Tausi Insider

Pedestrians are reflected on the wall of a shopping mall in Tokyo, on Nov. 15. KIM KYUNG-HOON/Reuters Japan’s economy unexpectedly shrank for the first time in a year in the third quarter, stoking further uncertainty about the outlook as global recession risks, a weak yen and higher import costs taking a toll on household consumption and businesses. The world’s third-biggest economy has struggled to motor on despite the recent lifting of COVID-19 curbs, and has faced intensifying pressure from red-hot global inflation, sweeping interest rate increases worldwide and the Ukraine war. Gross domestic product fell an annualized 1.2 per cent in July-September, official data showed, compared with economists’ median estimate for a 1.1-per-cent expansion and a revised 4.6-per-cent rise in the second quarter. It translated into a quarterly decline of 0.3 per cent, versus a forecast of 0.3-per-cent growth. Japan has also been dealing with the challenge of the yen’s slide to 32-year lows against...

F-2 fighter of Japan Air Self-Defense Force at Tsuiki base, Fukuoka, Japan, in March 2010. The Associated Press Japan announced Friday that it will jointly develop its next-generation fighter jet with the U.K. and Italy as Tokyo looks to expand defense cooperation beyond its traditional ally, the United States. The Mitsubishi F-X fighter jet will replace the aging fleet of F-2 that Japan previously developed with the United States. Japan’s F-X and Britain’s Tempest, a successor to the Eurofighter Typhoon, will be combined into the next-generation combat aircraft for deployment in 2035. The deal will give Japan greater support in countering China’s growing assertiveness and allow Britain a bigger presence in the Indo-Pacific region. Friday’s fighter jet announcement came four days after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced spending targets aimed at building up Japan’s military capability, including a huge boost in defense spending over the next five years. To meet the five-year spen...

A Toshiba facility in Kawasaki, Japan, on June 10, 2021. KIM KYUNG-HOON/Reuters The preferred bidder for Toshiba Corp is finalizing 1.4 trillion yen ($10.6-billion) in financing from Japanese lenders to fund its acquisition, according to two sources, a deal that would see one of the country’s best known conglomerates taken private. Private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) is expected to secure commitments from banks by the end of this month, said the sources with knowledge of the matter who declined to be identified because the talks are not public. The 1.4 trillion yen includes 200 billion yen in working capital, they said. The main banking arms of Mizuho Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc are together expected to lend more than 1 trillion yen, three sources said. The core bank unit of Japan’s biggest financial group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Aozora Bank Ltd are also participating, they added. Spokespeople for...