Global Scans · Japan · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: The latest sign of weakness in Japan's economy will likely add to mounting skepticism about the prime minister's expansionary policies. His coalition government has just achieved the supermajority it needs to amend the constitution which many are worried that Japan is about to remove the mask of pacificism and convert its "Self-Defense Force" into the military threat it really is.

• [New] We expect Pacific unit revenues to be in line with the prior year on 30% growth in capacity driven by strong demand for Korea and Japan, offsetting lower unit revenues in China. Yahoo Finance
• [New] The United States and Japan intend to explore opportunities to promote Open RAN commercialization in third countries, including Indo-Pacific countries. The White House
• [New] Reducing AI Risks and Harms from Synthetic Content: The United States and Japan pledge to cooperate on reducing risks and harms of AI-generated content. The White House
• [New] Google plans to invest $1 billion in digital connectivity for North Pacific Connect, which expands the Pacific Connect Initiative, with NEC, to improve digital communications infrastructure between the United States, Japan, and Pacific Island Nations. The White House
• [New] Japan will provide and maintain a pressurized rover to support astronauts living and working on the Moon, while the United States will allocate two astronaut flight opportunities to the lunar surface for Japan on future Artemis missions. The White House
• [New] The United States and Japan plan to establish a working group of relevant experts to develop an action plan on achieving mutual recognition on cybersecurity labelling schemes for Internet of Things. The White House
• [New] The United States and Japan plan to explore the possibility of conducting maintenance and repair on engines of Japan-based U.S. Air Force aircrafts including fourth generation fighters. The White House
• [New] In current forecasts made in January, the Bank of Japan expects inflation, as measured by an index excluding fresh food and fuel, to hit 1.9% in both fiscal 2024 and 2025. RTE
• [New] Data regarding European algae consumption is very limited but is expected to be significantly lower than in Asian countries, where the average daily intake of, for instance, seaweed by adults ranges from 4 to 8.5 g (Japan, China, and South Korea, in ascending order) [163, 164]. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] While more growth is expected in the US and Japan, it is providing less of a boost to the demand in Asia-Pacific than in the past. The Business Times
• [New] With the Bank of Japan becoming the last central bank to raise rates last month, we expect Japan's GDP growth to moderate to 0.7% in 2024 (from 1.9% in 2023). Pictet
• [New] Funding will enable a Japanese utility company to import LNG from Trafigura on a term basis. Global Trade Review (GTR)
• [New] Japan's self-defence Forces have analyzed drone usage in Ukraine to devise countermeasures and anticipate a future where drones could potentially replace manned combat helicopters. The One Hundredth Monkey
• With China, Japan, and India adopting more electric vehicles, and urbanization driving demand, lithium-ion battery use is projected to surge, propelling li-ion battery recycling demand. Yahoo Finance
• The yen has been on a downtrend despite the Bank of Japan's decision last month to end eight years of negative interest rates, as traders interpreted its dovish language as signalling that the next rate hike will be some time away. EconoTimes
• In recent years, as threats from China and North Korea have grown, Japan has taken more of its defence into its own hands. The Economist
• The U.S. Agency for International Development, the Korea International Cooperation Agency, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency could establish joint ventures in third countries to develop local infrastructure and mine resources for shared use. Council on Foreign Relations
• Volvo plans to be fossil-free by 2040, while Daimler Truck has set a goal of selling only carbon-neutral trucks and buses in the United States, Europe and Japan by 2039. The Washington Post
• Japan warns of intervention as yen falls to 34-year-low; Thailand's stock exchange continues decline on corporate setback; Singapore stocks rally on high factory output in February. The Business Times
• The project which is owned by Akita Offshore Wind is the first commercial size fixed bottom wind farm to be constructed in Japan and on completion will provide around 140 MW of renewable energy. Cadeler
• The Bank of Japan though cautioned it's not about to embark on aggressive rate hikes, saying that it anticipates that accommodative financial conditions will be maintained for the time being, given the fragile growth in the world's fourth-largest economy. CNBC
• A British company cautioned Komeito members by saying that the international reputation of the next fighter jet project will be damaged if Japan were to block exports to third countries. The Diplomat

Last updated: 13 April 2024