Japan defense minister wants cabinet to drum up defense exports
SINGAPORE -- Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani on Sunday expressed eagerness to take the lead in promoting exports of his country's defense equipment along with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Until now, most of Japan's outreach in this area has been done by defense ministry officials and defense contractors themselves. Japan has won only one major international defense contract -- the supply of radar systems to the Philippines.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kyodo News
32 minutes ago
- Kyodo News
Kyodo News Digest: June 3, 2025
KYODO NEWS - 5 hours ago - 09:24 | All, Japan, World The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- Japan PM may seek snap election if no-confidence submitted TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba may dissolve the House of Representatives for a snap general election if the main opposition party submits a no-confidence motion, a source close to the government leadership said Monday. Ishiba, whose coalition holds a minority in the lower house, could take the move before any no-confidence motion is put to a vote in the chamber, the source said. If such a motion is submitted and approved, the prime minister must dissolve the lower house or the Cabinet must resign en masse within 10 days. ---------- Japanese baseball legend Nagashima dead at 89: Yomiuri newspaper TOKYO - Japanese baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima, who rose to stardom for his on-field exploits during the country's era of rapid economic growth in the 1960s and 1970s, died Tuesday, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said. He was 89. Nagashima, who was a key player of the Yomiuri Giants team that achieved nine consecutive Central League and Japan Series titles from 1965 to 1973 and later managed the club, was a charismatic figure whose popularity transcended sports. ---------- White House says Trump "likely" to speak with China's Xi this week WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump is "likely" to speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week, the White House said Monday, amid renewed trade tensions between the two countries. The prospect for such talks, mentioned to reporters by White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, comes after China hit back at the United States over alleged violations of a temporary bilateral trade agreement reached in mid-May in Geneva. ---------- South Koreans begin voting in presidential election SEOUL - South Koreans began voting Tuesday in a presidential election to choose a successor to ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose imposition of martial law deeply divided the nation and sent shockwaves across the country. More than 14,000 polling stations opened at 6 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m. Of over 44 million eligible voters, about 34.7 percent have already cast ballots during early voting on Thursday and Friday. ---------- Japan crafts basic plan to support "employment ice age" generation TOKYO - The government on Tuesday mapped out a basic framework to support people in their 40s to 50s who fell victim to Japan's "employment ice age," with a focus on easing retirement anxieties. One key element is to provide "safety net public housing," operated in a way that prevents aging people from being denied a home. ---------- Japan's departure tax revenue hits record high in FY 2024 TOKYO - Japan's revenue from a departure tax collected from travelers in fiscal 2024 hit a record high amid an influx in the number of visitors, the Finance Ministry said Monday. Although revenue from the tax for the full fiscal year, which runs from April to March, has yet to be calculated with final receipts gathered by the end of May, the total has already reached 48.1 billion yen ($34 billion), eclipsing the previous record of 44.3 billion yen in fiscal 2019, it said. The full total will be announced later. ---------- U.N. official looks to Japan as leader in disaster resilience efforts GENEVA - The focus of work related to natural disaster recovery must shift from rapid rebuilding to long-term resilience and inclusivity, and Japan can play a leading role in such efforts, according to the chief of the U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. "We must stop building back fast with big promises and start building back better and more resilient," said Kamal Kishore, special representative of the U.N. secretary general for disaster risk reduction, in a recent interview with Kyodo News. ---------- Japanese footballer in Australia arrested in betting scandal SYDNEY - A Japanese footballer playing on an Australian A-League team has been arrested for alleged involvement in a betting scandal, Australian authorities said. Riku Danzaki, 25, a midfielder for Melbourne-based A-League club Western United, is suspected of deliberately receiving yellow cards during matches to manipulate betting outcomes, local media said. Video: Dance troupe from West Bank performs at Osaka Expo's Palestine day
Yomiuri Shimbun
2 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
BOJ's Ueda Signals Readiness to Raise Rates If Growth Re-Accelerates
Reuters file photo Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda attends a press conference after a BOJ policy meeting in Tokyo, Japan, May 1, 2025. TOKYO, June 3 (Reuters) – Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Tuesday the central bank will raise interest rates once it is convinced enough that economic and price growth will re-accelerate after a period of stagnation. Ueda also signaled the central bank will continue to taper its huge bond buying even after an existing plan running through March expires, underscoring its resolve to stay on course for a slow but steady withdrawal of ultra-easy policy. The hit from higher U.S. tariffs on Japan's economy could first come from a drop in exports, which could hurt corporate profits and consumer sentiment, Ueda said. 'U.S. tariffs could weigh somewhat on Japanese companies' winter bonus payments and next year's wage talks with unions,' Ueda told parliament. 'Wage growth may slow somewhat. But we expect economic and wage growth to re-accelerate' and keep consumption on a moderate uptrend, he added. The BOJ ended a massive stimulus last year and in January raised short-term interest rates to 0.5% on the view Japan was on the cusp of durably hitting its 2% inflation target. While the central bank has signaled a readiness to raise rates further, the economic repercussions from higher U.S. tariffs forced it to cut its growth forecasts in May. Stubbornly high food prices, blamed largely on rising import costs and soaring rice prices, have also complicated the BOJ's rate decisions by simultaneously hurting consumption and keeping headline inflation well above its target. The BOJ is keeping interest rates low even as headline inflation hit 4.6% in April – well above its 2% target – as it expects the rise in food prices to slow, Ueda said. Underlying inflation – or price rises driven by domestic demand and higher wages – remains short of 2%, but will likely re-accelerate after a period of stagnation, Ueda said. 'If we're convinced our forecast will materialize, we will adjust the degree of monetary support by raising interest rates,' Ueda said, noting that uncertainty over the outlook was 'extremely high.' A Reuters poll, taken on May 7-13, showed most economists expect the BOJ to hold rates steady through September with a small majority forecasting a hike by year-end. At its next policy meeting on June 16-17, the BOJ will conduct a review of its existing bond-taper plan and lay out a new program for April 2026 onward. The plan is drawing market attention as concern over Japan's worsening finances and dwindling demand from domestic investors caused a spike in super-long government bond yields last month. The BOJ held meetings with bond market participants on May 20-21 to seek their views on the desirable taper plan, which will be taken into account at the June rate review. 'At the meeting, calls for the BOJ to make amendments to the existing plan were limited,' Ueda said, suggesting the review will lead to no major tweak to the existing taper program. 'As for our plan beyond April 2026, many opinions called on the need for the BOJ to continue tapering, while balancing the need to do so flexibility and predictably,' he said. Minutes of the meeting, released on Monday, showed the BOJ received a sizeable number of requests to maintain or slightly slow the pace of tapering from fiscal year 2026 onward. While the participants diverged on how much the BOJ should taper beyond April 2026, several called for reducing its monthly purchases to around 1 trillion yen to 2 trillion yen ($7 billion-$14 billion) by the end of the new taper program, the minutes showed.
2 hours ago
2 Japanese Killed in China's Dalian
News from Japan Jun 3, 2025 13:05 (JST) Beijing, June 3 (Jiji Press)--Two Japanese nationals have been killed in the northern Chinese city of Dalian, sources familiar with Japan-China relations said Tuesday. On May 25, local public security authorities informed the Japanese Consulate-General in Shenyang of their deaths. A suspect who appears to be a Chinese national has been detained. The authorities said that the killings were due to a business dispute between acquaintances. Details such as the ages of the victims are not known. No ideological background is believed to have motivated the incident, according to the sources. The consulate-general and others are collecting information while contacting their bereaved families. Many Japanese companies operate in Dalian. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
