Japan Financial News

Taiwan is pivotal to the geopolitics of Asia and the future of global technological leadership. Communist China has never controlled Taiwan, a self-governing democracy, but arrogates to itself the right to take Taiwan over at a time of its choice, regardless of what Taiwanese think. How to deal with Communist China is therefore always a central issue in Taiwan’s elections.

At the start of 2024, investors are focused on identifying headwinds and tailwinds for individual countries as well as assessing global propositions, in what promises to be another eventful year as central banks continue their battle with inflation and elections loom in the US and the UK.  

Japanese brokerage firm reiterated its earlier view of rate cuts being expected from August onwards, and pegged the quantum of cuts at 1 percentage point. "We expect 1 per cent of rate cuts cumulatively starting August, with a change of stance to 'neutral' in Q2, with risks skewed towards earlier easing," PTI quoted Nomura analysts as saying.

The more the U.S. government worries about China’s ambitions in the chip industry, the more equipment for making chips that China seems to buy. When ASML, the Dutch company that makes the world’s most advanced lithography machines for manufacturing microchips, reports fourth-quarter results next week, one of the most eye-catching numbers will be the share of sales it made in China.

First.Get your daily, bite-sized digest of crypto and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s news.

Members of a group of men who say they were sexually abused as boys by a Japanese entertainment mogul are accusing the company behind the scandal of not being sincere in dealing with the victims and say many have not received compensation

Some schools have reopened and limited garbage collection has resumed in Japan’s northcentral region of Noto that was hit by the deadly New Year’s Day earthquake

Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka's Grand Slam comeback ended abruptly Monday, crashing out to Caroline Garcia, but US Open winner Coco Gauff and men's third seed Daniil Medvedev surged on in Melbourne. On a baking-hot day at Melbourne Park, men's seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and women's sixth seed Ons Jabeur also tasted first-round victory. But Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova and veteran Andy Murray made early exits. Japanese star Osaka, 26, stepped away from the sport in September 2022, citing mental health concerns. After giving birth to a baby girl in July, she decided to return for the new season and was back at the scene of her title-winning exploits in 2019 and 2021. But she was unable to rediscover her championship-winning form against 16th-seeded Frenchwoman Garcia after just two competitive games in Brisbane since returning. «She's been through a lot but I'm just very glad to see her back and I hope she can enjoy the tennis now and have fun out there.

By Anton Bridge

By Makiko Yamazaki, Brigid Riley and Anton Bridge

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks rose past early weakness on Monday as traders maintained bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates early, with Japanese markets extending a rally to 34-year highs.

The TEAMZ WEB3 / AI SUMMIT represents an evolution from the TEAMZ WEB3 SUMMIT 2023, previously recognized as one the most significant and influential events in Japan’s Web3 landscape. For 2024, we’re expanding our focus to encompass both the burgeoning realms of Web3 and AI, two domains that have seen explosive growth recently.

Japan's Nikkei share average on Monday crossed the 36,000 mark for the first time in 34 years, powered by shippers and financials, with a retreat in U.S. bond yields and a stabilisation in the yen exchange rate buoying sentiment. The Nikkei finished the day nearly 1% higher at 35,901.73, after touching the highest since February 1990 at 36,008.23. Value shares outperformed after lagging growth stocks last week when the Nikkei index booked its best performance in 22 months. The broader Topix, which is less weighted towards technology shares than the Nikkei, rose 1.22% on the day and also touched a new 34-year high during the session. The Topix value share sub-index climbed 1.55%, outpacing a 0.88% rise for the growth share sub-index. The Tokyo Stock Exchange's (TSE) shippers index jumped 5.3% to lead gains among the 33 industry groups, with geopolitical risks pushing up shipping rates. Shares of financials, which had retreated sharply on Friday, rebounded strongly.

Tata Consultancy Services is planning to focus more on markets such as Japan, Latin America and Southern Europe amid weakness in North America, its chief executive said. The plan to diversify more comes after the industry leader reported its slowest quarterly profit growth since 2020, and revenue contributions from its mainstay market, North America, have declined for four straight quarters.

Team Ninja, known for the Souls-inspired Nioh franchise, shifts focus to their latest project, Rise of the Ronin. This Japan-based game dives into RPG and combat elements, offering players a samurai experience during the Boshin War.

Queen Margrethe II will become Denmark's first monarch to abdicate in nearly 900 years when she hands over the throne to her son, Crown Prince Frederik, on Sunday. Margrethe always maintained during her 52-year-reign that she wouldn't quit, but back surgery and other ailments left her unable to undertake as much as she could in the past. «Time takes its toll,» she said, announcing her plans to abdicate in a New Year's address that stunned the kingdom.

AP. North Korea's neighbouring countries including Japan and South Korea informed that they detected a possible ballistic missile launch by North Korea. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and Japan’s Defense Ministry informed that the country ruled by Kim Jong Un fired missile on Sunday.

By Ju-min Park and Makiko Yamazaki

North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the sea on Sunday, its first missile launch in about a month, its neighbors said. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launch occurred Sunday but gave no further details like how far the weapon flew. Japan's Defense Ministry also said it detected a possible ballistic missile launch by North Korea but gave no other details.

Salaar box office collection Day 23: Prabhas' Salaar: Part One- Ceasefire' saw a box office collection of ₹0.55 crore on Day 23 in the fourth week since its release. This is the fourth Saturday run for the movie. The film, available in Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Hindi has performed well in the first 23 days at the box office, earning ₹475.1 crore in India, according to data by Sacnilk.

flight landed safely with 59 passengers and six crew onboard. "The crack was not something that affected the flight's control or pressurization," the ANA spokesperson said. The incident comes as Boeing is facing increased scrutiny after the cabin panel detached mid-air from a new Alaska Airlines aircraft last week.