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☆ Japan to consider revising Abe-era deflation fighting mandate - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan next year will consider revising its decade-old blueprint for fighting deflation, sources said, as financial markets bet that a weak yen and rising consumer prices will force the central bank to finally drop its ultra-loose monetary policy. The pledge has served as the backbone of Kuroda’s radical monetary stimulus and justification for keeping Japan’s interest rates ultra-low, even as other central banks tighten monetary policy to combat stubbornly high inflation. Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday that the government is set to revise the joint statement to make the BOJ’s inflation target a more flexible goal, with some leeway. SHIFTING FOCUSA revision to the joint statement would mark the final nail in the coffin for former premier’s Abenomics stimulus programme, which relied heavily on Kuroda’s massive stimulus to pull Japan out of deflation. Analysts say any revision that waters down the status of the BOJ’s 2% inflation target could serve as a trigger for phasing out Kuroda’s stimulus programme.

The draft annual tax-code revision seen by Reuters is expected to be approved by Kishida's cabinet on Friday. read moreUnder his flagship initiative aimed at redistributing income, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has sought to shift Japan's 2,000 trillion yen ($14.52 trillion) in household assets away from savings and into investment. As part of this initiative, the government will make permanent a programme that offers tax breaks for households' stock investments. "It will be implemented at "an appropriate time" from 2024 onwards," LDP tax panel head Yoichi Miyazawa told reporters on Thursday. Tobacco tax will be also raised in stages by 3 yen per cigarette, the draft showed.

☆ Asia stocks slide toward weekly loss as central banks plough on with rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Central banks are still hawkish, still intent on raising rates," said Alvin Tan, Asia currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Singapore. "So there's a tension between the central banks being more hawkish than the market has been expecting, and that dichotomy has been emphasised over the past 48 hours by both the Fed and the European Central Bank." "This is not a pivot," she said of the smaller rate rate rise. The dollar index rose 0.9%. Gold fell against the rising dollar, dropping 1.7% to sit at $1,777 an ounce in Asia.

☆ Take Five: Keeping the lights on
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

1/PICKING A (JAPANESE) PIVOTEven the uber-dovish Bank of Japan has not been spared from investors trying to pick central bank pivot points. France is striving to avert power cuts, and Germany is bleeding cash to keep the lights on. Thursday has meetings scheduled for Indonesia - where the central bank has just seen growth added to its mandate - as well as Egypt, which is in line for support from the International Monetary Fund. Expectations of a softer dollar as the U.S. economy slows have sparked optimism about emerging markets, which should also benefit from China easing COVID-19 restrictions. Emerging markets interest ratesCompiled by Karin Strohecker, Graphics by Sumanta Sen and Vincent Flasseur, editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Stocks ease from 3-month highs, dollar firms up on strong U.S. data
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Anshuman Daga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File PhotoSINGAPORE, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Asian stocks retreated from three-month highs and the dollar held on to gains following strong U.S. data that again suggested the Federal Reserve might stick longer with aggressive interest rate increases. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) shed 0.4%, after climbing to a three-month high in the previous session. Stocks in Korea (.KS11) and Taiwan (.TWII) traded lower, while China's broader index (.CSI300) rose 0.6% and Japan (.N225) and Hong Kong <.HSI> stocks were steady. Futures show the market expects U.S. short-term interest rates to peak at 5.001% in May. The dollar stayed firm versus major peers, following its biggest rally in two weeks on Monday, which was helped by the strong U.S. services data.

☆ Our most popular Instagram photos of 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Hotel staff demonstrates 'Lantern Dining Experience', which enables diners to enjoy meals while protecting themselves against the spread of the (COVID-19 at Hoshinoya Tokyo in Tokyo, Japan, February 2. The lantern-shaped transparent partitions are...moreHotel staff demonstrates 'Lantern Dining Experience', which enables diners to enjoy meals while protecting themselves against the spread of the (COVID-19 at Hoshinoya Tokyo in Tokyo, Japan, February 2. The lantern-shaped transparent partitions are created by Japan’s traditional craftsman and guests staying at the hotel who pay 30,000 yen (about 260 USD) as venue charge can invite others to dine with them under the partitions. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonClose

☆ Japanese biotech firm uses tiny worms in test for pancreatic cancer
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Rocky Swift | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonTOKYO, Nov 30 (Reuters) - A Japanese biotech firm says it has developed the world's first early screening test for pancreatic cancer, using the powerful noses of tiny worms. Hirotsu Bio Science this month launched its N-NOSE plus Pancreas test, marketing directly to consumers in Japan and with aims to bring the test to the United States by 2023. In the latest version, the company tweaked the genetic code of the nematodes so that they would swim away from pancreatic cancer samples. Hirotsu Bio started with pancreatic cancer due to its difficulty in diagnosis and speed of progression. The pancreas test kit costs up to 70,000 yen ($505), comparatively expensive for a diagnostic test in Japan, which has a nationalised health care system and fixed prices for drugs and procedures.

[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."

☆ BOJ's Kuroda lays out framework for future exit from easy policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Kuroda brushed aside the chance of a near-term interest rate hike, stressing that the BOJ must continue to underpin a fragile economic recovery with loose monetary policy. But one major factor of debate will be the pace of increase in the BOJ's short-term policy rate, now set at -0.1%," Kuroda told parliament. "We discussed the need for the government and the BOJ to work closely together, and guide policy flexibly to structurally raise wages," said Kuroda. "It's extremely important for the BOJ to underpin the economy with ultra-loose monetary policy and ensure the necessary environment falls into place for companies to hike wages," Kuroda said. Kuroda said recent "rapid and one-sided" yen declines were undesirable as they make it difficult for firms to set business plans.

☆ BOJ's Kuroda lays out key debating points on future exit from easy policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Kuroda brushed aside the chance of a near-term interest rate hike, stressing that the BOJ must continue to underpin a fragile economic recovery with loose monetary policy. But he said the BOJ can debate an exit strategy from its massive stimulus and head toward policy normalisation when achievement of its 2% inflation target, accompanied by wage increases, comes into sight. But one major factor of debate will be the pace of increase in the BOJ's short-term policy rate, now set at -0.1%," Kuroda told parliament. Kuroda said wages are likely to increase ahead as companies respond to intensifying labour shortages and recent rises in living costs, though the outlook remained highly uncertain. "It's extremely important for the BOJ to underpin the economy with ultra-loose monetary policy and ensure the necessary environment is falling into place for companies to hike wages," Kuroda said.

☆ As yen tumbles, gadget-loving Japan goes for secondhand iPhones
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Miho Uranaka | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Salaryman Kaoru Nagase wanted a new phone but couldn't justify the price of a iPhone 14, which starts at 119,800 yen ($814). Instead, he bought a used iPhone SE 2 in Tokyo's Akihabara electronics district for less than a third of that. "At more than 100,000 yen the iPhone 14 is too expensive and I just can't afford it. But in an annual regulatory filing last month, it said Japan sales fell 9% in the year ended September 24 due to the yen's weakness. With Japan open again to foreign tourists, the secondhand iPhone market is getting another boost.

☆ 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.

☆ Sony Q2 gaming profit tumbles 50% on higher costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Sam Nussey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FILE PHOTO: Sony Corp's logo is seen on its Crystal LED Integrated Structure (CLEDIS) display at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonTOKYO (Reuters) -Sony Group Corp’s second-quarter profit at its key gaming unit fell by 50% from a year earlier as the entertainment conglomerate booked higher costs from game development and acquisitions, the company said on Tuesday. The Tokyo-headquartered company’s gaming unit recorded a profit of 42.1 billion yen ($284.63 million) after selling 3.3 million units of its PlayStation 5 (PS5) console in the second quarter, equal to the year ago sales. It trimmed its full-year forecast for the games business by 12% to 225 billion yen citing lower software sales from third-party developers and the impact of dollar-denominated costs. Sony reported overall group operating profit rose 8% to 344 billion yen ($2.32 billion) in the July-September quarter, beating analyst estimates, after units including the music business offset the weakness in gaming.

☆ Japan carrier ANA Holdings posts half-year profit, raises full-year target
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonTOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s largest airline ANA Holdings Inc on Monday swung to a half-year profit and raised its full-year earnings target as a relaxation of COVID-19 border measures fosters a recovery in travel demand. ANA lifted its operating profit forecast to 65 billion yen ($440 million) for the 12 months through March 31, up from earlier guidance of 50 billion yen, as it recovers from a 173 billion yen loss the prior year. The outlook is lower than the consensus forecast for operating profit of 70.4 billion yen, based on a Refinitiv poll of 12 analysts. The company reported an operating profit of 31.45 billion yen in the six months through Sept. 30, compared to a loss of 116 billion yen a year earlier, it said in a statement. Japan reopened its borders to visa-free travel from tourists earlier this month and removed a cap on daily arrivals after more than two years of pandemic-related isolation.

SEOUL, Oct 30 (Reuters) - With "Hooker Hill" and snaking alleyways of bars with signs like "BADASS" around the local landmark Hamilton Hotel, Seoul's Itaewon district was a symbol of freewheeling nightlife in the South Korean capital for decades, before tragedy struck. "This happened right at the moment when we were about to rebound after being hammered by the pandemic," said Lee, who has operated Itaewon businesses for three decades. A mysterious killing called the "Itaewon Murder" and other crimes in the late 1990s painted a dark image of the area. The district has been a recurrent theme in popular culture, with a recent hit drama "Itaewon Class" and K-pop song "Itaewon Freedom". They won't," said Park, who has run businesses in the district for nearly 30 years.

☆ Japan's extra budget for stimulus package to exceed $198 bln -NHK
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonTOKYO, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Japan's upcoming economic stimulus package is expected to include an extra budget of more than 29 trillion yen ($198 billion), far exceeding a previous estimate, national broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday. Only a day earlier, Japanese media had reported the government was set to spend about 25 trillion yen on the stimulus package, aimed at easing the pain from rising energy and other living costs. Japan's public debt is already the biggest among major economies at twice the size of its economy. The extra spending, which is likely to be finalised on Friday, is expected to be partially funded by additional debt issuance, raising concerns over Japan's fiscal discipline. Asked about the raised spending estimate and its implications, Suzuki said work was still ongoing to reach a final decision on Friday.

☆ Japan extra budget for stimulus package to exceed $198 bln -NHK
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks at a news conference after Japan intervened in the currency market for the first time since 1998 to shore up the battered yen in Tokyo, Japan September 22, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonTOKYO, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Japan's upcoming economic stimulus package is expected to entail an extra budget of more than 29 trillion yen ($198 billion), far exceeding a previous estimate, national broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday. Only a day earlier, Japanese media had reported that the government was set to spend about 25 trillion yen on the stimulus package, aimed at easing the pain from rising energy and other living costs. Lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party objected to the lower estimate, prompting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki to meet on Wednesday evening to review the plan, NHK reported. ($1 = 146.3200 yen)Reporting by Mariko Katsumura and Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Biden knows there are limits on American power, but they're nowhere to be found in his first major security strategy
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Gil Barndollar | Defense Priorities | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

This month, the Biden administration released its long-delayed National Security Strategy. The brief moment of post-Cold War American hyperpower is long gone, a victim of both natural power dynamics and three decades of incessant American foreign policy hubris and error. Six months before the assault on Ukraine began, the Biden administration admitted the limits of American power in another land that defeated Russian invaders: Afghanistan. The saving grace of the National Security Strategy may be its meaninglessness. The Biden administration's actual emerging national security strategy could be far better than the document lets on.

☆ Explainer: Yen is past key 150 threshold. What's next?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

An employee of the foreign exchange trading company Gaitame.com works in front of monitors showing the Japanese yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar at its dealing room in Tokyo, Japan, October 21, 2022. Below are details on how Japanese policymakers could respond:WHAT HAPPENED SINCE JAPAN'S LAST YEN-BUYING INTERVENTION? Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterSince then, policymakers have repeatedly threatened to act against volatile yen moves. Policymakers have repeatedly said they are looking at the speed of yen moves, not its level, in deciding whether to intervene. That means Tokyo will avoid intervening in a way that appears as if it is defending a certain yen level.

☆ Japan PM orders probe into Unification Church
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A general view of Tokyo headquarters of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, more commonly known as the Unification Church, in Tokyo, Japan August 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonTOKYO, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ordered an investigation on Monday into the Unification Church, after the assassination of former premier Shinzo Abe in July revealed close ties between it and the ruling party. Support for Kishida's government has tumbled to its lowest level since he took office on growing anger about the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) not fully disclosing its ties to the church. Kishida instructed the culture minister to prepare an investigation into the church under the Religious Corporations Act. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan manufacturers' mood sours again, higher costs dim outlook - Reuters Tankan
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FILE PHOTO: A factory area is seen in front of Mount Fuji in Yokohama, Japan, January 16, 2017. The monthly poll, which tracks the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) closely-watched tankan quarterly survey, found manufacturers’ mood expected to deteriorate again over the coming three months while service-sector mood was seen rebounding further. “There are concerns about worsening profits due to import costs boosted by a weak yen on top of rising raw materials and energy costs,” said a manager of a food-processing firm. The BOJ’s last survey showed on Oct. 3 big manufacturers’ mood worsened in July-September for a third straight quarter as high material costs dim recovery prospects for the fragile economy. 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.

☆ IMF chief economist says central banks' inflation fight to last into 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

FILE PHOTO: A man looks at a shop at the Ameyoko shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, May 20, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/FilesWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Central banks’ fight against inflation may take another two years to play out, increasing unemployment and lowering living standards for many in the world, the International Monetary Fund’s chief economist said on Tuesday. In an interview with Reuters, IMF economic counselor Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said that broad “core” inflation pressures beyond energy and food prices will take time to bring down to central bank targets of about 2%. “Our projection is that this will start coming down, but we will not be back to central bank targets in 2023,” Gourinchas said of inflation. “We’ll be closer to that in 2024.”

From Tuesday, Japan will reinstate visa-free travel to dozens of countries, ending some of world's strictest border controls to slow the spread of COVID-19. Just over half a million visitors have come to Japan so far in 2022, compared with a record 31.8 million in 2019. GHOST TOWNNarita Airport, Japan's biggest international airport some 70 kilometres from Tokyo, remains eerily quiet, with about half of its 260 shops and restaurants shuttered. Whether overseas visitors wear face masks and abide by other common infection controls in Japan is another concern. "From the start of the pandemic until now, we've had just a few foreign guests," said Tokyo innkeeper Sawa.

☆ China's industrial profit declines accelerate in Jan-Aug
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterPedestrians cast their shadows on a wall at a construction site in Beijing December 12, 2014. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/BEIJING, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Profits at China's industrial firms shrank at a faster pace in January-August, as strict COVID restrictions and a deepening property slump weighed on domestic demand and heatwaves curbed factory activity. read moreChina's industrial output rose 4.2% from a year earlier in August, quickening from a 3.8% rise in July. Liabilities at industrial firms jumped 10.0% from a year earlier in August, slightly slower than the 10.5% growth in July. ($1 = 7.1584 Chinese yuan)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Liangping Gao, Ella Cao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"We are deeply concerned about recent rapid and one-sided market moves driven in part by speculative trading," Suzuki told the news conference. The remarks came after the government's decision on Thursday to intervene in the currency market to stem yen weakness by selling dollars and buying yen for the first time since 1998. read moreKuroda said the government's intervention was an appropriate move to deal with "rapid, one-sided" yen moves. "Monetary policy and currency policy have different goals and effects," he said. "It was a meaningful move that showed Japan's determination it won't leave unattended sharp market volatility," he said.

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