YOKOHAMA, Japan — Japan will donate a total of $40 million to assist with high-level infrastructure projects elsewhere in Asia, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Taro Aso announced on Saturday at the Asian Development Bank’s annual meeting.   The funds will be transferred over the next two years to the ADB’s newly established High-Level Technology Fund, which is….Read more

Saturday’s Yomiuri wrote that LDP Secretary General Nikai told Hong Kong’s Phoenix TV in Beijing on Friday that there is a possibility that Japan will participate in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in the future. Nikai also stated that Japan will fully cooperate with China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative to create a massive economic zone.

Most Saturday morning papers reported on an executive order signed by President Trump regarding possible retaliatory measures against Chinese steel imports, noting that it signifies that Washington will take a tough approach toward foreign trading partners. Pointing out that his recent decision not to designate China as a “currency manipulator” had eased foreign apprehension about a possible trade war, Sankei….Read more

TOKYO — Foreign acquisitions by Japanese companies jumped about 30% in the fiscal year ended Friday to a record 10.91 trillion yen ($97.9 billion), as rock-bottom interest rates at home allowed businesses to pursue larger deals than in the past.   The number of acquisitions also climbed 6% to an all-time high of 627, according to mergers and acquisitions consultancy Recof.….Read more

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is tasked by the government to carry out Japan’s official development aid programs, plans to establish a new department within the agency to support infrastructure exports, which the administration promotes. Even before the department’s launch, however, opinions inside JICA have been divided over its creation.   The new department will be tentatively called “Department for Export of High-Quality….Read more

By Masaaki Kudo, Nikkei staff writer   NAGOYA, Japan — Why does Donald Trump go after Toyota Motor?   The Japanese automaker’s consolidated business results for the April-December period announced Monday painted a picture of a company that does not quite fit in the mold the U.S. president has tried to cast for it. The results showed the company’s U.S.….Read more

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will promote exchange between small and medium-sized businesses of Japan and Germany to share expertise on the IoT (Internet of Things) and other technologies. The first group of companies from Germany will visit Japan in February, and a plan for their Japanese counterparts to visit Germany is currently being developed.   The initiative….Read more