Japan drugmaker Chugai invests in Western startups
TOKYO -- Chugai Pharmaceutical has invested in a total of four European and American startups through its corporate venture capital arm, the Japanese company said Friday.
The moves were detailed in a briefing for journalists and investors on Chugai's "open innovation" strategy.
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Yomiuri Shimbun
30 minutes ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Akazawa Calls Latest U.S. Trade Talks ‘Deep,' Offers No Prediction on Any Imminent Outcome
The Yomiuri Shimbun Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks to reporters after his sixth talks with U.S officials over tariffs in Washington on Friday. Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa and U.S. government officials held their sixth ministerial negotiation talks on Friday in Washington over the tariff measures of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. After the meeting, Akazawa told reporters, 'We held very deep discussions to search for a possibility of reaching an agreement.' The Japan-U.S. ministerial talks have been held for four consecutive weeks. Akazawa held talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for about 70 minutes and with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for about 45 minutes, one after another. After the talks, Akazawa did not clearly mention a possibility of reaching an agreement during Group of Seven summit to be held from Sunday to Tuesday in Canada. A Japan-U.S. summit is scheduled to be held on the sidelines of the G7 summit. He briefly said, 'I want to refrain from making any predictions. So far, the Japanese government has repeatedly demanded that all U.S. 'reciprocal tariffs' on automobiles, steel and aluminum exports from Japan be abolished. Akazawa avoided clearly answering a question over whether he reiterated the demand in the latest talks. In the preceding talks, the Japanese side proposed to increase imports of U.S. agricultural products and reexamine 'non-tariff trade barriers' against U.S. cars in line with requests from the Trump administration. The Japanese government is also considering collaborations on strengthening supply chains for rare earths and semiconductors. In the evening on Friday, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held telephone talks with Trump for about 20 minutes and agreed to hold an in-person meeting separately from the G7 summit. Attention will focus on whether the leaders will be able to reach an agreement based on discussions in the ministerial talks. Rare earth magnets The government has begun internal discussions on proposing cooperation with the United States to strengthen supply chains for powerful magnets made with rare earths in the ongoing Japan-U.S. trade negotiations over the Trump administration's tariff policy, according to Japanese government sources. China holds a major share of the market for high-performance magnets. The government expects that Japan and the United States will promote the building of supply chains which will not rely on China and aim to make progress in the tariff talks, which are entering a decisive phase. Magnets made with rare earths are essential for manufacturing motors of electric vehicles and devices used in missiles. In the case of neodymium magnets, a typical product of the kind, China holds more than an 80% share of *global production. Japan, which has high-level manufacturing technologies, holds a 15% share. The United States is struggling to find ways to deal with China's restrictions on exports of rare earths. The Japanese government aims to show a stance of contributing to U.S. manufacturing industries in fields in which Japanese manufacturers have high competitiveness. In doing so, the government wants to draw concessions from the United States on tariff issues, such as the 25% additional tariff on Japanese-made cars, as automobile manufacturing is Japan's core industry.
Japan Today
2 hours ago
- Japan Today
Foreign tourists outnumber Japanese ones at Kyoto hotels for first time ever
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24 Recently, with Japan experiencing a surge in inbound international travelers, it's not unusual to hear locals remark 'These days, it feels like there are more foreign tourists in [sightseeing place] than Japanese people!' Oftentimes this is an exaggeration, but in the case of hotels in Kyoto, it's the statistical truth. The Kyoto municipal government recently released its tourism-related numbers for 2024, reporting that during the year 8.21 million foreign travelers stayed in hotels within Kyoto City. That's the largest number ever, and a 53.2 percent increase from the previous year. It's also the first time in history for more foreign travelers than Japanese ones to stay in Kyoto hotels, which received 8.09 million Japanese guests in 2024. That figure of 8.09 million Japanese guests is down 13.8 percent from the year before, illustrating that as Kyoto becomes an increasingly popular destination for visitors from outside Japan, a growing proportion of Japanese travelers are choosing to stay elsewhere. Along with large crowds at sightseeing attractions and congestion on public transportation, Kyoto's rising hotel prices are making it a less attractive place for Japanese travelers to stay. At the end of May, the Kyoto City Tourism Association announced the results of an April 2025 survey of room rates at 106 hotels within the city, finding an average per-night room price of 30,640 yen, the highest amount since the organization began tracking the average price in 2014 and also the first time for it to go past 30,000 yen. With a favorable exchange rate to take advantage the higher hotel rates may not be much of a deterrent to foreign tourists, but for the local Japanese population already struggling with increasing consumer prices, hotel rate hikes in Kyoto aren't nearly so easy to brush off. Surprisingly, even as Kyoto's hotels welcomed fewer Japanese travelers in 2024, the city itself still had an increase in Japanese sightseers, with an estimated total of 45.18 million Japanese people spending some amount of travel time within the city. That number is up 4.6 percent from 2023, and coupled with the drop of Japanese Kyoto hotel guests for the same period indicates that many Japanese visitors were either from-home day trippers or stayed in hotels outside of Kyoto City. On the other hand, the 10.88 million foreign tourists who visited Kyoto in 2024 were a 53.3-percent increase over the previous year, almost exactly the same increase as that for foreign Kyoto hotel guests. The situation hasn't been at all bad for Kyoto's bottom line. Tourism-related spending in the city was up significantly in 2024, with visitors spending an estimated 1.9075 trillion yen, another record-breaking figure and a 24.1-percent increase from the year before. As such, the city is unlikely to enact any drastic policies to pump the brakes on inbound international tourism, but as the city gets more crowded and more expensive, it also gets closer to a tipping point where Japanese travelers might think it's no longer worth visiting. Source: City of Kyoto, Kyoto City Tourism Association via Nihon Keizai Shimbun Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- As more foreign visitors visit Kyoto's top sights, Japanese travelers increasingly staying away -- Foreign travelers' lukewarm reactions to traditional Japanese inn food causing changes in Kyoto -- Japanese government wants to build luxury resorts in all national parks for foreign tourists External Link © SoraNews24
Japan Today
2 hours ago
- Japan Today
Trump clears path for Nippon Steel investment in U.S. Steel, so long as it fits the government's terms
President Donald Trump speaks at U.S. Steel Corporation's Mon Valley Works-Irvin plant on May 30, in West Mifflin, Pa. By JOSH BOAK President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order paving the way for a Nippon Steel investment in U.S. Steel, so long as the Japanese company complies with a 'national security agreement' submitted by the federal government. Trump's order didn't detail the terms of the national security agreement. But the iconic American steelmaker and Nippon Steel said in a joint statement that the agreement stipulates that approximately $11 billion in new investments will be made by 2028 and includes giving the U.S. government a ' golden share " — essentially veto power to ensure the country's national security interests are protected against cutbacks in steel production. 'We thank President Trump and his Administration for their bold leadership and strong support for our historic partnership," the two companies said. "This partnership will bring a massive investment that will support our communities and families for generations to come. We look forward to putting our commitments into action to make American steelmaking and manufacturing great again.' The companies have completed a U.S. Department of Justice review and received all necessary regulatory approvals, the statement said. 'The partnership is expected to be finalized promptly,' the statement said. U.S. Steel rose $2.66, or 5%, to $54.85 in afterhours trading Friday. Nippon Steel's original bid to buy the Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel in late 2023 had been valued at $55 per share. The companies offered few details on how the golden share would work, what other provisions are in the national security agreement and how specifically the $11 billion would be spent. White House spokesman Kush Desai said the order 'ensures U.S. Steel will remain in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and be safeguarded as a critical element of America's national and economic security.' James Brower, a Morrison Foerster lawyer who represents clients in national security-related matters, said such agreements with the government typically are not disclosed to the public, particularly by the government. They can become public, but it's almost always disclosed by a party in the transaction, such as a company — like U.S. Steel — that is publicly held, Brower said. The mechanics of how a golden share would work will depend on the national security agreement, but in such agreements it isn't unusual to give the government approval rights over specific activities, Brower said. U.S. Steel made no filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. Nippon Steel originally offered nearly $15 billion to purchase U.S. Steel in an acquisition that had been delayed on national security concerns starting during Joe Biden's presidency. As it sought to win over American officials, Nippon Steel gradually increased the amount of money it was pledging to invest into U.S. Steel. American officials now value the transaction at $28 billion, including the purchase bid and a new electric arc furnace — a more modern steel mill that melts down scrap — that they say Nippon Steel will build in the U.S. after 2028. Nippon Steel had pledged to maintain U.S. Steel's headquarters in Pittsburgh, put U.S. Steel under a board with a majority of American citizens and keep plants operating. It also said it would protect the interests of U.S. Steel in trade matters and it wouldn't import steel slabs that would compete with U.S. Steel's blast furnaces in Pennsylvania and Indiana. Trump opposed the purchase while campaigning for the White House, and using his authority Biden blocked the transaction on his way out of the White House. But Trump expressed openness to working out an arrangement once he returned to the White House in January. Trump said Thursday that he would as president have 'total control' of what U.S. Steel did as part of the investment. Trump said then that the deal would preserve '51% ownership by Americans,' although Nippon Steel has never backed off its stated intention of buying and controlling U.S. Steel as a wholly owned subsidiary. 'We have a golden share, which I control,' Trump said. Trump added that he was 'a little concerned' about what presidents other than him would do with their golden share, 'but that gives you total control.' The proposed merger had been under review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, during the Trump and Biden administrations. The order signed Friday by Trump said the CFIUS review provided 'credible evidence' that Nippon Steel 'might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States,' but such risks might be 'adequately mitigated' by approving the proposed national security agreement. The order doesn't detail the perceived national security risk and only provides a timeline for the national security agreement. The White House declined to provide details on the terms of the agreement. The order said the draft agreement was submitted to U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel on Friday. The two companies must successfully execute the agreement as decided by the Treasury Department and other federal agencies that are part CFIUS by the closing date of the transaction. Trump reserves the authority to issue further actions regarding the investment as part of the order he signed on Friday. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. 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