Page 25 - Japan

Ready to boost bid if Seven & i engages in takeover talks, says Couche-Tard

Couche-Tard's top executives are in Tokyo Thursday to promote their multi-billion dollar bid to purchase the parent company of the 7-Eleven stores

Japan's trade minister fails to get assurances from US on tariff exemptions

Japan's trade minister said this week that he has failed to win assurances from US officials that the key US ally will be exempt from tariffs, some of which take effect on Wednesday. Yoji Muto was in Washington for last ditch negotiations over the tariffs on a range of Japanese exports including cars, steel and aluminum. Muto said Monday in Washington that Japan, which contributes to the US economy by heavily investing and creating jobs in the United States, should not be subject to 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum and auto exports to America. His meetings with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett came just two days before the steel and aluminum tariffs are due to take effect. President Donald Trump has also said a possible 25% tariff on imported foreign autos could take effect in early April. Muto said the US officials acknowledged Japanese contributions and agreed to continue talks, but did not .

Nissan picks insider Ivan Espinosa as successor for CEO Makoto Uchida

Uchida had been under pressure to step down following worsening earnings performance at Japan's third-largest automaker and the collapse of merger talks with Honda

Decoded: Trump calls Japan security deal unfair, but US made the rules

Trump questioned why the US must defend Japan while Japan has no such duty. But history shows the US itself designed the post-war security pact to serve its own strategic goals

India slaps anti-dumping duty on water treatment chemical from China, Japan

The decision follows recommendations from the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), the commerce ministry's investigation arm

India-Japan joint military exercise Dharma Guardian concludes successfully

The exercise, held from February 24 to March 9, marked a significant milestone in bilateral defence cooperation, as it was conducted on an enhanced scale

Dharma Guardian: India, Japan hold 7th Army talks, discuss defence ties

ADG also informed that the Japanese delegation was briefed on Indian Army's United Nations Peacekeeping Operations and the training being conducted by Centre for UN Peacekeeping

Japan's Seven & i names Stephen Dacus new CEO, announces restructuring

Dacus, who previously held executive roles with Walmart and Fast Retailing, has also led a special committee vetting the takeover bids

World's most accurate clock is now on the market: Here's how much it costs

Japanese firm Shimadzu Corp plans to sell 10 units of the optical lattice clock over three years in Japan and internationally

Japan, South Korea want to partner with the US in Alaska pipeline: Trump

Trump said in an address to the US Congress that the pipeline would be one of the largest in the world

Steel imports from China, S Korea, and Japan hit record high during Apr-Jan

India, the world's second-biggest crude steel producer, shipped in record quantities of finished steel during April-January

Japan, China cannot keep reducing value of their currencies, says Trump

I've called President Xi, I've called the leaders of Japan to say you can't continue to reduce and break down your currency, said Trump

Japanese firefighters struggle to contain biggest wildfire in 50 years

Residents have been instructed to evacuate, as more than 2,000 firefighters use helicopters and hoses to douse the flames

Japan won't join UN meeting on nuclear weapons ban, backs US' deterrence

Japan will not attend a UN conference on the treaty banning nuclear weapons, a top government official in Tokyo said Monday, noting US nuclear deterrence is crucial to the country's security and that its participation would send the wrong message". Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Japan's national security is the primary reason it will not participate as an observer at the conference, which starts Monday in New York. Under the severe security environment, nuclear deterrence is indispensable to defend the people's lives and assets, as well as Japan's sovereignty and peace, Hayashi told reporters. Japan's participation as an observer at the conference would send a wrong message about the Japanese policy (supporting) nuclear deterrence and interfere with our effort in security, peace and safety. The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was approved in 2017 and went into force in 2021 following a decades-long campaign aimed at preventing a repeat of the US atom

Japan's Seven & i finalising plan for president Isaka to step down

President Ryuichi Isaka will resign and his replacement is almost certain to be director Stephen Dacus

India and Japan renew $75 billion bilateral currency swap agreement

India and Japan have renewed the USD 75 billion bilateral currencies swap agreement, the Reserve Bank said in a statement on Friday. The Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA) is a two-way arrangement where both authorities can swap their local currencies in exchange for the US dollar. The Bank of Japan, acting as agent for the Minister of Finance of Japan, and the Reserve Bank of India signed the Second Amendment and Restatement Agreement of the BSA, the central bank said. The renewed BSA is effective Friday (February 28, 2025). The size of the BSA remains unchanged -- up to 75 billion US dollars, the RBI said. It further said that Japan and India believe that the BSA, which aims to strengthen and complement other financial safety nets, will further deepen financial cooperation between the two countries and contribute to regional and global financial stability.

Founding family unable to secure funding for $58 bn buyout, says Seven & i

The failure of the management buyout heightens the likelihood of Couche-Tard pulling off a mammoth acquisition of one of Japan's best-known and most beloved retailers

Japan, Philippines to boost ties due to mutual alarm over China aggression

Japan and the Philippines agreed on Monday to further deepen their defense collaboration and talk about protecting shared military information in the face of mutual alarm over China's increasing aggressive actions in the region. Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani and his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, forged the agreements in a meeting in Manila where their concern over China's actions in the disputed South China Sea and East China Sea was high in the agenda. Japan and the Philippines are treaty allies of the United States, and the three have been among the most vocal critics of China's assertive actions in the region, including in the contested waters. At the opening of his meeting with Nakatani, Teodoro said the Philippines was looking forward to boosting defense relations with Japan against unilateral attempts by China and other countries to change the international order and the narrative". Nakatani said after the meeting that he agreed with Teodoro to strengthen

Rich in cash, Japan's Toyota builds city to test futuristic mobility

Woven City near Mount Fuji is where Japanese automaker Toyota plans to test everyday living with robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous zero-emissions transportation. Daisuke Toyoda, an executive in charge of the project from the automaker's founding family, stressed it's not a smart city. We're making a test course for mobility so that's a little bit different. We're not a real estate developer, he said Saturday during a tour of the facility, where the first phase of construction was completed. The Associated Press was the first foreign media to get a preview of the USD 10 billion Woven City. The first phase spans 47,000 square metres, roughly the size of about five baseball fields. When completed, it will be 2,94,000 square metres. Built on the grounds of a shuttered Toyota Motor Corp auto plant, it's meant to be a place where researchers and startups come together to share ideas, according to Toyoda. Ambitious plans for futuristic cities have sputtered or are unfinis

India, Japan to hold joint military exercise from February 24 to March 9

India and Japan are set to take part in a joint military exercise starting February 24, aiming to enhance interoperability between the two forces while undertaking joint urban warfare and counter-terrorism operations under UN mandate. The exercise underscores the shared commitment of India and Japan towards regional security, peace and stability while advancing their common vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, the defence ministry said in a statement on Saturday. The Indian Army contingent departed on Saturday for the sixth edition of the India-Japan Joint Military Exercise 'Dharma Guardian'. The exercise is scheduled to be conducted in the East Fuji Manoeuvre Training area of Japan from February 24 to March 9. "The aim of the exercise is to enhance interoperability between the two forces while undertaking joint urban warfare and counter-terrorism operations under UN mandate," it said. Exercise 'Dharma Guardian' is an annual event conducted alternatively in India and