Finance chief Kato says talks with market players key for bond issuance
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said that discussions with market participants is a key factor in making sure that government bonds are bought and sold stably, as the ministry neared a closely watched gathering with investors.
"We are engaged in thoughtful and careful dialogue with the market, and it is incumbent upon us to make sure that government bonds are being bought,' Kato said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Friday. As the Bank of Japan steps back from bond purchases, the government needs to find other investors to fill the gap, he said.
Kato's comments come as the ministry is scheduled to hold a meeting with primary dealers on June 20, three days after the BOJ is broadly expected to slow its pace of bond purchase cuts.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NHK
2 hours ago
- NHK
Nippon Steel officials: Trump has approved company's plan to buy US Steel
Officials at Nippon Steel say that they believe that the company's plan to purchase US Steel has been approved. The comments come after the two steelmakers announced that US President Donald Trump had approved their partnership. The officials say that the company's bid to acquire 100 percent of common shares in US Steel and turn it into a wholly owned subsidiary has been given the go-ahead. Nippon Steel and US Steel said in a joint statement released on Saturday, Japan time, that the companies have entered into a National Security Agreement with the US government. The statement says the NSA "provides that approximately 11 billion dollars in new investments will be made by 2028." The NSA also includes commitments related to governance, including a "golden share" to be issued to the US government, domestic production and trade matters. The golden share allows the US government to veto important decisions related to the management of US Steel. The companies said, "We thank President Trump and his Administration for their bold leadership and strong support for out historic partnership." They added, "We look forward to putting out commitments into action to make American steelmaking and manufacturing great again." Nippon Steel announced a plan to buy out US Steel about 18 months ago. But then-President Joe Biden issued an order blocking the purchase on national security grounds. Nippon Steel's decision to implement additional investments in the US apparently led to the revision of Biden's order by Trump, paving the way for the Japanese firm to purchase its US rival.
The Mainichi
3 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Japan negotiator mum on if Japan, US can strike tariff deal at G7
WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- Japan's chief tariff negotiator on Friday made a last-ditch effort to smooth the way for a mutually beneficial trade deal at a planned in-person meeting next week between the leader of his country and U.S. President Donald Trump, but whether that goal can be achieved appeared to be still up in the air. Following separate meetings with U.S Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington, Ryosei Akazawa told reporters that he had "explored the possibility" of a trade deal with them during "extremely in-depth" discussions. Akazawa, however, repeatedly declined to comment on whether it would be struck on the sidelines of an upcoming Group of Seven summit in Canada. "In negotiating matters, there are times when an agreement is reached in a sudden turn of events, and there are also times when the process drags on for an unexpectedly long period of time," he said. "I would like to refrain from making any preconceived remarks." Akazawa, Japan's minister for economic revitalization, who is visiting the U.S. capital for the fourth straight week, said both sides agreed to continue ongoing tariff negotiations. Shortly before Akazawa's arrival in the United States, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba spoke with Trump by phone, with the leaders agreeing to meet bilaterally on the margins of the two-day G7 summit beginning Monday in the Canadian Rocky Mountain resort of Kananaskis. While voicing hope for progress in the ongoing Japan-U.S. negotiations, which kicked off in mid-April in the wake of Trump's sweeping "reciprocal tariffs," Ishiba told reporters that Tokyo's demand that Washington scrap its higher tariffs on Japanese goods remains intact. Ishiba also said he has told Trump that Japan will reduce its trade surplus with the United States. Akazawa said Friday his meetings with Bessent and Lutnick lasted about 45 minutes and 70 minutes, respectively. In his rounds of talks with Bessent, Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Akazawa has not backed off from Japan's position, demanding a full removal of all additional tariffs imposed by Trump, including those targeting the automotive sector. This time round, Akazawa refused to say whether he made such a request, although he was asked multiple times. Before leaving Tokyo, Akazawa told reporters that Japan expects to be given "special treatment" with regard to Trump's higher auto tariffs and excluded from rules applied to other countries once it strikes a deal with his administration. "Automobiles are the most important. If we don't know what will happen there, we won't agree," a Japanese government official said, while adding, "We're getting to the point where we might be able to reach an agreement." However, Trump said Thursday that he may increase his 25 percent tariff on foreign-made cars "in the not-too-distant future" in a bid to attract more investment in American manufacturing. In addition to increasing the tariff rate for passenger cars to 27.5 percent from 2.5 percent, the Trump administration raised other sector-based and country-specific duties. Under the reciprocal tariff regime, combined with a baseline rate of 10 percent covering nearly all goods imported by the United States, Japan faces an additional country-specific tariff of 14 percent, for a total rate of 24 percent. To facilitate negotiations, Trump has implemented a 90-day pause for tariffs set above 10 percent for 60 trading partners. Earlier this week, Bessent said the United States could extend the pause, set to expire in early July, if its major trading partners continue to negotiate "in good faith." Akazawa's statement about "special treatment" is believed to have been made in light of a deal between Britain and the Trump administration in May, which allowed the country to export 100,000 cars per year into the U.S. market with only a 10 percent tariff, granting a partial exemption from the 27.5 percent rate. But as Japan exports a far higher volume of cars to the United States, totaling about 1.37 million units in 2024, it remains to be seen whether a deal akin to the one struck between Britain and the Trump administration will be possible.
Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Japan Times
Debt to decarbonization: challenges for Nippon Steel
Nippon Steel on Saturday touted a "historic partnership" with U.S. Steel after President Donald Trump approved a multibillion-dollar merger. But the Japanese giant faces numerous headwinds going forward. Here are some of the challenges facing the company, from trade tariffs to lackluster global demand: U.S. conditions Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel said they had "entered into a National Security Agreement" with the U.S. government, which "provides that approximately $11 billion in new investments will be made by 2028." Former President Joe Biden had blocked the deal on national security grounds shortly before leaving the White House. Other conditions include a so-called golden share for the U.S. government, giving it more control over the company, as well as nonspecified "commitments" related to domestic production and trade. "All necessary regulatory approvals for the partnership have now been received, and the partnership is expected to be finalized promptly," the companies said in a statement. Financial burden Ratings agency S&P last month said that the "huge financial burden" of the deal could cause it to downgrade Nippon Steel more severely than planned. Bloomberg Intelligence's Michelle Leung also warned in May that the $14.9 billion merger would "significantly increase the Japanese firm's debt burden from the current $16.7 billion." "A deal might help Nippon Steel diversify beyond its sluggish domestic market, though it would need to invest heavily to help repair the aging assets of U.S. Steel," she said. Some shareholders have expressed alarm, with activist investor 3D Investment Partners calling for opposition to the reappointment of Nippon Steel executives at an upcoming annual general meeting. "This level of capital outlay" risks an "irreversible impairment of corporate value," it warned. Tariff threat "Weak domestic and overseas demand for steel products and the indirect effects of U.S. tariffs imposed on steel" will likely hit Nippon Steel's earnings, S&P said. The company has warned that global steel demand is "in an unprecedented state of crisis" — a trend fueled by sluggish economic activity, oversupply in the market and fewer public infrastructure projects. It will also need to grapple with Trump's tariff offensive — with levies on steel and aluminum imports recently doubled to 50%. In Japan, the aging population is weighing on demand for steel, but exporting is also becoming more challenging as other countries boost local production. To address this, Nippon Steel has strengthened its international presence by acquiring Indian and Thai steelmakers. The U.S. Steel merger is part of this strategy: It will allow Nippon Steel to achieve global crude steel production capacity of 86 million tons a year, up from 66 million currently, it says. Chinese overproduction Global steel demand is growing at a pace of less than 1% per year, which is mismatched with the anticipated 6.7% jump in production capacities by 2027, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). That will likely cause a price drop, threatening many steelmakers. Much of this surplus is subsidized by China, the world's largest steel producer, in what the OECD characterizes as a "policy distortion." Steel exports from China have more than doubled since 2020, prompting regions including the European Union to launch anti-dumping investigations. Chinese demand for steel is slowing and the country's "exporting spree ... is aimed at driving up its GDP," Ryunosuke Shibata of SBI Securities said. "A vast amount of steel is flowing into Asia at prices that are barely profitable," sparking a "wave of price competition," Shibata said. Costly decarbonization Japan has pledged to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, as governments worldwide work to curb their emissions. As part of its own efforts to produce less planet-warming carbon dioxide, Nippon Steel has announced a $6 billion plan to build, modify or restart three less polluting "electric arc" furnaces at different sites. Around a third of the funding will come from the government. But the investment "could lead to mounting financial costs" as production from the facilities will not start before the 2029 financial year, Leung said.
