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Sep 29, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Hiroyuki Akiyama
TOKYO -- Japan's next prime minister, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, has decided to fill three key cabinet posts with a former top government spokesman as well as two alumni of his own old job, Nikkei has learned. Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato will be appointed minister of finance. Former Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya will be named minister of foreign affairs, and former Defense Minister Gen Nakatani will be Ishiba's pick for the new minister of defense.
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Aug 5, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Hiroyuki Akiyama
TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will announce more than 200 business deals in Central Asia during his visit to the region this week, promoting decarbonization and digital technology with 300 billion yen ($2.1 billion) in government support, Nikkei has learned. Kishida, who is set to arrive Friday with a business delegation, will make the announcement during a summit with leaders of the region's five countries.
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Jul 3, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Hiroyuki Akiyama
TOKYO -- Japan will help Southeast Asian countries train large language models in their local languages, spurring the advancement of artificial intelligence in the region. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is slated to announce the public-private initiative on Friday at the Asia Business Summit hosted by the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren.
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Jun 28, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Hiroyuki Akiyama
TOKYO -- As Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida marks his thousandth day on the job Saturday, his approval rating languishes at all-time lows even as stock prices soar to record heights. This can be attributed to three major miscalculations during his tenure.
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Jun 12, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Hiroyuki Akiyama
TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to draw attention to security concerns involving China at this week's Group of Seven summit, tying the discussion to economic issues in order to keep the grouping focused on developments in East Asia. Kishida departed Wednesday from Tokyo's Haneda Airport to attend the G7 summit, which starts Thursday in Puglia in southern Italy. On Saturday, he will also participate in a global summit in Switzerland to discuss peace in Ukraine.
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Jun 11, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Hiroyuki Akiyama
TOKYO -- The Group of Seven countries are expected to express concern about overproduction in China backed by excessive government support at a summit starting in Italy on Thursday, Japanese government sources said. The leaders of the nations -- the U.S., Germany, Japan, France, the U.K., Canada and Italy -- will also discuss countering Chinese export controls on key minerals, including gallium, germanium and graphite, and strengthening supply chains at the three-day meeting.
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Jun 5, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Hiroyuki Akiyama
TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has limited political options in trying to secure reelection as his party's leader this September after giving up on calling a snap election and using that momentum to spur party support. Kishida has decided not to dissolve the lower house for a snap election during the current parliamentary session as his cabinet struggles with rock-bottom approval ratings over a fundraising scandal involving the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
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May 26, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Hiroyuki Akiyama
TOKYO -- Japan, South Korea and China are set to agree on resuming free trade agreement negotiations -- which have been on pause since 2019 -- when their leaders meet Monday, Nikkei has learned. Japan will demand that China curb subsidies and preferential treatment for state-owned enterprises that lead to overproduction, as well as strict e-commerce-related practices that could hamper so-called data free flow with trust.
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May 19, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Hiroyuki Akiyama |Shiko Ueda
TOKYO -- Japan and Saudi Arabia are expected to reach an agreement in which an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking Saudi stocks will be listed in Tokyo, the first of its kind, Nikkei has learned. The deal is set to come during a visit to Japan beginning Monday by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who will meet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday.
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May 13, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Hiroyuki Akiyama
TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday instructed government officials to draw up a national decarbonization and industrial policy toward 2040, as the country aims to reduce its carbon footprint while courting energy-intensive industries like semiconductors. At a meeting on green transformation that day, Kishida urged comprehensive discussions on transforming the economy and society to "chart a realistic path for the public and private sectors toward decarbonization."
