Japan Financial News

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation stands tall, weaving a captivating narrative that resonates with viewers.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited a new semiconductor plant for which his government has pledged more than $7 billion of support to secure a steady supply of chips

Japan and the Philippines head to Washington this week for a first trilateral summit aimed at boosting defence ties, hot on the heels of four-way military drills in the South China Sea that riled Beijing. A major upgrade of military command structures between the United States and an increasingly self-confident Japan could be announced, as well as joint coast guard patrols with Manila in areas disputed with China. Also on the agenda will be securing access to vital supplies such as semiconductors and rare metals, North Korea's growing belligerence, and the Japanese takeover of US Steel opposed by President Joe Biden.

China’s weak consumer activity got a temporary boost from the Qingming holiday ended Saturday, during which more travelers hit the road, adding to signs of green shoots in the world’s second-largest economy. Official data released over the weekend show that Chinese tourists made 119 million domestic trips during the three-day holiday, up 11.5% from the same period in 2019 before the pandemic.

China has carried out military «combat patrols» in the disputed South China Sea, amid the US' first joint military exercises with the Philippines, Japan and Australia, Al Jazeera reported. China announced a naval drill on Sunday after defence chiefs from four nations said the Philippines will host joint drills in the same area on the same day. Beijing's People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command announced it was organising «joint naval and air combat patrols in the South China Sea».

TOKYO—Japan’s largest telecommunications company and the country’s biggest newspaper called for speedy legislation to restrain generative artificial intelligence, saying democracy and social order could collapse if AI is left unchecked. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, or NTT, and Yomiuri Shimbun Group Holdings made the proposal in an AI manifesto to be released Monday. Combined with a law passed in March by the European Parliament restricting some uses of AI, the manifesto points to rising concern among American allies about the AI programs U.S.-based companies have been at the forefront of developing.

Oil prices fell nearly 2% as Middle East tensions eased after Israel withdrew more soldiers from southern Gaza, while gold prices slumped 1% after scaling record high on Friday as U.S. Treasury yields remain elevated.

Read here: Week Ahead: Inflation data, Q4 results, crude oil prices, global cues among key market triggers this week On Friday, the domestic equity indices ended flat after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced its monetary policy in line with expectations. The central bank kept the key policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5% and maintained its policy stance as ‘withdrawal of accommodation’. The Sensex rose 20.59 points, or 0.03%, to close at 74,248.22, while the Nifty 50 settled flat at 22,513.70.

Russian fintech firms have begun joining the country’s digital ruble pilot, as the Central Bank looks to widen the scope of its CBDC project.

February for a 23rd consecutive month, data showed on Monday, suggesting higher prices kept up pressure on consumers' spending appetite. The wage trend is among the key data the Bank of Japan examines for pay and inflation outlooks, crucial factors for the central bank to consider in deciding whether to unwind its stimulus policy further.

ALSO READ: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Neel Kashkari hints at holding off rate cuts The inflation reading -- consumer price index (CPI) – for March and the minutes of Fed’s March FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting will be released on April 10 (Wednesday). The producer price index (PPI) data for March is slated to be released on April 11 (Thursday). April 12 (Friday) will see the release of import price index (IPI) data for March and a preliminary report on consumer sentiment for April.

fish markets, you often see a vendor with a long fish with several diagonal cuts, but not detached from the spine. When she holds it up, the segments splay sideways like a fleshy Christmas decoration. This is karli or wolf herring (Chirocentrus dorab), a fish notorious for its twisty bones. “Everybody agrees that this is a deplorably bony fish, but many regard this disadvantage as outweighed by the good taste of the flesh,” writes Alan Davidson in his 'Seafood of South-East Asia'. This style of cutting helps slide the flesh off the bones. Davidson notes that in Hong Kong, it is used for fish balls. These are among a range of recipes where fish is deboned, usually mixed with a filler like breadcrumbs or mashed potato, and a binder like egg, and then fried, baked or poached.

Mint’s Plain Facts section brings out an update on key global economic data to thread together the biggest developments in the world that are worth paying attention to. The accompanying analysis and charts explain how each story is creating ripples on the global stage, where it is headed in the coming weeks, and whether it can impact India. This time, we explain why the Bank of Japan has ended a long era of negative interest rates and what is causing financial stress to citizens of several countries.

Verstappen was asked a few days ago if he had concerns going into the Japanese Grand Prix. His rear brakes caught fire just two weeks ago at the Australian GP, forcing him out on the fourth lap. «No, no,» Verstappen replied. True to his word. No worries. The Dutchman claimed the pole for Red Bull in Saturday qualifying, poised to return to his unprecedented dominance in Formula 1 after the blip in Australia. Verstappen clocked 1 minute 28.197 seconds, just 0.066 ahead of Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez. Lando Norris of McLaren and Carlos Sainz of Ferrari — the winner in Australia — will make up the second row.

ALSO READ: US tech giants turn to Mexico to make AI gear, spurning China The Microsoft Threat Intelligence insights in the latest East Asia report were published by the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) on Friday. The report said it is expected that "Chinese cyber and influence actors, and to some extent North Korean cyber actors," will work toward targeting elections in "India, South Korea, and the United States". How China, North Korea might influence elections in India, US, South Korea? 1. China's influence operation (IO) seeks perspectives on US political topics: China had allegedly begun using generative AI to create sleek and engaging visual content.

Lok Sabha polls, Chinese cyber and influence operatives, along with North Korean cyber agents may divert their efforts with these electoral processes, ToI reported quoting a Microsoft analysis. Starting from April 19 to June 1, India will cast their vote to choose 543 members of the Lower House of the Parliament.. The general election polls will be held in seven phases: April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1, with Bihar, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh conducting voting across all seven stages. The results will be announced on June 4, 2024. «China will, at a minimum, create and amplify AI-generated content that benefits their positions in these high-profile elections. While the impact of such content in swaying audiences remains low, China’s increasing experimentation in augmenting memes, videos, and audio will continue—and may prove effective down the line,» the Microsoft analysis claimed.

Israel in a resolution passed Friday that aims to help prevent rights violations against Palestinians amid Israel's blistering military campaign in Gaza. The 47-member-country Human Rights Council voted 28-6 in favor of the resolution, with 13 abstentions. The sweeping measure takes aim at an array of Israeli actions such as impeding access to water and limiting shipments of humanitarian aid into Palestinian areas. It also calls on U.N.-backed independent investigators to report on shipments of weapons, munitions and «dual use» items — that have both civilian and military applications — that could be used by Israel against Palestinians.

Stock market today: Sensex, Nifty 50 end flat after RBI policy decision; geopolitical tensions, crude oil prices weigh Ten out of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors saw gains, with communication services leading the charge, up by 1.6 per cent. Krispy Kreme rose by 4.7 per cent following an upgrade by Piper Sandler, shifting its rating from "neutral" to "overweight". Shockwave Medical also saw an uptick of 1.8% after Johnson & Johnson's announcement of its acquisition for $12.5 billion.

United Nations, India on Friday abstained in the UN Human Rights Council on a resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and also demanded that Israel immediately lift its illegal blockade on the strip. The draft resolution on the 'Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice' was adopted by the Geneva-based Council with a vote of 28 in favour, 6 against and 13 abstentions. India abstained on the resolution, along with France, Japan, Netherlands, and Romania among others. Those voting against the resolution included Argentina, Bulgaria, Germany and the US.

Sony Bank, the financial arm of the renowned Japanese gaming and entertainment conglomerate, Sony Group, has embarked on a proof-of-concept endeavor to introduce its stablecoin, pegged to fiat currency like Yen, as per a Nikkei report. 

Blinkit, Albinder Dhindsa, announced on X that the firm is collaborating with Sony to distribute the recently released PlayStation 5 Slim edition game system, which was released in India on April 5. According to a press release from Blinkit, customers in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru can now receive the brand-new PlayStation 5 Slim models and controllers delivered in ten minutes. Albinder Dhindsa, the CEO of Blinkit, also verified the collaboration in a post on X (previously twitter).