Page 65 - Japan

Bank of Japan's Haruhiko Kuroda bows out after decade of shock and awe

"Japan's 15 years of deflation has created a strong perception among the public that prices and wages won't rise," Kuroda, 78, told a news conference

South Korea, US, Japan call for support of ban on North Korea workers

South Korea, the US and Japan called for stronger international support of efforts to ban North Korea from sending workers abroad and curb the North's cybercrimes as a way to block the country's means to fund its nuclear program. The top South Korean, US and Japanese nuclear envoys met in Seoul on Friday in their first gathering in four months to discuss how to cope with North Korea's growing nuclear arsenal. The North's recent weapons tests show it is intent on acquiring more advanced missiles designed to attack the US and its allies, rather than returning to talks. Despite 11 rounds of UN sanctions and pandemic-related hardships that have worsened its economic and food problems, North Korea still devotes much of its scarce resources to its nuclear and missile programs. Contributing to financing its weapons program is also likely the North's crypto hacking and other illicit cyber activities and the wages sent by North Korean workers remaining in China, Russia and elsewhere despite

Odisha CM visits Nippon plant in Japan, discuses green tech for projects

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is on a tour to Japan, visited the Kimitsu Steel Works of Nippon Steel Corporation on Thursday and discussed the use of green technology for the company's proposed facilities in the state. The plant in the east Asian country was established on land reclaimed from the sea and used environmentally sustainable green technologies, Patnaik was informed by the company, according to an official release issued by the Chief Minister's Office. Kimitsu facility produces diversified specialised steel products for various industries like automobiles. Patnaik appreciates the plant and discussed the use of similar green technologies for the plants coming up in Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts (of Odisha), the CMO release said. The proposed plants will also focus on specialised steel products which will enable downstream industries in Odisha, it said. The state delegation's visit to the Kimitsu Steel Works provided an opportunity for officials to le

Odisha gets investment of Rs 26,000 cr as Patnaik meets Japanese capitalist

Odisha received investment intent of Rs 26,000 crore in various sectors as Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik met Japanese industrialists in Tokyo on Wednesday. The investment intent was received in sectors such as logistics, steel, Green Hydrogen and IT/ITeS. An MoU for collaboration in the skill development sector was also signed between Nihon-Utkal and IIIT, Bhubaneswar, an official release issued by the chief minister's office said. The business meet was attended by representatives of more than 200 leading companies in Japan and the Indo-Pacific region. They were offered an opportunity to explore various avenues of collaboration with the state government and local companies in Odisha, it said. Patnaik also held a meeting with the senior leadership of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), who iterated their commitment to supporting infrastructure development in Odisha. Addressing the business meet, Patnaik said, "Odisha is one of the fastest growing states in India. We are

India, Japan agree to diversify defence cooperation in emerging domains

India and Japan on Wednesday agreed to diversify their defence cooperation in new and emerging domains like space and cyber as part of an aim to consolidate the overall strategic engagement. The decision to further expand defence ties was taken at the seventh edition of India-Japan Defence Policy Dialogue that took place in Delhi. In the talks, the Indian side invited Japanese defence industries to look at investment opportunities in India under the 'Make in India' initiative. The defence dialogue took place over two weeks after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited India during which he put the country as an "indispensable partner" of Japan to achieve the ambitious goal of peace, prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The dialogue was co-chaired by Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane and Japan's Vice Minister of Defence for International Affairs Oka Masami. "A wide range of issues, including service-level exercises and engagements, regional security issues an

Odisha CM to woo Japanese investors during week-long trip from today

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will Monday embark on a week-long tour to Japan in a bid to attract investments in various sectors for the eastern state, officials said. During the visit, Patnaik is likely to attend programmes in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka and return on April 9, they said. We are optimistic about wooing Japanese investors as they are well acquainted with Odisha. Apart from a stable government, we have vast natural resources and business-friendly policies, the state's Industries and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Pratap Keshari Deb said. Odisha will seek Japanese investments in sectors like tourism, food processing, auto components, electronics, chemicals & petrochemicals, mining, metals and information technology, the officials said. Japan had earlier partnered with the state in 2018 and 2022 during the Make in Odisha' conclave.

Bank survey shows Japan's businesses turning pessimistic in first quater

Business sentiment among big Japanese manufacturers worsened in the first quarter of this year in the fifth straight decline, according to a central bank survey released Monday. The headline measure in the Bank of Japan quarterly survey called tankan found such sentiments stood at plus 1, down from plus 7 in December. It's the worst quarterly result since December 2020. Sentiments among major non-manufacturers rose one point to plus 20, its the fourth straight quarter of improvement. The Japanese economy has tended to stagnate in recent years, with slow wage increases, and has recently been hit by inflationary pressures, even as some parts of the nation's economy continue to experience deflation, the opposite trend in which prices continually decrease. Uncertainty about global growth is weighing on the export-reliant country. The recent turmoil over the US banking sector is adding to such woes, just at a time when Russia's war in Ukraine has sent energy prices soaring. Japan import

S Korea, US, Japan hold anti-N Korea submarine drill over missile threats

The South Korean, US and Japanese navies began their first anti-submarine drills in six months on Monday to boost their coordination against increasing North Korean missile threats, South Korea's military said. The two-day drills come as North Korea's recent unveiling of a type of battlefield nuclear warhead prompted worries the country may conduct first nuclear test since 2017. The maritime exercises in international waters off South Korea's southern island of Jeju involved the nuclear-powered USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and naval destroyers from South Korea, the US and Japan, South Korea's Defence Ministry said in a statement. The training was arranged to improve the three countries' capacities to respond to underwater security threats posed by North Korea's advancing submarine-launched ballistic missiles and other assets, the statement said. It said the three countries were to detect and track unmanned South Korean and US underwater vehicles posing as enemy submarines and other

US Prez Biden likely to visit Japan chip plant on G-7 summit sidelines

Biden, along with Japanese PM will visit the plant run by Micron Technology's Japanese unit, according to the report, as a sign of their deepening bilateral collaboration in the semiconductor industry

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik to lead delegation to Japan from April 4 to 11

In a continuing effort to be the country's leading investment destination, a high-level delegation led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will be visiting Japan from April 4 to 11 to promote investment opportunities in Odisha, said the Chief Minister's Office.The delegation includes the Minister of Industries, MSME, and Energy, Pratap Keshari Deb, Chief Secretary PK Jena, Principal Secretary, Industries Department, Hemant Sharma, Principal Secretary, E & IT Department, Manoj Mishra, and Managing Director, IPICOL, Bhupendar Poonia.From the Chief minister's Office, V K Pandian, Secretary to CM (5T) and Vineel Krishna, Special secretary to CM are accompanying the Chief Minister during the Japan tour.A business delegation from Odisha, consisting of select industries in the Steel, Aluminium, Textiles, Food and Sea-Food processing, and Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia sectors, will also accompany the delegation to explore opportunities for collaboration with Japanese business ...

Japan mulls over more childcare policies amid declining birthrate

It stated that until parents' children graduate from high school, the government would abolish income limits and continue to pay benefits to the parents

AMNS Luxembourg signs $5 bn loan deal with Japanese banks for Indian ops

The loan proceeds would be used to finance the expansion of the plant at Hazira, Gujarat, from nine million tonnes (mt) to 15 mt

Japan's unemployment rate increased in Feb; jobless rate reaches 2.6%

Japan's unemployment rate increased in February from a month earlier, the government said in a report on Friday

LGBTQ summit 'Pride 7' calls on Japan to enact anti-discrimination law

Japanese LGBTQ activists and supporters on Thursday held an inaugural Pride 7 Summit in Tokyo, where they called on Group of Seven governments to promote and strengthen support and legal protections for LGBTQ people and urged Japan's government to enact an anti-discrimination law before it hosts this year's G-7 summit in May. Japan is the only G-7 country that does not recognise same-sex marriage or provide other equal rights protections for LGBTQ people. Participants at the Pride 7 Summit called on the G-7 to protect the rights of LGBTQ people and prohibit discrimination throughout society. The Pride 7 engagement group will finalise the wording of a draft communique and submit it to each G-7 nation by the end of April, said Kanae Doi, Japan director of Human Rights Watch and a P-7 organiser. P-7 was established in March to make policy proposals to step up efforts ahead of the G-7 summit, which will be held in Hiroshima. While momentum is on the rise ahead of the G-7, experts say

India falls 6 spots to rank 144 in Passport Index 2023: All you must know

The sharp fall in India's ranking has been attributed to the change in European Union's policy

Japan commits Rs 7,084 crore for three infrastructure projects in India

Japan on Tuesday committed Rs 7,084.5 crore to India for three infrastructure projects, including Patna Metro Rail Construction Project and Rajasthan Water Sector Livelihood Improvement Project. Notes in this regard were exchanged between Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Japan Ambassador to India Suzuki Hiroshi, an official statement said. Japan would fund Patna Metro Rail Construction Project (I) of JPY 98.612 billion (about Rs 5,509 crore), Project for Forest and Biodiversity Conservation for Climate Change Response in West Bengal of JPY 9.308 billion (about Rs 520 crore) and Rajasthan Water Sector Livelihood Improvement Project (II) of JPY 18.894 billion (about Rs 1,055.53 crore). Patna Metro Rail Construction Project aims to cope with the increase of traffic demand in the capital city of Bihar by constructing the new metro corridor 1 & 2, thereby contributing to improvement of the urban environment and development of the economy as ..

6.1-magnitude earthquake hits Japan's Hokkaido island, no casualties so far

An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 on the Richter scale rocked Hokkaido island in Japan on Tuesday, the National Center for Seismology said

US, Japan reach agreement on vital minerals for electric vehicle batteries

Japan and the United States have reached an agreement on trade in critical minerals for electric vehicle batteries, part of an effort to diversify supply chains and reduce reliance on China for strategically important resources. The deal struck Tuesday is expected to help electric vehicles using metals processed in Japan qualify for tax incentives under President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. This announcement is proof of President Biden's commitment to building resilient and secure supply chains, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement. The Inflation Reduction Act, enacted in August, requires a portion of the critical minerals used in EV batteries to be mined in or processed domestically or from countries with which the US has free trade agreements. Japan and the US have no such FTA, but the deal will grant Japan the same treatment as an FTA partner regarding such minerals, Japanese officials said. As a result, the two sides said they agreed to not impose

Russia says it has test-fired anti-ship missiles in the Sea of Japan

Russia's Defense Ministry says Moscow has test-fired anti-ship missiles in the Sea of Japan. The ministry said on Tuesday that two boats launched a simulated missile attack on a mock enemy warship about 100 kilometers (60 miles) away. The ministry said the target was successfully hit by two Moskit cruise missiles. The Moskit, whose NATO reporting name is the SS-N-22 Sunburn, is a supersonic anti-ship cruise missile that has conventional and nuclear warhead capacity. It says the exercise took place in the Peter The Great Bay in the Sea of Japan but does not give more precise coordinates. Japan's Defense Ministry had no immediate response. The US Navy's 7th Fleet did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Over 10% of children with Covid-related brain disease died in Japan: Rpt

Between January 2020 and May 2022, the survey discovered 34 cases of acute encephalopathy linked to Covid-19 infection in individuals under the age of 18