Japanese and South Korean business leaders met in a Tokyo hotel on May 17 amid improving bilateral ties following last year’s summit talks held for the first time in three and half years. Their discussions included strengthening bilateral ties on the economic front as well.   On the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, Keidanren Chairman Sadayuki Sakakibara said, “I hear the….Read more

Yomiuri highlighted the upcoming G7 financial ministerial meeting in Sendai this weekend, explaining that attention will be focused on whether or not the participants are able to forge a consensus on active fiscal spending to shore up the world economy. Although Japan also hopes to address stability in the foreign exchange market, the United States is cautious about Japan’s desire….Read more

Nikkei gave prominent inside-page coverage to remarks made on Monday by an unnamed senior Treasury official, who described the yen’s appreciation against the dollar in the past several months as “orderly.” The daily said in addition to the Treasury Department’s recent decision to put Japan and others on a currency “watch list,” the comment has triggered strong reactions from Japanese….Read more

The government compiled a strategy to increase exports of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and other food products to 1 trillion yen by 2020 at a meeting of its working group on promoting exports by the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries industries on May 12. The main feature of this strategy is a system for government certification of Japanese products. The government intends….Read more

Monday evening’s Nikkei front-paged a report on remarks made by Finance Minister Aso at an Upper House Audit Committee session on Monday, during which he said that the government is ready to intervene in the currency market if the yen rises rapidly against other currencies. Aso was quoted as saying that rapid fluctuations in the exchange market are undesirable. Concerning….Read more

The Japan-Arab Economic Forum started on Wednesday in Casablanca, Morocco. The Forum’s goal is to enhance and strengthen relations between Japan and the Arab nations. Cabinet members from participating countries discuss topics ranging from human resource development to economic diversification. Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Mikio Hayashi disclosed Japan’s policy of increasing Japanese investment under the investment pact….Read more

Sunday’s Nikkei front-paged a GOJ plan to use ODA programs to help Iran construct an energy transportation hub at a port in southern Iran in cooperation with India, which plans to invest heavily there with the goal of holding its archrival Pakistan in check. Tokyo hopes to seal a basic accord on the plan when PM Abe visits Tehran sometime….Read more

All Saturday morning papers reported on PM Abe’s four-nation European tour, noting that he failed to persuade German Chancellor Merkel and British PM Cameron to support his efforts to forge a G7 consensus for active fiscal spending to shore up the global economy. The dailies speculated that when hosting the Ise-Shima Summit in late May, the Japanese leader will probably….Read more

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: Despicable terrorism is absolutely unforgivable. (Our two countries) should work closely and exercise leadership. The G7 Ise-Shima Summit will announce a joint action program against terrorism.

Yomiuri wrote that the “war of nerves” between the U.S. and Japan over foreign exchange policies is escalating, as the yen’s value against the U.S. dollar surged to the mid-105 level on Tuesday. The paper wrote that Washington’s policy turnaround from its effective approval of the weak yen is behind the yen’s rapid appreciation and that the Treasury Department’s recent….Read more