Japan is an island country located in the Pacific Ocean. It is also known as the "Land of the Rising Sun," a name that comes from the country's positioning east of mainland Asia. The capital of Japan is Tokyo.
Japan's Panasonic Corp. on Wednesday successfully completed its takeover bid for smaller struggling consumer electronics rival Sanyo Electric Co., a source said. Panasonic launched the bid in early November to acquire a minimum stake of 50.04 percent in Sanyo through a tender offer worth 131 yen per share, giving the deal a value of at least 402.3 billion yen (4.6 billion dollars). A company source who did not want to be named said that "the process has been completed successfully... Read Full Story
German auto giant Volkswagen AG and Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp. are negotiating an alliance, Suzuki's chairman said Wednesday according to the Nikkei newspaper. Chairman and chief executive Osamu Suzuki, however, said he could not provide any specifics, the report on the paper's website said. "There is no negotiating partner other than Volkswagen" at the moment, Suzuki told the Nikkei. The Yomiuri Shimbun daily said Wednesday that Volkswagen could take as much as a 20-percent stake in Suzuki... Read Full Story
Japan's government on Tuesday unveiled $81 billion of new stimulus spending to keep the world's second-biggest economy from lurching back into recession. Despite shrinking tax revenue, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his Cabinet agreed to 7.2 trillion yen ($80.6 billion) in new spending after days of negotiations with coalition partners. The announcement had been expected on Friday but was delayed by wrangling over the size of the plan. The largesse underlines that the world's biggest... Read Full Story
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's government agreed on a 7.2 trillion yen ($81 billion) stimulus package on Tuesday, aiming to prevent the economy from tipping back into recession as deflation persists and a strong yen threatens exports. Economists said the spending, equal to about 1.5 percent of gross domestic output, would not provide a significant lift to an economy dependent on overseas demand for machinery, electronics and cars. The package was due to be compiled on Friday but the ruling party... Read Full Story
Asian markets were mixed Monday, with a weaker yen lifting Japanese stocks to a six-week high, while a drop in the U.S. unemployment rate failed to spur buying in a region that has rallied massively this year. European shares were lower. Gold prices fell further after tumbling Friday as the better-than-expected U.S. labor report hurt demand for safe haven investments. Japanese investors were heartened by the dollar's recovery above the 90-yen line from 14-year lows below 85 yen a week ago... Read Full Story
Japan planned to unveil a huge new stimulus package as early as Friday to shore up the world's second biggest economy, whose fragile recovery is threatened by a strong yen and deflation. The Nikkei business daily and Kyodo news agency, citing unnamed officials, said the package would be worth 24 trillion yen (272 billion dollars), of which 7.1 trillion yen (80.5 billion dollars) would be actual spending. The remainder would include loan guarantees and other measures that do not necessarily... Read Full Story
A court ordered the Tokyo Stock Exchange Friday to pay 10.7 billion yen ($121 million) in damages to Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. over massive losses in a botched transaction. Ayako Osada, a spokeswoman for the Tokyo District Court, confirmed the verdict. It was the first-ever court dispute between the bourse and a member brokerage. Mizuho sued the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2006 over big losses it incurred in 2005 due to a computer error at Japan's largest bourse. Mizuho said losses due to a... Read Full Story
Japan planned to unveil a huge new stimulus package as early as Friday to shore up the world's second biggest economy, whose fragile recovery is threatened by a strong yen and deflation. The Nikkei business daily and Kyodo news agency, citing unnamed officials, said the package would be worth 24 trillion yen (272 billion dollars), of which 7.1 trillion yen (80.5 billion dollars) would be actual spending. The remainder would include loan guarantees and other measures that do not necessarily... Read Full Story
The big danger for Toyota isn't the cost for the massive U.S. recall to replace gas pedals, but instead shrinking income from the surging yen, a top executive said Friday. Toyota Motor Corp. Executive Vice President Yukitoshi Funo acknowledged the cost was considerable for replacing gas pedals on about 4 million vehicles to prevent a problem of floor mats getting stuck and possibly causing sudden acceleration. The recall, announced last week, was Toyota's largest in the U.S. But Funo... Read Full Story
A Japanese court Friday ordered the Tokyo Stock Exchange to pay compensation of more than 120 million dollars over its failure to stop a massive trade blunder in December 2005. The lawsuit against Asia's largest bourse was filed by Mizuho Securities -- part of Japan's second-biggest bank, Mizuho Financial Group -- which demanded 41.5 billion yen (470 million dollars) in compensation. The TSE has admitted that a fault in its system prevented a Mizuho Securities trader from cancelling the... Read Full Story
