Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's party and a coalition partner agreed with a key opposition party on Tuesday to revise the $770-billion annual budget bill, in a rare move to ensure it passes before the start of the new fiscal year in April.
Japan Post Holdings is planning to sell shares in Japan Post Bank which could total some 600 billion yen ($4.02 billion), two sources familiar with the matter said, in the latest loosening of ties between the businesses.
Shares of Japanese chip equipment makers including Tokyo Electron Ltd. extended losses after US officials were said to be planning tougher controls on China’s semiconductor industry.
Japanese trading houses, including Mitsubishi Corp. and Marubeni Corp., rallied on Tuesday after Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s plans to increase holdings were seen a stamp of approval for the sector.
Japan and its allied Philippines agreed to a "strategic dialogue" as a means to bolster defense tech and equipment cooperation, both nations announced Monday.
Japan told its G20 counterparts that free, open and rules-based trade was important to sustain global economic growth, a senior finance ministry official told reporters on the sidelines of a gathering of the group's finance leaders on Wednesday.
Japan's top currency diplomat, Atsushi Mimura, said on Wednesday he did not see any disparity between recent rises in the yen and a slew of positive economic data, underscoring Tokyo's view that the currency's rebound was broadly in line with an improving economy that could justify hikes in Japan's interest rates.
Japan is facing a population crisis—so Tokyo, its largest city, will try to solve the problem with something new: a four-day workweek.