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While factory output rebounded in February, some analysts warn of mounting downside risks as slumping global demand for technology goods hits the country's exports. Inflation will probably stay elevated at least during the first half of this year," said Yoshiki Shike, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute. Separately, factory output rose 4.5% in February from January, better than a forecast 2.7% gain and rebounding from a revised 5.3% drop in January, on easing supply bottlenecks for carmakers. "There's a bigger risk of a downgrade in manufacturers' output plans due to weaknesses in the information-technology (IT) sector. Global demand is shifting away from goods towards services, which is bad news for Japan's export-reliant economy," Shinke of Dai-ichi Life Research said.

☆ Japan foreign minister Hayashi to visit Beijing on Saturday
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, March 31 (Reuters) - Japan Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Friday he will visit Beijing for two days from Saturday to discuss a range of issues, including the detention of an Astellas Pharma Inc (4503.T) employee. Hayashi told reporters he will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang during the visit for "an honest and frank discussion to create a constructive and stable relationship". Hayashi's visit to China follows leadership-level talks held on the sidelines of an international summit last November, the first between the two countries in almost three years. At the time, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he conveyed his concerns over China's increasing maritime military presence but also said the two leaders agreed to reopen diplomatic channels of communications including a visit by Japan's foreign minister to China in the near future. Reporting by Sakura Murakami and Rocky Swift; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan discusses security in first foreign minister visit to Solomon Islands
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, March 19 (Reuters) - Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi discussed global security and China's presence in the Pacific with the leader of the Solomon Islands on Sunday, in what was the first visit by a Japanese foreign minister to the island state. Hayashi said Japan was "watching the developments" of a security pact the Solomon Islands signed with China last year, and discussed the current global security environment with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, according to a statement by Japan's foreign ministry. The visit took place a year after the security pact between China and the Solomon Islands prompted concern from the United States and Australia as China seeks to extend its influence in the region. Japan said it was ready to provide assistance in maritime security, as it seeks partnerships in Pacific Island countries in promoting regional peace and stability through its Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy, according to Japan's foreign ministry. Sogavare said he hoped Japan will ensure the safety of the release and be open about the process, according to the statement.

☆ Highlights of the 95th Oscars
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant plans to soon start releasing more than a million tons of radioactive water from the plant into the sea. A fisherman fears it will kill his business.

☆ Style at the Vanity Fair party
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Jillian Kumagai | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant plans to soon start releasing more than a million tons of radioactive water from the plant into the sea. A fisherman fears it will kill his business.

☆ China's Two Sessions: Xi Jinping secures third term
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Jillian Kumagai | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant plans to soon start releasing more than a million tons of radioactive water from the plant into the sea. A fisherman fears it will kill his business.

☆ Fukushima water release stokes fresh fears for fisherman
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Fisherman Haruo Ono, 71, untangles nets after returning from work at sea for the night, at Tsurishihama fishing port in Shinchimachi, about 55 km away from the disabled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, March 1, 2023. "It's been 12 years and fish prices are rising, we're finally hoping to really get down to business," Haruo said. "Now they're talking about releasing the water and we're going to have to go back to square one again. It's unbearable." REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonClose

☆ Rice into low-carbon plastic: bringing hope to a struggling Fukushima town
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Elaine Lies | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Last November, Tokyo-based firm Biomass Resin opened a factory in Namie to turn locally-grown rice into pellets. "Even now, we can't sell it as Fukushima rice. The same wave slammed into the nuclear plant, setting off meltdowns and explosions. "Namie was hit by four disasters - the quake, the tsunami, the reactor accident and then rumours about radiation danger," said Takemitsu Imazu, president of Biomass Resin Fukushima. The plastic isn't biodegradable, Imazu said, but using rice cuts the petroleum products involved - and growing more rice in Namie reduces overall atmospheric CO2.

In France, the bloc's second-biggest economy, factory activity returned to growth albeit not as strongly as initially forecast. In Asia, factory activity contracted in January as the boost from China's COVID reopening had yet to take full effect. China's factory activity shrank more slowly in January after Beijing lifted tough COVID curbs late last year, a private sector survey showed. China's Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing (PMI) nudged up to 49.2 in January from 49.0 in December, staying below the 50 mark for a sixth straight month. Factory activity expanded in January in Indonesia and the Philippines but shrank in Malaysia and Taiwan, PMI surveys showed.

☆ Asia's factory activity contracts despite China's COVID reopening
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

China's factory activity shrank more slowly in January after Beijing lifted tough COVID curbs late last year, a private sector survey showed. The data was contrasted with a better-than-expected official PMI survey issued on Tuesday. South Korea's factory activity contracted for a seventh straight month in January. Factory activity expanded in January in Indonesia and the Philippines but shrank in Malaysia and Taiwan, PMI surveys showed. The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slightly raised its 2023 global growth outlook on "surprisingly resilient" demand in the United States and Europe and the reopening of China's economy after Beijing abandoned its strict pandemic controls.

☆ Ghostly flying 'whirlpool' that appeared above Hawaii could be leftover SpaceX rocket fuel
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Chris Panella | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Japanese telescope captured footage of the anomaly after a SpaceX navigation satellite launch. "The Subaru-Asahi Star Camera captured a mysterious flying spiral over Maunakea, Hawai`i," the Subaru Telescope said on Twitter on January 19. SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a pair of television broadcasting satellites at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Michael Weekes Jr./ReutersThis isn't the first time a spiral has been spotted in the sky after a SpaceX launch. The SpaceX rocket is also known for the "space jellyfish" it often paints across the sky as it climbs through the atmosphere.

If inflation stays around 2% and Japan sees significant wage hikes, the BOJ could normalise monetary policy. "Supply shock is behind the recent pick-up in inflation," said Yasunari Ueno, chief market economist at Mizuho Securities. Dai-ichi Life's Shinke expects core consumer inflation to accelerate further in January, before slowing due to the effect of government subsidies aimed at curbing utility bills. The base effect of last year's sharp rise in consumer prices will also slow the pace of increase in inflation later this year, analysts say. BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, whose term will end in April, has stressed the need to keep monetary policy ultra-loose until wages rise more, changing the recent cost-push inflation into inflation driven by robust domestic demand.

The increase in the core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food but includes oil costs, matched a median market forecast and followed a 3.7% annual gain seen in November. The annual rise in core CPI thus exceeded the BOJ's 2% target for a ninth straight month. We might see inflation stay above the BOJ's 2% target well into autumn this year," he said. Core-core CPI, which strips away both fresh food and energy costs, was 3.0% higher in December than a year earlier, accelerating from a 2.8% gain seen in November. The BOJ kept monetary policy ultra-loose on Wednesday but raised its inflation forecasts in fresh quarterly projections, as companies continued to pass on higher raw material costs to households.

☆ Utility company executives acquitted of negligence in Fukushima nuclear disaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power plant after a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami on March 14, 2011 in Futaba, Japan. DigitalGlobe | Getty ImagesA Japanese court on Wednesday found three former utility company executives not guilty of negligence over the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster and the subsequent deaths of more than 40 elderly residents during their forced evacuation. watch nowThe acquittal disappointed and angered dozens of Fukushima residents and their supporters who attended the ruling or rallied outside the court. It's so irresponsible," said Yuichi Kaido, a lawyer representing the Fukushima residents. The Supreme Court in June, however, said the disaster was unforeseeable and dismissed compensation demands by thousands of residents.

☆ Tokyo court upholds not guilty verdict for ex-Tepco execs over Fukushima disaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Wrongful judgment" after the The Tokyo High Court upheld a not guilty verdict for former Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) executives of negligence over the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power station disaster, in front of the court in Tokyo, Japan, January 18, 2023. REUTERS/Issei KatoTOKYO, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday upheld a not guilty criminal verdict by a lower court that cleared former Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) (9501.T) executives of negligence over the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power station disaster. The ruling on Wednesday to uphold the not guilty verdict sits at odds with a separate civil case brought to the Tokyo court by Tepco shareholders, which found four former executives responsible for the 2011 nuclear disaster. Judges ordered the former executives to pay 13 trillion yen ($99.14 billion) in damages in the civil lawsuit. The court judged that the executives could have prevented the disaster if they had exercised due care.

☆ Instant View: China's economy slows sharply in Q4, 2022 growth one of the worst on record
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

As a result, the Chinese economic growth rate will be below the Chinese government's target of 5% plus." This could weigh on their potential economic growth in the mid-and long-term, and we really need to be paying attention to that." MARCO SUN, CHIEF FINANCIAL MARKET ANALYST, MUFG BANK (CHINA), SHANGHAI"China's Q4 and full-year 2022 GDP growth rates came in higher than expected. Economic growth will have to depend more on productivity growth, which is driven by government policies." IRIS PANG, GREATER CHINA ECONOMIST, ING, HONG KONG"The biggest surprise is the retail sales number, which is really a big beat...

☆ Weed’s next frontier is in Asia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Thomas Shum | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, Dec 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Asia is beginning to warm up to the use of cannabis. Thailand legalised marijuana cultivation at home in 2022, while South Korea, Japan and Malaysia are paving the way for pharmaceutical applications. South Korea was the first country in East Asia to legalise pharmaceutical cannabis, and Japan, Malaysia and Taiwan are all considering similar moves. If American experience is any guide, regulated pharmaceutical use will inevitably trickle into the recreation market, boosting aggregate demand. Cannabis in Asia will burn slowly, but where there is smoke there may eventually be fire.

☆ Japan Nov consumer inflation likely to hit fresh four-decade high - Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Japan's nationwide consumer price inflation likely hit a fresh 40-year high in November, as firms increasingly passed on high energy, food and raw material costs to households, a Reuters poll showed. November's nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food prices but includes energy, will likely show a rise of 3.7% from a year earlier, according to the poll. That would be above the prior month's annual rise of 3.6% and would mark the biggest jump since the 4.0% seen in December 1981. The government will release the CPI data at 2330 GMT on Dec. 22. Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Bradley PerrettOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ BOJ to keep ultra-low rates, hold fire until global outlook clearer
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Markets are rife with speculation that the BOJ will adjust its policy when Kuroda's second, five-year term ends in April. CONTENT WITH STATUS QUOAmid uncertainty over the global outlook and pace of Japanese wage rises, the BOJ is content with maintaining the status quo for now, the sources said. The BOJ expects the inflation rate to slow below its target next year because cost pressure will dissipate. Any chance of a BOJ policy adjustment will disappear if the Fed fails to tame inflation without pushing the U.S. economy into deep recession, analysts say. "But the BOJ will probably find it hard to phase out stimulus if the global economy is in bad shape," he said.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Tuesday that its manufacturing PMI fell to 50.2 in October from 50.9 in September. China's Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI stood at 49.2 in October, up from 48.1 in September. The private sector survey was in line with an official PMI released on Monday that showed China's factory activity unexpectedly fell in October. Japan's au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing PMI fell to 50.7 in October from September's 50.8 final, marking the weakest growth since January last year. India was an outlier with factory activity expanding at a stronger pace in October as demand remained solid.

☆ Asia's factory output weakens on global slowdown, China COVID curbs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The private sector survey was in line with an official PMI survey released on Monday that showed China's factory activity unexpectedly fell in October. Japan's au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing PMI fell to 50.7 in October from September's 50.8 final, marking the weakest growth since January last year. South Korea's factory activity shrank for a fourth month in October as orders for exports fell for an eighth month, the PMI showed. That followed data that showed South Korea's exports fell the most in 26 months with shipments to China, its largest market, extending declines. Factory activity in Indonesia expanded at a slower pace in October with the PMI standing at 51.8, down from 53.7 in September.

A 12.4% decline in auto-related production - the sector's steepest fall in eight months - drove down the overall index. Manufacturers surveyed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) expected output to fall another 0.4% in October and rise 0.8% in November. "Rather, with rising procurement costs on the weak yen, coupled with (higher) energy prices, some firms have voiced concerns for their business conditions." Separate data showed retail sales rose 4.5% year-on-year in September, extending a rebound since March when the government ended domestic COVID-19 containment measures. On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, retail sales grew 1.1% in September, rising for a third month.

☆ Australia's Westpac sees $824 mln hit in second half from unit sale
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 24 (Reuters) - Australia's Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX) warned on Monday that its second-half reported net profit and cash earnings will be reduced by A$1.3 billion ($824 million) after tax, citing a loss on the sale of its life insurance business, among others. Westpac, the country's third-largest lender, said the one-off charge will have a net positive impact of 12 basis points (bps) on its common equity tier 1 capital ratio as the unit sale added 17 bps. Westpac is set to announce its fiscal 2022 results on Nov. 7. Rivals National Australia Bank (NAB.AX) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ.AX) will report their annual results on Nov. 9 and Oct. 27, respectively. ($1 = 1.58 Australian dollars)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ În 1054, oamenii au văzut pe cer explozia unei stele; Astronomii spun că o descoperire recentă ar putea explica fenomenul
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-30 | by ( ) www.jurnal.md time to read: +6 min

Sursa foto: ProfimediaÎn 1054, oamenii au văzut pe cer explozia unei stele; Astronomii spun că o descoperire recentă ar putea explica fenomenulUn nou tip de supernovă, o explozie a unei stele aflate la finalul vieții, a fost observată de astronomi. Cercetătorii cred că SN1054, o supernovă celebră pentru faptul că a fost vizibilă de pe Pământ o perioadă lungă la începutul mileniului trecut, ar putea fi explicată pe baza noii descoperiri. Ei au descoperit numeroase caracteristici neobişnuite ale supernovei SN 2018zd, unele dintre ele observate în premieră la o supernovă. Pe timp de zi ea a fost vizibilă vreme de aproape o lună, în timp ce pe cerul nopții ea a fost vizibilă pentru aproape doi ani. În fapt SN 1054 are o vechime de aproximativ 7500 de ani, însă lumina exploziei a ajuns la Pământ abia în anul 1054.

Persons: Valenti, Davis, Spitzer, UC Davis, Stefano Valenti, Hubble Organizations: Universitatea din, Agerpres, Universitatea California, SN, UC Locations: Universitatea din Tokyo, Cumbres, Giant

☆ В Японии могут перейти на 4-дневную рабочую неделю
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-23 | by ( Mld Media Srl | ) noi.md time to read: +3 min

Правительство Японии планирует принять меры для того, чтобы местные компании начали переводить своих сотрудников на четырехдневку. Правительство включило продвижение необязательной четырехдневной рабочей недели в свои ежегодные руководящие принципы экономической политики, утвержденные в пятницу кабинетом премьер-министра Ёсихидэ Суги. Согласно опросу, проведенному Министерством труда Японии, 8,3 % из 4 тысяч компаний давали своим сотрудникам больше выходных, чем при пятидневной рабочей неделе. По состоянию на апрель около 100 из примерно 7 тысяч работников компании подали заявки на четырехдневку. Такуя Хосино, экономист из Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, говорит, что введение четырехдневной рабочей недели без каких-либо оговорок необязательно побудит сотрудников использовать свое свободное время для того, чтобы заниматься переобучением или строить карьеру.

Persons: Есихидэ Суги, Суга, Хисаси Ямада, Ямада, Такуя Хосино Organizations: Yahoo Japan Corp, Japan Research Institute, Research Institute, Либеральнодемократическая партия, Организация экономического сотрудничества и развития, Министерство труда Locations: Япония, Австралия, Канада, Италия, США

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