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As far as the Japanese markets were concerned, it was all but over by the start of trading on Wednesday morning. About 11 hours after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, Tokyo stocks opened flat and the yen was little changed from a day earlier. The takeaway for investors was that the system worked and that they could go back to worrying about corporate earnings and the Bank of Japan meeting later this month. Source link

The Bank of Japan has sold some of its holdings of futures-linked 10-year government bonds to improve the trading liquidity of these securities, which are often used as hedging tools against market volatility. The BOJ owned ¥8.03 trillion ($53.5 billion) of the bonds due in March 2032 as of Nov. 29, down from ¥8.23 trillion on Nov. 20, data released late Tuesday showed. It is important for the market that there is liquidity in these bonds because they are the cheapest-to-deliver securities underlying the March contract for 10-year bond futures. The cheapest-to-deliver bonds are those that minimize the seller’s cost when converted to the futures contract price. Source link

Fukuoka – Tetsu Nakamura’s wishes for the reconstruction of Afghanistan live on five years after he was killed there. The Japanese doctor worked in the country for many years providing medical assistance and building irrigation canals. Peace (Japan) Medical Services (PMS), the Afghan unit of Peshawar-kai, a Japanese NGO set up by Nakamura, has completed weirs at three river locations in Afghanistan after he was fatally shot on Dec. 4, 2019. He was 73. “We will carry on with all of his wishes,” said Chiyoko Fujita, 65-year-old head of the PMS support division of Peshawar-kai, based in the city of Fukuoka. She worked with Nakamura for more than 30 years. Source link

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission recommended Tuesday that the Financial Services Agency impose a fine of ¥18 million ($120,000) on general contractor Yamaura for releasing false financial statements. Hiroyuki Murata, 64, a former accountant at the company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime section, allegedly prepared false financial statements between August 2020 and February 2023 to hide his illegal withdrawal of some ¥2.6 billion from a subsidiary, according to the commission. Murata is on trial for corporate embezzlement. “We take seriously the recommendation from the commission and will consider how to respond to a formal notice from the agency,” Yamaura, based in Komagane, Nagano Prefecture, said in a statement. In May 2023, the accounting auditor of the company pointed to a difference of about ¥1 billion between the actual and booked balances of bank deposits by its Tokyo-based subsidiary, Yamaura Kikakukaihatsu. The parent, in its consolidated earnings report for fiscal 2022 through March 2023, logged ¥1 billion in accounts receivable, which later proved to be a misstatement. A third-party investigation panel found that Murata, who was in charge of preparing financial statements at Yamaura and accounting at the subsidiary in question, had illegally withdrawn more than ¥2.5 billion by 2023. In response, Yamaura revised financial results for the three years from fiscal 2021. Murata has been arrested and indicted on suspicion of embezzling about ¥900 million in total together with his 35-year-old son, Toshiki. The money is believed to have been used for credit card payments and loans to the operator of Rizin mixed martial arts events. Source link

The BBC’s 2024 list of “100 Women” unveiled Tuesday includes two Japanese — Naomi Watanabe, a comedian known for challenging gender and beauty norms in Japan’s male-dominated comedy scene, and Yumi Suzuki, a disability rights advocate. The annually released list recognizes inspiring and influential individuals who have made a significant global impact. The theme this year was resilience, celebrating women driving change in the face of adversity and who “are pushing for change and improving lives at community or global level.” Watanabe, a prominent Japanese influencer now based in New York, was commended for her transformative role in comedy, creating her own hit shows and holding her own in a predominately male-centric space, as well as her efforts to challenge societal beauty standards. Source link

BEIJING – Chinese companies should be wary of buying U.S. chips as they are “no longer safe” and buy locally instead, four of the country’s top industry associations said on Tuesday in a rare coordinated response to Washington’s curbs on Chinese chipmakers. The two nations have targeted each other’s economies in the last few days, escalating tensions even before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House in January. Trump has promised to impose heavy tariffs on imported Chinese goods, reviving a trade war from his first four-year term as president. The industry association warnings came after the U.S. on Monday launched its third crackdown in three years on China’s semiconductor industry, curbing exports to 140 companies, including chip equipment maker Naura Technology Group. Source link

Miami – Tiger Woods said Tuesday he has a “long way to go” in his bid to compete against the world’s best golfers as he continues to recover from his latest pain-relieving back surgery in September. “I’m just progressively trying to test it, keep making progress without setting it off,” said the 15-time major champion, who nevertheless remained confident he would return to competition even though he couldn’t say when. “I don’t want to have any setbacks, just want to keep making progress and give myself the best chance going into next year as possible,” said Woods, who will turn 49 on Dec. 30. Source link

The hoarding of pets, which results in dog and cat owners becoming unable to care for an overwhelming number of animals, continues to plague communities across the country, leading local authorities to tighten the rules on ownership. In the city of Sagamihara in Kanagawa Prefecture, seven cases of hoarding were confirmed between fiscal years 2021 and 2023. In one high-profile incident in September last year, city officials investigated after neighbors complained of foul odors. They discovered a man in his 60s who kept around 70 cats in a residence soiled with feces and urine. One of the cats had gone blind due to an infection. Source link

The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) decided to expand Japan’s catch quotas of Pacific bluefin tuna from 2025, the country’s Fisheries Agency has said. According to the agency’s announcement on Tuesday, Japan’s annual catch quota for large bluefin tuna weighing 30 kilograms or more will increase 50% from the current level and that for smaller bluefin tuna will expand 10%. The plans to boost the quotas had been agreed on at a meeting of the WCPFC’s Northern Committee held in Kushiro, Hokkaido, in July. The WCPFC officially decided on the new quotas at an annual meeting held in Fiji until Tuesday. Stocks of bluefin tuna, which is popular as a luxury sushi topping, had been decreasing due to overfishing. In recent years, however, they have been recovering, and Japan had been asking for substantial increases in catch quotas. Based on the official decision, Japan’s catch quota will increase to 8,421 metric tons from 5,614 metric tons for large bluefin tuna, rising for the first time in three years, and to 4,407 metric tons from 4,007 metric tons for small bluefin tuna, the first increase ever. Also at the annual meeting, the WCPFC decided to review the catch quotas in 2026. Source link

Japan’s civic space rating has been upgraded to reflect increased freedoms for civil society and peaceful protest, according to an annual international report released Wednesday. The nonprofit alliance CIVICUS has elevated Japan’s civic space rating to “open,” the highest tier on its global rights index, placing it alongside nations such as Taiwan, Canada and Denmark. The report highlights that civil society groups and peaceful protesters in Japan now largely operate without significant restrictions, an improvement from its previous “narrowed” status. The CIVICUS Monitor evaluates civic space in 198 countries and territories, rating freedom of expression, assembly and association as open, narrowed, obstructed, repressed or closed. In the Asia-Pacific region, this year’s report downgraded Mongolia to “obstructed” while upgrading Bangladesh, Japan and Fiji. Source link