Wall Street Journal (August 11)
“It was obvious when Tokyo and Washington intervened recently to stabilize the value of the yen that the intervention wouldn’t stick, and sure enough. The Japanese currency has commenced a new downward march, so perhaps it’s time for a new plan…. Absent fundamental policy changes in Japan, no intervention from anyone will prop up the yen indefinitely.”
Tags: Currency, Downward march, Fundamental, Intervention, Japan, New plan, Obvious, Policy changes, Prop up, Stabilize, Tokyo, Value, Washington, Yen
New York Times (July 12)
“Russian spies appear to be operating right under the noses of the Japanese authorities.” Just 10 minutes on foot from the National Police Agency, Aeroflot’s office in Tokyo shelters the 20th Directorate, a military intelligence unit, which “finds the high-tech equipment that Russia needs to wage war.” Japan’s “weak espionage laws and flourishing high-tech industry have made it a crucial piece of the Russian war effort.” The Ukrainian government estimates that Japanese components are found in roughly 90% of Russian missiles and drones.
Tags: Aeroflot, Authorities, Components, Crucial, Drones, Espionage laws, High-tech equipment, High-tech industry, Japan, Military intelligence unit, Missiles, National Police Agency, Russia, Spies, Tokyo, Ukraine, War, War effort
The Times (June 2)
“Since the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, schools have closed in Dhaka, food prices have surged in Lagos, and air fares have risen in Seoul. And in Tokyo, otherwise respectable men have started exposing their hairy knees.” Cool Biz and Super Cool Biz had already toppled expectations for suits and ties, but “it took the Hormuz crisis, for a country that imports 90 per cent of its energy from the Middle East, to topple this final bastion of formality.” There have been dire consequences of the Iran war, but “none as bizarre as the fate that has befallen the Japanese.”
Tags: Air fares, Bizarre, Consequences, Cool Biz, Crisis, Dhaka, Dire, Energy, Food prices, Formality, Lagos, Middle East, Respectable, Schools, Seoul, Strait of Hormuz, Suits, Ties, Tokyo, War
Barron’s (December 19)
“Tencent Holdings has secured access to high-end Nvidia artificial-intelligence chips that remain restricted to Chinese buyers even after President Donald Trump’s recent semiconductor agreement with the country.” The arrangement exploits a loophole. Tencent will not own the chips outright, but instead access them “through a cloud service operated by Tokyo-based Datasection, which recently announced a deal to buy Nvidia’s flagship Blackwell chips” for use in its data centers. The loophole “undermines a recent assurance by Trump that Nvidia’s top technology would remain off limits to China.”
Tags: Access, AI chips, Assurance, Blackwell chips, Buyers, China, Cloud service, Data centers, Datasection, Loophole, Nvidia, Off limits, Restricted, Semiconductor, Tencent, Tokyo, Trump, Undermine
South China Morning Post (November 26)
“No winter lasts forever, but the deep chill in the Beijing-Tokyo relationship set off by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan could last a long time.” There is speculation “that Japan’s new prime minister could tighten her hold on power should relations between Beijing and Tokyo remain frosty, but there is one big wild card: “US President Donald Trump’s reluctance to show open support for Japan, America’s closest ally in the region.”
Tags: Ally, Beijing, Deep chill, Frosty, Japan, Power, Relationship, Reluctance, Speculation, Support, Taiwan, Takaichi, Tokyo, Trump, U.S.
Mint (December 12)
“Commercial real estate investment volume in Japan jumped 21% year-on-year to ¥2.6 trillion in the first half, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.,” placing Tokyo ahead of New York and London as “the most active global city.” Largely recovering from the pandemic, Tokyo office vacancies in November fell to a four-year low of 4.16%.
Tags: ¥2.6 trillion, 21%, Commercial real estate, First-half, Investment volume, Japan, Jones Lang LaSalle, London, New York, November, Office vacancies, Pandemic, Tokyo
Forbes (September 20)
“Dalio hasn’t fled China. But the fact that the founder of the globe’s biggest hedge fund is raising warning flags matters. Not just because he’s the biggest of the big money, but because his pivot comes at a moment of maximum paranoia about China’s trajectory into 2025. This includes deflationary forces of the kind with which Tokyo is still grappling 30 years on.”
Tags: 2025, China, Dalio, Deflationary forces, Fled, Grappling, Hedge-fund, Maximum paranoia, Pivot, Tokyo, Trajectory, Warning flags
Bloomberg (May 18)
“From New York to London to Tokyo, if there’s one similarity among the world’s equity markets it’s this: record highs. Of the world’s 20 largest stock markets, 14 have hit all-time highs recently…. Looming interest rate cuts, healthy economies and corporate earnings are driving the activity. And what’s more, there are plenty of potential drivers to keep the rally rolling, such as the $6 trillion sitting in money market funds, while risks remain scarce.”
Tags: $6 trillion, Corporate earnings, Equity markets, Healthy economies, Interest rate cuts, London, MMF, New York, Rally, Record highs, Risks, Stock markets, Tokyo
Financial Times (March 2)
“Surging property prices in recent years has been a common theme for many major cities around the world.” In Tokyo, the difference is “that a longer-lasting trend is driving prices this time. The number of wealthy households in Japan has reached a record 1.5mn as the total amount of financial assets has also risen every year since 2013.” In addition, “demand from wealthy Chinese buyers” is boosting demand.
Tags: 2013, Boosting, Chinese buyers, Cities, Demand, Financial assets, Japan, Property prices, Surging, Tokyo, Trend, Wealthy households
Bloomberg (January 19)
“Chinese stocks just capped another dismal week…. Grim milestones have kept piling up in recent days: Tokyo has overtaken Shanghai as Asia’s biggest equity market, while India’s valuation premium over China has hit a record. Locally, a meltdown in Chinese shares is wreaking havoc on the nation’s asset management industry, pushing mutual fund closures to a five-year high.”
Tags: Asset management, China, Closures, Dismal, Equity market, Grim, Havoc, India, Meltdown, Milestones, Mutual fund, Premium, Record, Shanghai, Shares, Stocks, Tokyo, Valuation
