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Share buybacks by publicly traded companies in Japan hit a record high of over ¥18 trillion last year due to accelerated corporate efforts to improve capital efficiency and apparent pressure from activist shareholders. The total amount of share buybacks announced in 2024 nearly doubled to ¥18.04 trillion from ¥9.57 trillion in the previous year, according to Ichiyoshi Securities. The surge followed a request by the Tokyo Stock Exchange in March 2023 that listed companies put more focus on improving capital efficiency. A buyback reduces the number of outstanding shares, possibly leading to improvements to price-book ratio and other valuation metrics and profit distribution per share. “The growing clout of activists is also having an impact,” said Shunichi Otsuka, head of Ichiyoshi Securities’ investment information department. Listed Japanese companies’ payout ratio rose to 67.4% last year from 57.1% in 2023. Toyota Motor announced a ¥1.2 trillion share buyback plan as a way to buy shares released from the unwinding of corporate cross-shareholdings. Such purchases came after the Financial Services Agency called on major nonlife insurance companies to reduce their cross-shareholdings, which are considered a hotbed for fraud in corporate insurance. The country’s benchmark 225-issue Nikkei average rose by about 20% during 2024, partly supported by share buybacks, which are also expected to underpin share prices this year. Share buybacks “will continue to be used as a means to increase corporate value in 2025,” Otsuka said, predicting their annual amount will exceed ¥20 trillion. Source link

The latest U.S. sanctions on oil tankers hauling Russian petroleum look set to cause severe disruption across the nation’s export machine, with some of Moscow’s flows at risk of a near wipeout if history is any guide. An analysis of the ships targeted by Washington suggests that nearly 1.5 million barrels a day of crude shipped from Pacific and Arctic ports could be heavily curtailed. More than one-third of those cargoes require specialized, purpose-built tankers that will be hard to replace. Flows of the nation’s key Urals grade from ports in the Baltic and Black Sea look set to face less-severe — but still significant — constraints. Last Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed restrictions on 158 oil tankers involved in the Russia trade, with the State Department targeting another three vessels. The measures were part of the most-aggressive round of sanctions on Russia’s oil trade by any Western power since the war in Ukraine began almost three years ago. Source link

Sapporo – With the winter sports season in full swing, skiers, snowboarders and those who just want to experience the snow are once again descending on Hokkaido. But the influx of so many visitors has highlighted a shortage of services to meet their needs, which cash-strapped cities, towns and villages that face declining populations and lower tax revenues are increasingly hard-pressed to finance. A rising number of Hokkaido towns and villages are discussing the introduction of a local accommodation tax, following decisions by the prefecture and Sapporo to tax lodgers beginning in April 2026. Two such levies are already in effect on those staying at Japanese style inns, hotels and private lodging facilities in Niseko and Kutchan. The Kutchan tax was introduced in November 2019. In fiscal 2023, it provided ¥200 million in funding for local projects related to tourism infrastructure. For the 2024 fiscal year, the levy is expected to bring in around ¥260 million. Source link

When Fuji TV held a news conference on Friday, the goal was likely to put out the public relations fire surrounding it following growing criticism over its handling of alleged sexual misconduct by a TV celebrity. But Fuji TV ended up fueling the flames — so much that major sponsors ranging from Toyota and Nippon Life Insurance to NTT East, are rushing to pull commercials from TV programs, which are the broadcaster’s main revenue source. There were many things that went wrong with the hastily convened news conference. Source link

Cedar pollen was observed in Tokyo on Jan. 8 — a month earlier than last year and the earliest since the Tokyo Metropolitan Government began pollen counts in 1985. The metropolitan government announced the findings on Friday. Tokyo government officials are urging people to take steps to prevent and mitigate hay fever symptoms, as pollen counts are expected to increase in the coming weeks. Source link

As U.S. President-elect Donald Trump begins his second term in office, Japanese businesses are anxiously calculating the potential fallout from the raft of policy changes he has pledged to deliver — especially when it comes to ramped-up tariffs. Highlighting this unease, more than 70% of nearly 700 U.S.-based Japanese companies said in a Japan External Trade Organization survey conducted earlier this month that they expect a negative impact from any additional tariffs imposed by the new administration. Indeed, economists, legal experts and business leaders concur that additional tariffs — whether directly aimed at Japan or not — could hurt its export-reliant machinery and automobiles industries while shattering the global economy. Mitigating any damage will require a more nimble Japanese side to forge an even closer relationship with Trump’s administration. Source link

San Francisco – For Curtis Sparrer, a work-from-home evangelist, an office is nothing less than a “corporate jail.” Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic sent workers scrambling for home, laptops under their arm, Sparrer methodically challenges the arguments made by corporate America as it pushes for a full-time return to office. The issue has even become increasingly political. Source link

WASHINGTON – Cryptocurrency executives swilled cocktails and danced to rap superstar Snoop Dogg on Friday night as they celebrated the approaching inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, whose administration has promised major changes in crypto policy. After years of butting heads with Washington policymakers, executives from crypto companies including Crypto.com, Kraken, and Exodus partied at the first-ever crypto inauguration ball held at the 90-year-old Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium beneath towering 62-foot (19-meter) columns. Clad in black tie and ball gowns, guests noshed on miniature lobster rolls and Trump’s favored McDonald’s burgers and fries, according to social media posts and two attendees. In addition to Snoop Dogg, the entertainment lineup featured rappers Rick Ross and Soulja Boy, the attendees said. One of many Washington celebrations ahead of Trump’s Monday swearing-in, the crypto gala marks a stunning turnaround for an industry that has been in the Biden administration’s crosshairs. Two years ago, it looked to be on the brink of extinction amid the collapse of FTX. Trump, who did not attend the gala, courted crypto campaign cash with promises to be a “crypto president,” and is expected next week to issue executive orders aimed at reducing crypto regulatory roadblocks and promoting the widespread adoption of digital assets. Source link

As Japan vies with Germany for a lucrative contract to build new frigates for Australia, Tokyo seems determined to learn from the past and avoid the mistakes made in its failed bid to sell submarines to Canberra nine years ago. There is a lot at stake. Winning the contract for the decadelong Australian frigate program — known as Project Sea 3000 — would be the largest military export deal in Japan’s postwar history and a major breakthrough for the country’s defense industry. Source link

London – Ahead of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, Meta head Mark Zuckerberg ended its U.S. fact-checking programs meant to label viral, misleading content. Meta will review posts only in response to user reports, Zuckerberg said on Jan. 7. Automated systems will flag “high-severity violations” around terrorism, child exploitation, scams and drugs. The changes only apply to its U.S. operations, not to other regions. Source link