Japan Financial News

Toyota is promising to strengthen oversight of its vehicle certifications so the scandal that surfaced recently over improper tests will never recur

Benchmark U.S. crude oil for September delivery rose 65 cents to $76.84 per barrel Friday

U.S. stocks closed a wild, whipsaw week for Wall Street with modest gains

China won the women's team event in table tennis at the Paris Games on Saturday for the country's 300th gold medal in Olympic history. China beat Japan 3-0 in the final for its fifth consecutive gold in the women's team event, a feat that the men had also achieved on Friday. «Each of us went all out today and played every position well,» No. 1-ranked Sun Yingsha said. South Korea took the bronze with a 3-0 win over Germany, its first medal in the team event since the Beijing Games in 2008.

Kai Group, a Japan-based personal care product and kitchen equipment maker, said it will invest 300 million yen (around Rs 17.17 crore) to expand production capacity of its manufacturing facility at Neemrana in Rajasthan. This latest investment is to increase the production capacity of women's razors by over 5 million units per year, according to a statement issued by the group's local subsidiary Kai India. «The group is planning an additional investment, allocated around 300 million yen, reflecting KAI group's commitment to bolstering its manufacturing infrastructure,» it said. The expected timeline for the completion of this expansion is five months, and the company expects the enhanced production capacity will be operational by the end of December 2024.

August one of the most dangerous months in the financial calendar of any economy? This question popped up after a meltdown in the US market triggered worldwide mayhem last week. Though the US Federal Reserve's Chairman Jeremy Powell rushed to indicate a cut in the interest rates in September, he could not prevent the Japanese stock markets from crashing. People also recalled the crash of the US market after the Iraqi forces under Saddam Hussein crossed the border on August 2, 1990, and invaded Qatar. Fears of the crude oil prices skyrocketing and destabilizing the oil market dynamics hit the capital market hard and it collapsed.

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, translated by Eric Ozawa. An international bestseller and winner of the Chiyoda Literature Prize (named after the district that is home to Tokyo’s beloved Jimbocho neighbourhood of bookshops), Yagisawa’s book is the story of 25-year-old Takako, who, after having broken up with her boyfriend and quit her publishing job, comes to live with her maternal Uncle Saturo, the owner of the Morisaki bookshop.

I wrote a lament in this column regarding a number of excellent watch brands not being available in India. Amongst these, I counted such great favourites of watch enthusiasts like Tudor and Hamilton. I’d also mentioned some other such bugbears, like the lack of fantastic quartz Timex timepieces such as the Q chronograph and the Q GMT, as well as the mechanical Timex Marlin.

Here is the list of award money athletes get for finishing on the podium in Olympics. Hong Kong and Singapore top the list for the highest cash payouts for Olympic victories.

U.S. inflation numbers, the latest Japanese economic data and a slew of UK data could give investors a fresh steer.

Japan is to live with the risk of a devastating earthquake at any time. Usually, however, people tend to view that threat in the abstract. It’s kind of like thinking about death — I know I’ll die someday, but I hope it won’t be today. And so far, at least, I keep getting lucky. Until we don’t. Thursday’s announcement from Japanese authorities, warning of an increased risk of a long-feared megaquake, forced citizens to consider the very real and immediate danger of an event that would devastate the country and upend life as we know it.

Embraer is in talks with the government and top conglomerates to set up a manufacturing unit in India, a top executive said. However, progress will depend on the company’s jets gaining access to India’s large and rapidly expanding domestic market, dominated by Airbus and Boeing planes. India is among countries such as China, Turkey, Japan and Saudi Arabia with which the firm is discussing a possible partnership, said Arjan Meijer, CEO and president of Embraer’s commercial aviation business. “We have been vocal for the last couple of years that we are looking for a partner,” Meijer told ET. “We have always said we want to cooperate, but we also want to bring our products into the market.”

Tata Motors to Maruti Suzuki, Japan's Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and China's BYD set to take the covers off a slew of vehicles, many in the electric vehicle segment, at the Bharat Mobility Show to be held in January next year. The number of vehicle makers who have confirmed attendance for the upcoming edition of the show is four times that seen in 2023, and highest-ever since the auto expo started in 1986. The participation is also significantly higher than that seen at the 'Big Five' — the five major auto shows held globally in Geneva, Munich, Detroit, Paris and Tokyo — where participation has been dwindling amid high costs and lower footfalls. While 13 carmakers participated at the Munich Auto Show in its latest edition, 20 showed up for the Geneva Motor Show held between Feb 26 and March 3 this year. The mobility shows in Paris and Tokyo saw participation from 11 and 22 vehicle makers, respectively. Around 13 automakers showcased 35 vehicle brands at the Detroit Auto Show last year.

Market volatility isn’t just a concern — it’s a constant threat, and Jeff Hausinger, president & CEO at All Seasons Wealth, faces it head-on.

The Indian financial market experienced significant volatility in the past quarter. Fluctuations were notable during the national elections in June, and now with the recent declines, driven by various factors, such as concerns of recession in the US, the fallout of the Japanese Yen carry trade, and the ongoing geopolitical tensions. 

TOKYO—The Bank of Japan’s policy board was moving to raise rates above zero when its youngest member spoke up in dissent. He was nervous about whether the stock market might take a dive and commented, “The cost of waiting is not all that high." Kazuo Ueda was outvoted 7-2 on that day in August 2000, but the prescient call made his reputation. Soon the dot-com bubble burst and the central bank had to ease policy again.

Court of Arbitration for Sports will start hearing Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat's appeal against her disqualification at the Paris Olympics today. Phogat's appeal includes a request for a joint silver medal after being found overweight following her semi-final victory in Paris. Senior advocate Haris Salve will represent Phogat during her hearing. The hearing is likely to start at 5:00 pm. Also Read: Catch all the live updates on Vinesh Phogat case hearing in CAS The 29-year-old wrestler missed the opportunity to compete for the gold after being disqualified for being overweight during the morning weigh-in on Wednesday. This followed her impressive performance the previous day, where she defeated the unbeaten Yui Susaki of Japan in her opening bout.

Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw $194.6 million in inflows on Thursday, according to data shared by Fireside Investors.

During periods of high inflation and interest rates, a carry trade allows companies and investors to borrow capital via a currency with a low interest rate, such as the Japanese yen, which a London-based futures trader told Investment Week has been «the underlying driver of the sell-off». This low-yielding currency is then converted to fund investments in higher earning assets, such as US stocks, allowing traders to profit from the interest rate differential between the two currencies.  The Bank of Japan's decision to raise its interest rate to 0.25% on 31 July, coupled with some poor...

As we go to press Thursday financial investors are already choosing to forget the tremors that hit global markets Monday. The theory appears to be that after a brief period of policy-induced upset, global finance has stabilized and we’re out of the woods. Alas, dear friends, we’ve barely wandered into the forest.

PSU stocks, and other export-oriented industries. They attribute potential declines to stretched valuations, a looming economic crisis in the US, reverse yen carry trades, and geopolitical flare-ups. In the past week, global markets have experienced a significant sell-off due to disappointing economic data from the US, the Bank of Japan's unexpected 25 bps rate hike, and the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.