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☆ Japan Set to Tap Kazuo Ueda, Backer of Zero Rates, as Central Bank Head
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Peter Landers | Megumi Fujikawa | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO—Japan is expected to name Kazuo Ueda , an advocate of aggressive monetary easing, to lead the Bank of Japan , and he said he wanted to continue the current governor’s low-interest-rate stance. The government decided to nominate Mr. Ueda, a former University of Tokyo professor who served on the BOJ’s policy board from 1998 to 2005, as the next governor, said a person briefed on the appointment and public broadcaster NHK.

☆ Shinzo Abe Book Criticizes Trump as Weak on North Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Peter Landers | Chieko Tsuneoka | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

President Donald Trump and Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe waving before playing a round of golf in Japan in 2019. TOKYO—In a posthumously published book, former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe said he pushed then-President Donald Trump to take a stronger stand on North Korea but found Mr. Trump weak and overly eager for a deal. Mr. Abe said in the Japanese-language book, published this week, that he grew worried North Korea would learn of Mr. Trump’s dovish tendencies. “We absolutely couldn’t let the outside world catch wind of it,” he said.

☆ Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda to Step Down and Become Chairman
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Peter Landers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Toyota Chief Executive Akio Toyoda said it was time to pass the baton to a younger executive. TOKYO— Toyota Motor Corp. Chief Executive Akio Toyoda , a scion of the founding family who has led the company since 2009, will step down from his current roles and become chairman in April, Toyota said Thursday. Chief Branding Officer Koji Sato , a 53-year-old executive who has led Toyota’s luxury Lexus division since 2020, will become president and chief executive in April, the company said. Takeshi Uchiyamada , Toyota’s chairman, will step down from that post.

☆ Akio Toyoda Steps Down as Toyota President to Become Chairman
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Peter Landers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO— Toyota Motor Corp. said that Akio Toyoda , a scion of the founding family who has led the company as president since 2009, will step down from his role as president and chief executive and become Toyota’s chairman in April. Toyota said Koji Sato , who is currently chief branding officer, will become president and chief executive officer on April 1.

President Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are meeting at the White House on Friday. President Biden met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House on Friday as the U.S. and Japan increase security cooperation to counter China’s military buildup. “To be crystal clear, the United States is fully, thoroughly, completely committed to the alliance—and more importantly to Japan’s defense,” Mr. Biden said, kicking off their meeting in the Oval Office.

President Biden will meet at the White House on Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as the U.S. and Japan increase security cooperation to counter China’s military buildup. U.S. officials said the meeting between the two leaders will follow up on meetings in Washington earlier this week between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin , Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their Japanese counterparts. Following that meeting, the two countries announced plans to protect Japanese satellites, equip Tokyo with long-range missiles and upgrade U.S. Marine forces in the country.

He has met the emperor and welcomed President Biden to his home, but Rahm Emanuel said an equally thrilling moment as ambassador to Japan came when he was offered a ride in the conductor’s cabin of a bullet train. His eyes opened wide. The train races toward Tokyo at more than 150 miles an hour. “Yeah, I want to! If you’ll let me,” Mr. Emanuel, 63, recalled saying.

☆ Japanese Companies Reach Natural-Gas Deals With Oman, U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Peter Landers | Chieko Tsuneoka | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Jera, which has this LNG-fired power plant in Japan’s Chiba prefecture, and two other companies have agreed to purchase over two million tons of LNG annually from Oman. TOKYO—Japanese companies said they reached deals with Omani and U.S. producers for mid- to long-term natural-gas supplies, a move to lock up the fuel after turmoil this year caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The deals signal the renewed importance of relatively stable producers of liquefied natural gas or LNG, including the U.S. Japan is among the world’s largest importers of LNG, alongside China, and relies on the fuel for nearly 40% of its electricity production.

☆ Entrepreneur Caught in the Middle of U.S.-China Chip War
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Peter Landers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Semiconductor whiz Gerald Yin left the U.S. and spent 18 years in China building what he said would be a worldwide powerhouse in chip-making equipment. Now the American citizen’s lifework has been thrown into uncertainty as U.S. restrictions undermine the global industry integration he celebrated. Mr. Yin’s company, Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc., or AMEC, had been making big strides and was gunning for industry leaders based in the U.S. and Japan when Washington stepped in. Decades younger than its rivals, the Chinese maker of etching equipment and other tools for the semiconductor industry has said it picked up customers including Robert Bosch GmbH and U.S. chip maker GlobalFoundries Inc. Its equipment is used on dozens of production lines in Europe and Asia.

Australia and Japan said that they would deepen defense cooperation and that Japanese forces would train in Australia’s north, the latest move by U.S. allies to respond to strategic tensions with China. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan made the announcements after meeting in the western Australian city of Perth. The leaders said they agreed to update an existing 2007 security declaration between the two countries, reflecting the growing alignment between both nations.

Australia and Japan said they would deepen defense cooperation and that Japanese forces would train in Australia’s north, the latest move by U.S. allies to respond to growing strategic tensions with China. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan made the announcements after meeting in the western Australian city of Perth. The leaders said they agreed to update an existing 2007 security declaration between the two countries, reflecting the growing alignment between both nations.

☆ Japan’s Fumio Kishida to Probe Church Targeted by Suspect in Abe Assassination
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Peter Landers | Chieko Tsuneoka | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the government would invoke its authority to seek information from the church about its activities, a step never taken before against a religious organization in Japan. TOKYO—Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday ordered an investigation of the church founded by the late Rev. Moon Sun-myung, a step that could lead to the church being stripped of its legal status in Japan. The move was the latest fallout from the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July. The suspect in the killing wrote in online posts and a letter that he blamed the former Unification Church for his family’s troubles and said he was targeting Mr. Abe because of the former leader’s connections to church-linked groups.

Chinese and Japanese officials and business leaders gathered in Tokyo on Thursday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the resumption of official ties between Beijing and Tokyo. China and Japan on Thursday marked 50 years since the restoration of diplomatic relations with a muted ceremony that reflected what Tokyo described as many issues of concern between Asia’s two biggest economic powers. While the two countries maintained a veneer of politeness on the anniversary day, earlier this week they rehashed some frequent arguments. China accused Japan of encouraging separatist forces in Taiwan, while Japan objected to what it said were Chinese incursions into its territorial waters.

☆ Shinzo Abe Assassination Stirs Surprise Backlash Against the Former Leader
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Peter Landers | Miho Inada | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The reputation of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was killed earlier this year, has taken a hit. TOKYO—Few in Japan anticipated the events of July 8, when a man with a homemade gun walked up behind former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a rally and shot him to death. The political reverberations in the months since have been almost as surprising.

The leaders of Japan and South Korea held their first bilateral meeting in nearly three years, another step toward recovery for frayed ties between two of the U.S.’s key Asian allies. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol for roughly 30 minutes Wednesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Both leaders attended and gave U.N. floor speeches.

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