Japan

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares rose Wednesday after Wall Street extended its gains for the third straight day, driven by optimism over economies reopening from shutdowns to stem the coronavirus pandemic.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.1% to 22,581.19 in morning trading. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8% to 5,882.60. South Korea’s Kospi surged 2.6% to 2,141.28.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 1% to 5,894.00. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.1% at 24,258.49, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.4% to 2,931.90.

TOKYO, June 2 (NNN-NHK) – Japan’s corporate profits in the Jan-Mar quarter booked the largest decline since 2009, as numerous companies were hurt financially, by the global virus pandemic, which saw demand and consumption slump, amid the shuttering of plants and businesses.

According to the Finance Ministry’s quarterly survey, pretax profits of domestic companies tumbled 32.0 percent to 15.14 trillion yen (140.76 billion U.S. dollars) from a year earlier, marking the fourth successive month, quarterly profits have retreated.

TOKYO, May 31. /TASS/: Japan’s government expects to resume working contacts with Russia via a video link-up at the level of deputy foreign ministers in mid-June, the Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday citing numerous Japanese government sources.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Curbs in Japan’s capital of Tokyo to contain the coronavirus are to be eased further from Monday, Governor Yuriko Koike said, citing the recommendation of an advisory panel.

Cram schools, gyms, and theatres are among the facilities that will be allowed to reopen in a phased relaxation process, Koike told a news conference on Friday.

The city can “move to the next step of the phased easing of curbs, as long as Tokyo takes the necessary precautions to contain the spread of the virus”, she quoted the panel as having said.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is “seriously concerned” about the move by China’s parliament to go forward with national security legislation for Hong Kong that observers fear could endanger its special autonomy and freedoms, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.

In a rare statement issued minutes after the security bill was approved, Japan also called Hong Kong an “extremely important partner”, underscoring close economic ties and people-to-people exchanges.

“Japan is seriously concerned about the (Chinese parliament’s) decision...,” the ministry statement said.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet approved on Wednesday a new $1.1 trillion stimulus package that includes significant direct spending, to stop the coronavirus pandemic pushing the world’s third-largest economy deeper into recession.

The record stimulus of 117 trillion yen, which will be funded partly by a second extra budget, followed another 117 trillion yen package rolled out last month.

The new package takes Japan’s total spending to combat the virus fallout to 234 trillion yen ($2.18 trillion), or about 40% of gross domestic product.

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese police on Wednesday arrested a suspect in the deadly arson at a Kyoto anime studio last year after he recovered enough from his own severe burns to respond to the police investigation.

Kyoto police said they arrested Shinji Aoba, 42, on murder and arson allegations, 10 months after obtaining the warrant because they had to wait for Aoba to recover. Police also reportedly waited to arrest him until Japan’s coronavirus emergency was fully lifted this week.

TOKYO, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday lifted the COVID-19 state of emergency in the five remaining prefectures still under restrictions, including Tokyo, as the spread of the virus has largely been brought under control.

"Today the government will lift the state of emergency across the nation. We've set some of the most strict criteria in the world to lift the declaration, and we concluded that prefectures across the country have met that standard," the Japanese leader told a press conference.

25 May 2020; AFP: Europeans flocked to parks, gyms and pools Monday as more countries eased coronavirus restrictions, while Japan lifted its state of emergency but urged vigilance to avoid another wave of infections.

However the virus, which has now infected more than 5.4 million people worldwide and killed almost 350,000, continued its rampage across Latin America, sparking a US travel ban for people coming from Brazil.

Tokyo, May 25 (AP/PTI) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and four other remaining areas on Monday, ending the restrictions nationwide.

Experts on a government-commissioned panel approved the lifting of the emergency in Tokyo, neighbouring Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama prefectures, and in Hokkaido to the north, which had remained under the emergency declaration after it was removed in most of Japan earlier this month.