Page 4 - Japan

Japan will disappear without any action on births, says PM's aide

The population has fallen to 124.6 million from a peak of just over 128 million reached in 2008, and the pace of decline is increasing

South Korea pushes to end Japan disputes over forced labourers to mend ties

South Korea says it'll raise local civilian funds to compensate Koreans who won damages in lawsuits against Japanese companies that enslaved them during World War II. Seoul's announcement reflects conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol's determination to mend frayed ties with Japan and solidify a trilateral Seoul-Tokyo-Washington security cooperation to better cope with North Korea's nuclear threats. But the announcement is expected to draw strong backlash from former forced labourer and their supporters, who have demanded direct compensation from the Japanese companies. South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin told a televised news conference Monday the victims would be compensated through a local foundation that would be funded by civilian donations.

40% of Japanese firms want central bank to scale down monetary easing

Nearly 40 per cent of Japanese companies want the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to scale down its ultra-loose monetary policy over the next year, local media reported citing a recent survey

Fukushima's nuclear wastewater can produce cancers on release: Scientists

Treated nuclear wastewater from Japan's damaged Fukushima power plant, which, if released into Pacific Ocean will reach the High Seas, is "capable of producing cancers", New Zealand scientists said

Japan's unemployment rate drops to 2.4% in January, says ministry

Japan's unemployment rate dropped in January from a month earlier, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said in a report on Friday

As G7 President, Japan wishes to coordinate with G20 chair India: FM

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has put a great strain on the global economy, including energy and food security, and Japan is keen to respond to the challenges by working hand-in-hand with India, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Friday. In an exclusive interview to PTI, Hayashi cited China's "unilateral attempts" to change the status quo by force in East and South China as well as its military activities around Taiwan as the region's challenges and concerns. The foreign minister said Japan's revised National Security Strategy views China's current external stance and military activities as an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge in ensuring peace and stability of Japan and the international community. Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi also said that it is necessary to build a free and open international order that is inclusive and based on the rule of law to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, a region that has seen mounting Chinese ..

South Korean prez calls Japan 'partner' in tackling economic challenges

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called Japan a partner in tackling security and economic challenges as he marked the anniversary of the nation's 1919 independence movement

$15 bn buyout of Toshiba Corp leaves global companies on sidelines

The Japanese bidding consortium also wants to avoid triggering Chinese antitrust scrutiny by bringing in foreign investors

Chinese foreign minister to attend G20 meet; Japan minister to give a miss

While India has held over a dozen G20 meetings so far, this will be the first time all foreign ministers gather

Japan to provide loans worth Rs 2,288 crore for two projects in India

Japan will provide loans worth Rs 2,288 crore to India for the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link Project in Maharashtra and for a Super-Specialty Cancer and Research Centre in Mizoram. An official statement on Monday said that Japan has approved JPY 30.755 billion or about Rs 1,728 crore for the project in Maharashtra and JPY 9.918 billion or around Rs 560 crore for developing the centre in Mizoram. Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link Project aims to improve connectivity in Mumbai Metropolitan Region by connecting Mumbai with Navi Mumbai, thereby contributing to mitigation of traffic congestion and promoting regional economic development. This is tranche-III loan for the project, it said. The project for the centre in Mizoram aims to improve access to cancer prevention, detection, and treatment as well as human resource development and research that support cancer control system. This will contribute to achieving universal health coverage through strengthening the healthcare system pertaining to canc

Japanese firm to help Kerala with its first waste-to-energy plant: CM

Japan-based JFE Engineering Limited has agreed to provide technical support to the upcoming waste-to-energy plant at Kozhikode, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Sunday. Keiichi Nagaya, Director, Head of Overseas Business and Environmental Solution Sector, of the firm, met the Chief Minister here and assured assistance for the state's first waste-to-energy treatment plant. Vijayan, in a Facebook post, said the firm has the experience of installing more than 350 waste disposal plants across the world. "They have assured cooperation in the fields of technology and construction for the project. The government intends to complete the construction of the plant within two years. Kerala's first Waste-to-Energy Treatment Plant is going to be established in Kozhikode," the Chief Minister further said. In the meeting held in the Chief Minister's chamber on Saturday, the company's India Managing Director B G Kulkarni, Zonta Infratech MD Raj Kumar, among others participated.

Japan to open hotels in 30 cities of UP, boost employment opportunities

Yogi Adityanath government's efforts of harnessing UP's tourism potential have not only led to an increased influx of domestic and foreign tourists

Earthquake of 6.1-magnitude jolts Kushiro coast of Japan's Hokkaido island

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), at 10:27 p.m. local time, the temblor's epicentre was located at a latitude of 42.8-degree north and a longitude of 145.1-degrees east

Japan, other G-7 leaders step up Russia sanctions to mark war anniversary

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other Group of Seven leaders adopted a set of additional sanctions against Russia over its war on Ukraine at an online G-7 summit Friday to mark the one-year anniversary of the start of the invasion. The leaders renewed their commitment to intensifying our diplomatic, financial and military support for Ukraine, to increasing the costs to Russia and those supporting its war effort, and countering the negative impact on the rest of the world, especially the most vulnerable people, they said in a statement, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. The G-7 countries also affirmed their coordinated action to further counter Russia's capacity to wage its illegal aggression" and pledged to prevent Russia from obtaining military equipment and technology. They also called on other countries to stop providing military support to Russia. Kishida, as this year's G-7 president, also announced Japan will impose additional sanctions on Russia, including

G20 meetings: FM Sitharaman meets Japanese counterpart Shunichi Suzuki

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday met her Japanese counterpart Shunichi Suzuki, ahead of the first G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting

ACME, Japan's IHI Corporation tie up for business in green hydrogen

Clean energy firm ACME Group and Japan's heavy-industry manufacturer IHI Corporation have collaborated to explore business opportunities of green hydrogen. The intent of this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is to jointly study and evaluate potential projects with respect to collaboration opportunities across the green hydrogen and ammonia value chain, including production, handling, transportation, distribution, and power generation, a statement said. The MoU allows IHI to participate as an investor or take offtake (buy output) in one or more projects of ACME in Oman, India, the US or Egypt, it stated. Both the companies will also explore opportunities to jointly offer a complete integrated solution to customers, from green ammonia supply, bunkering and products or solutions for various applications. Set up in 2003, ACME Group is a pioneer in cleantech sectors such as solar, green hydrogen & ammonia and sustainable green protein development. The company is one of the leading ...

Japan to give $5.5 bn aid to Ukraine, host online G-7 plus Zelenskyy

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday announced a new $5.5 billion financial aid for Ukraine and will mark the first anniversary of the war by hosting an online Group of Seven summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Kishida, speaking at a global forum in Tokyo organised by a Japanese think tank, said Ukraine still suffers under the Russian invasion and its people need help to rebuild their daily lives and infrastructure that's been badly damaged by Russian attacks. As this year's president of G-7, Kishida said he will host an online summit to be joined by Zelenskyy on Friday to mark the first anniversary of the Russian invasion. It will be the first time for Kishida to host a G-7 summit. Japan has joined the United States and European nations in sanctioning Russia over its invasion and providing humanitarian and economic support for Ukraine. Japan was quick to react because it fears a possible impact of the war in East Asia, where China's military has grown .

India, Japan to kickstart wargames aimed at developing interoperability

The armies of India and Japan will kickstart a two-week mega military wargame from Friday in the Japanese province of Shiga to share best practices and develop interoperability. Indian Army officials said the exercise, 'Dharma Guardian', is "crucial and significant" in terms of security challenges faced by both nations in the backdrop of the current global situation. The fourth edition of the exercise will take place from February 17 to March 2 at Camp Imazu in Shiga province, they said. "The scope of this exercise covers platoon-level joint training on operations in jungle and semi-urban, urban terrain," said an official. Troops of the Garhwal Rifles regiment of the Indian Army and an infantry regiment from the Middle Army of the Japan Ground Self Defence Force (JGSDF) are participating in the exercise. The Indian Army contingent arrived at the exercise location on February 12. "The joint exercise will enable the two armies to share best practices in tactics, techniques and ...

NTPC plans to raise up to $750 million term loan in JPY denomination

State-owned power giant NTPC plans to raise term loan of USD 750 million (about Rs 6,213 crore) in Japanese Yen (JPY) denomination to finance its capital expenditure on new and ongoing projects. The company has sought bids for the JPY loan, which is to be raised through External Commercial Borrowing route. According to a bid document, the term loan would be for USD 150 million with green shoe option of USD 600 million. It also stated that the proceeds of the loan will be utilised for capital expenditure for ongoing/new capacity additions programme, renewable energy projects, including hydro, coal mining and refinancing of existing ECB/Rupee loan availed domestically for CAPEX (capital expenditure) etc. The last date for submission of bids is March 1, 2023 and proposals would be opened the same day. NTPC is the largest power generating company in India. It occupies a dominant position in the domestic power sector with presence in the entire value chain of the power generation ...

Hitachi India aims to contribute $20 bn to parent's global revenue by 2030

Hitachi India, part of the Japanese conglomerate Hitachi, aims to work towards contributing USD 20 billion in the overall consolidated global revenue for the parent company by 2030 with a 'higher double-digit profit', said Managing Director Bharat Kaushal. By 2030, Hitachi India aims to occupy an "influential position" across rail, energy, and digital, automotive businesses of the group, he said. "Some of the horizontal enablers that support integrating technologies using digital as the catalyst including Artificial Intelligence (AI), hydrogen, and energy storage, will become an important growth driver. We aim to have a higher double-digit profit to the overall Hitachi's consolidated revenues," Kaushal told PTI. India is increasingly emerging as a base to do business outside India, especially in capital goods, where the government has launched a lot of incentives for technology transfer, and funding it, allowing to keep the IPR and these are very significant steps. When asked about