKBN0GC09W20140812 | Drop a coin, grab a snack: Kiosk-in-a-box spreads in Japan | Drop a coin, grab a snack: Kiosk-in-a-box spreads in Japan
By Chang-Ran Kim4 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s long-toiling office workers have an incentive to stay chained to their desks: shrimp-flavored crackers, cafe-au-lait taffies, spicy potato chips and M&M candy.
An office worker puts a 100 yen coin into a frog-shaped piggy bank filled with snacks for office workers, Ezaki Glico's kiosks-in-a-box Office Glico, at an office in Tokyo August 8, 2014. REUTERS/Yuya Shino
Confectionery maker Ezaki Glico has taken convenience to a new level for corporate employees too busy to pop out of the office with kiosks-in-a-box filled with munchies.
The three-drawer box - roughly the size of a countertop file cabinet - contains 24 items when fully stocked. Company workers simply deposit 100 yen ($1) in a frog-shaped piggy bank, open a drawer and take the snack of their choice.
On the face of it, relying on trust may seem a risk, but Japanese are well known for their honesty. The business is also profitable and at least one major retailer has followed suit.
Goods are replenished or replaced weekly by an army of 500 part-time workers. The contents on offer change every three weeks, adding an element of surprise that vending machines do not provide, said Keisuke Furuyabu, who heads the business, called Office Glico.
“There’s an air of mystery and fun,” he said.
When a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck Japan in March 2011 and paralyzed the capital’s public transportation system, stranded office workers subsisted on Glico snacks.
Notes of gratitude gave the company the idea of marketing Office Glico as a useful addition to disaster relief, said Furuyabu.
“We cleared out the boxes that day, since hundreds of us spent the night at the office,” said Nobuhiro Nagasato, an IT worker.
Nagasato routinely nibbles on Office Glico snacks, even though a convenience store is just around the corner. “I can’t be bothered to leave the building,” he said.
LONG HOURS
Japanese corporate culture is legendary for long working hours. A Japanese worker puts in an average 1,735 hours a year, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), far more than most European nations.
Office Glico, which also offers a fridge-and-freezer version carrying drinks and ice-cream, now serves 1.8 million people in 100,000 locations, twice the number of Japan’s ubiquitous convenience stores.
Last year, it racked up $44 million in sales and turned a profit for the first time since it started 12 years ago.
To drive growth, it plans to add breakfast items and midnight meals. It sees potential growth in nursing homes to take advantage of Japan’s fast-ageing population, where seniors outnumber children by about two to one. It expects sales to grow another 30 percent in three years.
The company has seen some surprising patterns in demand, Furuyabu said.
Grown men were snapping up baby crackers while bosses were using the snacks as a token treat to thank hard-working staff.
Ezaki Glico, best known for its stick-shaped Pocky snacks, called Mikado in Europe, says inspiration came from unmanned road-side vegetable vendors common in rural Japan.
Convenience chain major FamilyMart started a copycat service, “Office Famima,” last year.
Furuyabu says he now gets requests all the time from food makers to be included in Office Glico refreshment boxes. Kameda Seika, a top maker of rice crackers, makes small packages designed exclusively for the box, complete with an Office Glico label.
Could the honor-system work outside Japan, a country where lost wallets regularly end up back with their owners?
“Collection might be an issue,” Furuyabu said, acknowledging that Office Glico’s 95 percent recovery rate could be tough to replicate beyond Japan’s shores.
Editing by Ayla Yackley and Neil FullickOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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f4eb94bf372e01d63808672f80e9cb8a | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-olympics-cybersecurity-minister-idUSKCN1NK0BK | Japan cybersecurity and Olympics minister: 'I've never used a computer' | Japan cybersecurity and Olympics minister: 'I've never used a computer'
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: Japan's new Olympic Minister Yoshitaka Sakurada arrives at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's official residence in Tokyo, Japan October 2, 2018. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
(Corrects minister’s time in parliament in second paragraph of this Nov. 14 story.)
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s recently appointed cybersecurity and Olympics minister has told parliament he has never used a computer in his life, though he is responsible for overseeing cybersecurity preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games.
Yoshitaka Sakurada, 68, was named to the two posts last month by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, having never held a cabinet position before during his 22 years in parliament.
The minister made the admission at a parliamentary committee meeting on Wednesday when asked by an opposition lawmaker if he was computer literate.
“I’ve been independent since I was 25 and have always directed my staff and secretaries to do that kind of thing,” Sakurada replied. “I’ve never used a computer!”
Sakurada had said that he recognized that “firmly carrying out cybersecurity from a citizen’s standpoint” was part of his job.
When asked by the lawmaker how someone lacking computer skills could be in charge of cybersecurity, Sakurada said policy was decided broadly by a number of people in his office and the national government, and he was confident there would be no problems.
Sakurada’s responses in parliament and news conferences have drawn criticism before. Addressing another parliamentary committee, the minister had slipped up by saying the Olympics would cost Japan 1,500 yen ($13.21) instead of 150 billion yen ($1.32 billion).
He has also blamed his mistakes on the opposition not submitting questions in advance, although they had, and during news conferences for the Olympics he has often simply answered: “I don’t know”.
Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Subsets and Splits