Japan

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares are mostly higher, with Tokyo stocks gaining on expectations that a pandemic state of emergency will be lifted for all of Japan.

But shares fell in Hong Kong on Monday after police used tear gas to quell weekend protests over a proposed national security bill for the former British colony.

U.S. markets will be closed for Memorial Day.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 1.5% in morning trading to 20,682.78. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.6% to 1,981.92. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.4% to 5,572.30.

TOKYO (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic continued to drop in much of Asia on Saturday even as the outbreak surged in Latin America, as the world grappled with balancing the urge to restart economies with fears about health risks.

China, where the outbreak began late last year, reported no new confirmed cases for the first time. In South Korea, there were 23 fresh infections, mostly from the densely populated Seoul area where authorities shut down thousands of nightclubs, bars and karaoke rooms to stem transmissions.

TOKYO, May 22. /TASS/: Tokyo’s position on the southern Kuril Islands and the peace treaty issue has not changed, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said at a press conference on Friday.

Motegi earlier unveiled the 2020 Diplomatic Bluebook, which is scheduled to be published in the fall. The report says that "the Northern Territories [which is what the southern Kuril Islands are called in Japan — TASS] include the islands under Japan’s sovereignty."

"Our position on the Northern Territories and peace treaty talks has not changed," Motegi told reporters.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda met in Tokyo, the finance ministry said on Friday, in a show of resolve to coordinate policies to combat the widening economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

The rare bilateral meeting came hours after an emergency BOJ rate review at which the central bank decided to create a new loan scheme to channel more funds to small businesses hit by the coronavirus.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s central bank said Friday it will provide some 30 trillion yen ($280 billion) to banks for financing small and medium-size businesses battling economic hardships brought on by the coronavrius pandemic.

The Bank of Japan will start providing funding to the banks in June, it said. The offer for zero-interest and unsecured loans comes on top of earlier measures, such as 20 trillion yen ($187 billion) for purchasing corporate bonds and commercial papers.

The Bank of Japan has also announced 25 trillion yen ($234 billion) financing for private debt.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Thursday to their highest since March, as a drawdown of U.S. crude inventories and output cuts by major producers helped ease concerns about a supply glut, offsetting fears over the economic fallout from the COVID-19 epidemic.

Brent crude futures for July delivery LCoc1 were trading up 62 cents, or 1.7%, at $36.37 per barrel at 0550 GMT, rising for a second day.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for July CLc1 were up 61 cents, or 1.8%, at $34.10 a barrel, extending its gains into a sixth straight session.

TOKYO (AP) — Recession-hit Japan’s exports plunged nearly 22% in April, marking their worst drop in more than a decade, as the coronavirus pandemic slammed global demand for autos, machinery and chemicals.

Imports fell 7% from a year earlier, according to Finance Ministry data released Thursday.

The drop in exports was the worst since October 2009 — amid the fallout from the global financial crisis — as export-dependent Japan struggles to juggle the health risks of COVID-19 with the dire need to keep the economy going.

TOKYO, May 20 (NNN-NHK) – The Japanese city of Kobe will return a giant female panda, rented from China for breeding purposes, as the lease agreement is set to expire in July, the city said.

Tan Tan, the 24-year-old panda, has the equivalent age of between 60 and 70 in human years. It came to Kobe Oji Zoo in 2000, and bred in 2008, through artificial insemination.

The departure of Tan Tan will bring the total number of pandas in Japan to nine, with three in Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo and six in Adventure World in Wakayama Prefecture in western Japan.

TOKYO, May 20 (NNN-NHK) – The Japanese government is planning to offer financial aid to students here, who are struggling due to the pandemic, with the Cabinet on Tuesday approving the programme.

The Cabinet agreed to offer students who are suffering financially up to 200,000 yen (1,900 U.S. dollars) in cash, as a means of support, as many students have lost part-time jobs or seen their hours cut back, amid business closures across the country, resulting from the pandemic.

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Wednesday as market players waffled between hopes for recovery as economies gradually reopen and worries over the havoc wreaked by the pandemic.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose nearly 0.9% in morning trading to 20,606.92 on expectations that a state of emergency still in effect for Tokyo and seven other cities and prefectures may soon end. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.3% to 1,986.24. But Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.2% to 5,548.60 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.2% to 24,328.95. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.2% to 2,892.49.