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☆ Japan govt begins Unification Church probe amid anger over ties with ruling party
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Japan's government on Tuesday launched a probe into the Unification Church, the first step in a process that could strip the group of its legal status amid public anger over its links to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's ruling party. The government will give the church until Dec. 9 to answer questions about its finances and organisation, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Keiko Nagaoka told a regular news conference. Once the government investigation is over it will be up to a court to decide whether to remove the Unification Church's legal standing and with it the tax exemptions that registered religious organisations enjoy in Japan. Widespread links between the church and lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) came to light after former premier Shinzo Abe was shot and killed during an election campaign in July. Reporting by Tim Kelly and Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Third Japanese cabinet minister in a month resigns in blow to PM
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Elaine Lies | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TOKYO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Japan's internal affairs minister resigned on Sunday in connection with a funding scandal, becoming the third cabinet member to leave in less than a month in a severe blow to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's already shaky support. Internal affairs minister Minoru Terada tendered his resignation to Kishida after media reports the premier was preparing to sack him. Kishida said he had accepted Terada's resignation in order to prioritise parliamentary debate, including discussions on a second extra budget for the fiscal year ending in March. Asked about the fact that three ministers have resigned since Oct. 24, Kishida said he would like to apologise. Hanashi and Terada's resignations are likely to be especially painful because they were members of Kishida's faction in the LDP.

☆ Japan unicorn Opn buys MerchantE to enter U.S. online payment sector
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Digital payments processor Opn, a rare Japanese unicorn, or startup worth more than $1 billion, said on Tuesday it had acquired MerchantE from U.S. investment firm Integrum Holdings, making inroads into the U.S. online payment sector. The deal comes as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government strives to accelerate investments in startups and digital transformation to spur economic growth. "Startups have been getting a tailwind since the start of Prime Minister Kishida's administration," Opn Chief Executive Jun Hasegawa told Reuters. "Besides financial institutions that participated in the financing (for the deal), Japan Bank for International Cooperation and governmental funds such as Japan Investment Corp gave us strong support this time around," he said. Opn, pronounced "open", has been offering services mainly in Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and Thailand.

[1/3] A cargo ship and containers are seen at an industrial port in Tokyo, Japan, February 15, 2022. The world's third-biggest economy has struggled to motor on despite the recent lifting of COVID curbs, and has faced intensifying pressure from red-hot global inflation, sweeping interest rate increases worldwide and the Ukraine war. GLOBAL RISKSHowever, the risks to Japan's outlook have risen as the global economy teeters on the brink of recession. Economy Minister Shigeyuki Goto said a global recession could hit households and businesses. "As for 2023, Japan will be dragged into a mild recession in H1 by a global downturn that will weigh on exports and business investment."

☆ Japan manufacturers' mood down amid weak yen, global risks - Reuters Tankan
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | Anant Chandak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The monthly poll, which tracks the closely watched tankan quarterly survey of the Bank of Japan (BOJ), found that manufacturers expected their business conditions to improve over the coming three months while service-sector respondents expected little change. Economists estimate the world's number-three economy slowed sharply in the third quarter as yen falls pushed living costs higher and as risk of global slowdown rose. The index is expected to rebound to plus 7 in February after declining for a third month in a row in November. The service-sector index rose five points to plus 20, the best reading since the plus 25 registered in October 2019 shortly before the outbreak of the pandemic, it showed. The index is expected to slip just one point to plus 19 over the coming three months.

☆ Japan economy set to slow sharply as global inflation, recession risks hurt
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Gross domestic product (GDP) data due 0850 local time Nov. 15 (2350 GMT Nov. 14) will likely show the world's No. 3 economy grew at an annualised rate of 1.1% in July-Septerber, sharply slower from the 3.5% expansion in the second quarter. "Supply-side restrictions have also curbed car output," he said, adding that "depending on the extent of slowdown in the global economy, Japan could follow suit and you cannot rule out the possibility that it slides into recession next year." Household spending data will be released 0830 JST Nov. 8/ 2330 GMT Nov. 7 and corporate goods price index is due 0850 JST Nov. 11/ 2350 GMT Nov. 10. Ministry of Finance (MOF) data, due out 0850 JST Nov. 9/ 2350 GMT Nov. 8 will likely show current account came to 234.5 billion yen ($1.58 billion) in September.

☆ Japan keeps warning on market volatility, raises view on capex in report
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Kantaro Komiya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TOKYO, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Japan reiterated a warning that "full attention" should be paid to market volatility in its monthly economic report published on Tuesday, following the government's repeated market interventions in the wake of the yen's slide to a 32-year low. The October economic report kept the overall assessment of the economy unchanged for a fourth month, saying it was in a moderate recovery, though it raised its view on business spending while downgrading its assessment of imports. On private consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japanese gross domestic product, the government kept its view that it was moderately picking up. Service spending was rising, but consumer sentiment has tumbled due to inflation, especially among low-income earners, the official said. ($1 = 148.8400 yen)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan, Australia upgrade security pact against China threat
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (R) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (L) after a press conference as part of their meeting in Perth on October 22, 2022. Tony Mcdonough | AFP | Getty ImagesJapan and Australia on Saturday signed a new bilateral security agreement covering military, intelligence and cybersecurity cooperation to counter the deteriorating security outlook driven by China's increasing assertiveness. In the context of that agreement, Albanese told reporters: "This landmark declaration sends a strong signal to the region of our strategic alignment." The declaration also refers to cooperation in "resisting economic coercion and disinformation" — threats that China is widely accused of. Japan and Australia agreed to cooperate on energy security, which is threatened globally by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

☆ Japan's stimulus plan must exceed $100 bln, says ruling party executive
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Japan's promised economic stimulus must be big enough to exceed the economy's output gap of about 15 trillion yen ($100 billion), a senior ruling party official said on Sunday. "The gap in Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) is now around 15 trillion yen. It's not enough to just fill this gap," said Yoshitaka Shindo, executive acting chairperson of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) policy research council. The remarks add to growing calls among ruling party officials for hefty spending to ease the strain from rising inflation on households. On monetary policy, Shindo said while the Bank of Japan must eventually exit ultra-easy policy, doing so now would be premature as Japan's economy and wage growth remain weak.

Mourners offer flowers at the altar outside Nippon Budokan Hall which will host a state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo, Japan September 27, 2022. REUTERS/Issei KatoTOKYO, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Two months after he was assassinated, Shinzo Abe is still stirring controversy, evidence of how the polarising former premier's legacy is shaping Japanese politics on everything from defence to monetary policy. Japan's longest-serving prime minister was a divisive figure who was dogged by scandals. That's a reflection of how Abe transformed both the LDP and Japan's policy landscape, experts say. That could mean more of the ultra-loose policy and fiscal stimulus set in motion under "Abenomics".

☆ Japanese man sets himself on fire in apparent protest at former PM state funeral - media
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Mandatory credit Kyodo via REUTERSTOKYO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - A man set himself on fire near the Japanese prime minister's office on Wednesday in an apparent protest of the government's decision to hold a state funeral for former premier Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated earlier this year, TV Asahi reported. A letter opposing Abe's state funeral was found nearby, media added. His state funeral is set for Sept. 27, with some 6,000 people from Japan and overseas set to take part. The suspect in Abe's death has said the church bankrupted his mother and he felt the former prime minister supported it. Public sentiment was narrowly in favour of a state funeral at the time it was announced, shortly after Abe's death, but opinion has shifted sharply.

☆ Japan govt will spend $24 bln in budget reserves to cope with price hikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterTOKYO, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Japan will spend 3.48 trillion yen ($24.31 billion) in budget reserves to cope with ongoing price hikes and respond to COVID-19, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday. The decision was made at a meeting of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet. ($1 = 143.1800 yen)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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