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☆ Why Warren Buffett is so keen on Japan's versions of Berkshire Hathaway
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Tim Hornyak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

But Warren Buffett added a spark in April when he visited Japan to announce that Berkshire Hathaway boosted its investment in Japanese trading houses to 7.4%. Buffett said the five — Itochu Corp., Marubeni Corp., Mitsubishi Corp., Mitsui, and Sumitomo Corp. — are comparable to Berkshire itself. Samurai roots for Buffett's Japanese stocks The five trading firms that Berkshire has invested in are the biggest of Japan's so-called sogo-shosha, or general trading companies. Today, Japan's trading companies derive most of their revenue from non-trade activities. Shosha: The Big Five Mitsubishi The largest of Japan's trading companies is Mitsubishi Corp. , set up in 1954.

☆ Japan awards Mitsubishi Heavy $2.8 bln missile contracts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, April 11 (Reuters) - Japan has awarded its largest defence equipment maker Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (7011.T) contracts worth 378 billion yen ($2.84 billion) to develop and build a new missile force aimed at deterring China from using military force in East Asia. The new missile force, which is expected to be capable of striking ships and land targets more than 1,000 km from Japan, is at the center of that plan. To bolster its defences before it can deploy those home-built missiles, Japan in February also said it will bulk order Raytheon Technologies Corp (RTX.N) Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States. It has not yet said how many it will buy, but local media reports said it will be as many as 500. ($1 = 133.0800 yen)Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"Until now, the ministry has taken the defence companies for granted," said Masahisa Sato, an influential ruling party lawmaker and former deputy defence minister. Three of them, Mitsubishi Heavy, Mitsubishi Electric and IHI Corp (7013.T), which makes jet engines, bridges and heavy machinery, confirmed they had also taken part in other lower-level discussions. Reuters asked 10 of Japan's military suppliers, including Toshiba, Mitsubishi Electric, Daikin and Subaru, for interviews with their defence unit managers. Despite diplomatic tensions, China is Japan's top trade partner and a major manufacturing base for many Japanese companies. Even so, Japanese companies often refer to their military products as "special equipment," the government official said.

[1/5] A concept model of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP)'s fighter jet is displayed at the DSEI Japan defense show at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Japan March 15, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonTOKYO, March 15 (Reuters) - Britain and Japan are set to dominate a three-nation project with Italy to build an advanced jet fighter, with Rome set to pay around only a fifth of the overall development cost, two sources said. "The cost of the project will likely be around 40% each for Japan and Britain," one of the people with knowledge of discussions told Reuters. Japan's defence ministry said that discussions were ongoing and declined to comment on the cost sharing ratios. Details of which companies will build what components are being hammered out in regular talks between more junior government officials and contractors in Britain, Japan and Italy, the sources said.

HOUSTON, March 8 (Reuters) - Billions of dollars in clean energy incentives are poised to speed investment on American soil while putting the European Union's energy transition at risk by luring away money and talent, executives at the CERAWeek energy conference said this week. European energy companies echoed the call for Europe to come up with its own new incentives. Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of French energy giant TotalEnergies told the conference the IRA was an "invitation to accelerate green infrastructure." In Europe, you begin to regulate," he said, adding that Europe and the United States should consider forming a free trade agreement on renewable energy infrastructure. Ken Gilmartin, CEO of British engineering firm Wood Plc, said the IRA would put the United States in first place in the decarbonization race.

☆ Japan's new rocket fails after engine issue, in blow to space ambitions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Tim Kelly | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] An H3 rocket carrying a land observation satellite lifts off from the launching pad at Tanegashima Space Center on the southwestern island of Tanegashima, Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan March 7, 2023, in this photo taken by Kyodo. The 57-metre (187 ft) tall H3 rocket lifted off without a hitch from the Tanegashima space port, a live-streamed broadcast by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) showed. But upon reaching space, the rocket's second-stage engine failed to ignite, forcing mission officials to manually destroy the vehicle. "This will have a serious impact on Japan's future space policy, space business and technological competitiveness," he added. A successful launch on Tuesday would have put the Japanese rocket into space ahead of the planned launch later this year of the European Space Agency's new lower-cost Ariane 6 vehicle.

☆ Forced labour victims protest in wheelchairs, reject S.Korea deal on Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Ju-Min Park | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSEOUL, March 7 (Reuters) - Two elderly South Korean victims of wartime forced labour took to the streets in wheelchairs on Tuesday, saying they rejected a compensation deal announced this week, potentially complicating Seoul's efforts to end a diplomatic spat with Japan. Under President Yoon Suk Yeol's plan, South Korea would compensate former forced labourers through an existing public foundation funded by South Korean private-sector companies, rather than seeking payments from Japan. Overall there are about 1,815 living victims of forced labour in South Korea, according to government data. The compensation for each woman was estimated at around 210 million won ($161,465.18), according to the Victims of Japanese Wartime Forced Labor support group. Is he truly a South Korean?

☆ Factbox: South Korea moves to resolve historical, legal disputes with Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSEOUL, March 6 (Reuters) - South Korea on Monday proposed establishing a public foundation to compensate victims of wartime forced labour by Japan, to help resolve strained ties between the two countries. Efforts to overcome historical disputes between South Korea and Japan were renewed under South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took office in May, with both countries vowing to improve ties. Japan says the matter of any compensation for forced labour was settled under a 1965 treaty normalizing diplomatic ties and providing South Korea with economic assistance. - Relations deteriorated in 2019 when Japan restricted exports of high-tech material to South Korea. Under Yoon, South Korea has resumed trilateral military drills and agreed to more intelligence sharing on things like tracking ballistic missile launches from North Korea.

Under the plan, South Korea would compensate former forced labourers through an existing public foundation funded by private-sector companies, South Korea's Foreign Minister Park Jin told a briefing. SOUTH KOREAN FUNDSRelations plunged to their lowest point in decades after South Korea's Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese firms to pay reparations to former forced labourers. Overall there are fewer than 1,300 living victims of forced labour in South Korea, according to media estimates. The South Korean companies include KT&G (033780.KS), Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) (015760.KS) and other companies that benefited from a 1965 treaty between South Korea and Japan. Asked whether Japanese companies would pitch in to compensate, Park said both Japanese and South Korean businesses were considering a plan to contribute.

☆ Japan reschedules H3 rocket launch to March 6, after Feb. 17 abort
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO, March 3 (Reuters) - Japan's space agency said it plans to launch what would be its first new medium-lift rocket in three decades on March 6, more than two weeks after the initially scheduled launch was aborted. The final decision will be made taking into account weather conditions, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said on Friday. JAXA on Feb. 17 suspended the launch of the H3 rocket, built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (7011.T), moments before the planned lift-off because its secondary booster engines failed to ignite. Japan built the H3 to enhance its independent access to space and boost its chances of capturing a bigger share of the global launch market from rivals. Reporting by Kantaro Komiya and Miho Uranaka; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Christian SchmollingerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan's H3 flagship rocket fails to lift off after booster engine glitch
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] An aerial view shows an H3 rocket carrying a land observation satellite fails to lift off after apparent engine failure at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan February 17, 2023, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo via REUTERSTOKYO, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Japan's H3 rocket, the country's first new medium-lift launcher in three decades, failed to lift off on Friday because two secondary booster engines strapped to the side of the space vehicle didn't ignite. It is designed to put government and commercial satellites into orbit and ferry supplies to the International Space Station. The United States has promised Japan a seat on one of its crewed lunar missions. "With the H3 we are aiming to halve the cost per launch," a Mitsubishi Heavy spokesperson said before the planned launch.

☆ Japan Ends Multibillion-Dollar Bid to Enter Passenger-Jet Market
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Chieko Tsuneoka | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Mitsubishi Heavy’s SpaceJet was originally conceived as a 90-seater that could fly workhorse routes in the U.S. and Japan. TOKYO– Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. on Tuesday pulled the plug on a passenger-jet project that swallowed billions of dollars and 15 years in a fruitless bid to take a chunk of the U.S. market. The decision was a blow to national pride in Japan, which was hoping for a return to the commercial-aircraft market led globally by Boeing Co., Airbus SE and Embraer SA of Brazil.

[1/4] Italy's Defence Minister Guido Crosetto poses for a picture during an interview with Reuters, in Rome, Italy, December 16, 2022. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, a co-founder of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, said Rome would make a final decision on how much to invest in the multi-billion-dollar project after more details had been defined. Crosetto said there should be no bar on joining forces with the rival European programme, adding that the GCAP should also aim to find new partners, especially within Europe. Italy has never disclosed details of its shipments, but Crosetto confirmed that Kyiv had requested air-defence systems, including the Franco-Italian SAMP/T. He added that Italy was also open to suggestions for joint procurement by the EU Defence Agency.

Meeting Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Chairman Mitsuo Ohashi in Taipei on Friday, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said she expected greater defence cooperation with Japan. "Japan is making a late start, it is like we are 200 metres behind in a 400-metre sprint," he added. China defence spending overtook Japan's at the turn of the century, and now has a military budget more than four times larger. Japan says it wants ship-launched U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles made by Raytheon Technologies (RTX.N) to be part of its new deterrent force. To pay for the military build-up, Kishida's ruling bloc earlier on Friday said it will raise tobacco, corporate and disaster-reconstruction income taxes.

☆ Japan, Britain and Italy to build jet fighter together
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Japan, Britain and Italy are merging their next-generation jet fighter projects in a ground-breaking partnership spanning Europe and Asia that is Japan’s first major industrial defense collaboration beyond the United States since World War II. Amid what it sees as deteriorating regional security, Japan this month will announce a military build up plan that is expected to double defense spending to about 2% of gross domestic product over five years. “It’s also good for our international reputation”The proposed jet fighter aircraft Tempest, shown during the Farnborough Airshow, in southern England in July. Britain also wants Japan to improve how it provides security clearances to contractors who will work on the aircraft, sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. “The United States supports Japan’s security and defense cooperation with likeminded allies and partners, including with the United Kingdom and Italy,” the U.S. Department of Defense said in a joint statement with Japan’s Ministry of Defense.

☆ UK, Japan, and Italy are joining forces to build a new next-generation fighter jet that can fight with artificial intelligence
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Britain, Japan, and Italy are working to build a next-generation fighter jet together. The fighter jet will have cutting-edge weapons and advanced capabilities, such as the ability to work with uncrewed aircraft. Britain's defense ministry said in a release that it hopes to develop the fighter jet with various advanced capabilities such as cutting-edge weapons, innovative data systems, and advanced sensors. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the aircraft's development, and partnership with Japan and Italy, highlights that "the security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions are indivisible." In a joint statement with Japan's defense ministry on Thursday, the US Department of Defense said it supports Tokyo's security cooperation with London and Rome.

TOKYO/LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Japan, Britain and Italy are merging their next-generation jet fighter projects in a ground-breaking partnership spanning Europe and Asia that is Japan's first major industrial defence collaboration beyond the United States since World War Two. Amid what it sees as deteriorating regional security, Japan this month will announce a military build up plan that is expected to double defence spending to about 2% of gross domestic product over five years. Britain also want Japan to improve how it provides security clearances to contractors who will work on the aircraft, sources with knowledge of the discussion told Reuters. The United States, which has pledged to defend all three countries through its membership of NATO and a separate security pact with Japan, also welcomed the joint Europe-Japan agreement. "The United States supports Japan's security and defence cooperation with likeminded allies and partners, including with the United Kingdom and Italy," the U.S. Department of Defense said in a joint statement with Japan's Ministry of Defense.

TOKYO/LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Japan, Britain and Italy are merging their next-generation jet fighter projects in a bridge between Europe and Asia that marks Japan's first major industrial defence collaboration beyond the United States since World War Two. Britain also wants Japan to improve how it provides security clearances to contractors, sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. The two new platforms would compete head-on with each other and the United States in the global fighter market. "There is going to be a Battle Royal in the next 10-15 years in positioning the various players," said UK defence analyst Francis Tusa. The United States, which has pledged to defend all three countries through NATO and a separate security pact with Japan, welcomed the new Europe-Japan agreement.

TOKYO, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Japan, Britain and Italy will announce a groundbreaking agreement as early as next week to jointly develop a new advanced jet fighter, two sources with knowledge of the plan told Reuters. The push to merge the British led Tempest jet fighter project with Japan's F-X fighter programme was first reported by Reuters in July. It will be the first time that Japan has collaborated with countries beyond the United States on a major defence equipment project. The announcement will come before Japan releases a new national security strategy and military procurement plan around mid December, the sources said. Reporting by Tim Kelly Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Japan and Britain hope to agree by the end of the year to merge their next-generation Tempest and F-X fighter programmes, sources said in July. Those talks, aimed at a joint project to field a plane in the mid-2030s, remain on track, according to four other people familiar with the discussions. Japan ended a ban on military exports in 2014 in a bid to promote overseas sales. An export boom, however, failed to materialize because Japan only allowed sales of non-lethal gear such as surveillance and rescue equipment. LDP lawmakers, Onodera said, are also discussing a joint U.S-Japan command structure that could be formed for national emergencies.

☆ Asia's coal phase-out must be gradual, says Mitsubishi Heavy head
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Previously, the discussion was binary in which you had to choose between renewable energy or existing technology. A "realistic" mix of renewable energy and greener existing infrastructure is needed to help Asia's emerging economies meet a power consumption boom in coming years, Izumisawa said. "You have to think not just about renewable energy, but how to make better use of resources like coal and LNG," he said. Japan, the world's fifth-biggest CO2 emitter, has also called for more focus on promoting the transition of existing fuel plants to greener energy resources. Indonesia is the world's fourth-most populous country and eighth-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, with coal making up about 65% of its total energy mix.

☆ BHP Group, ArcelorMittal trial carbon capture at Europe, US steel plants
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoLONDON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - BHP Group (BHP.AX) is teaming up with steelmaker ArcelorMittal (MT.LU) and two others to test a new technology to reduce carbon emissions in steel making at two plants in Belgium and North America. By discharging over 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, the steel industry accounts for 7-9% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. BHP's partnerships, for example, also include one with India's Tata Steel (TISC.NS), which uses biomass as a source of energy. "There isn't a silver bullet, there isn't one path or technology for low-carbon emissions in steelmaking," Pant said. "We are covering many different technologies and geographies with these partnerships ... to enable lower GHG emissions steel and support the reduction of carbon intensity in blast furnaces," Pant said.

By pointing to 2027 as the moment when East Asia's power balance may tip in China's favour, Japan's government can rally support for greater defence spending, he added. At a congressional hearing last year, U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Admiral Philip Davidson said that China's threat against Taiwan could "manifest" that year. Japanese defence ministry officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In July, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida won national upper house elections with a pledge to "substantially" increase defence spending. The splurge of defence spending should also benefit U.S. suppliers such as Lockheed, Boeing Co (BA.N) and Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N).

☆ South Korean and Japanese defense stocks are rallying after North Korea fired a missile over Japan
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-04 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of South Korean and Japanese defense companies rose sharply in Asia's session after authorities confirmed North Korea launched a ballistic missile that flew over Japanese territory for the first time in five years. And South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said his office is considering stronger sanctions on Pyongyang in light of such continued provocations. In South Korea, shares of Hanwha Aerospace, an aircraft engine manufacturer, rose more than 3% in the morning session, while Korea Aerospace, which also develops fighter jets, jumped more than 4%. In Japan, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which also makes military machinery through its aircraft, defense and space department, gained more than 3% in Asia's session. Hosoya Pyro-Engineering, which makes flare bombs and smoke candles for the Japanese self-defense forces, also rose more than 5% in Asia's early session.

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