Economy of Japan

The chairman of Japan Tobacco Inc (JT), Mutsuo Iwai, praised the leadership of the Greek government for promoting an investment-friendly environment during a recent visit to Tokyo by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a JT announcement said on Wednesday.

Toyota named Koji Sato president and CEO on Jan. 26, in a surprise reshuffle that sees third-generation chief executive Akio Toyoda step aside to become board chairman of the world's top-selling automaker.

The Japanese automaker said Sato, 53, would also become operating officer when the changes to its executive structure take effect on April 1.

The Japanese government warned of possible power shortages Monday in the Tokyo region, asking people to conserve energy as the country endures an unusually intense heat wave.

The Bank of Japan on June 17 stuck to its long-held monetary easing policy even as other central banks around the world hike interest rates to tame inflation.    

But it said it would "pay due attention" to foreign exchange markets, a rare comment that comes after the yen hit a 24-year low against the dollar.    

The yen hit its lowest level against the dollar in two decades yesterday, extending recent falls as the gap widens between Japan's ultra-loose monetary policy and U.S. tightening.

Despite being traditionally considered a safe-haven currency, uncertainty fueled by the war in Ukraine has not caused the yen to strengthen.

Confidence weakened among Japan's major manufacturers for the first time in nearly two years, a key business survey showed on April 1, as concern grows over the impact of the Ukraine crisis.

The Bank of Japan's Tankan business survey showed a reading of plus 14 for major manufacturers, lower than the previous plus 17.

Japan's Toshiba yesterday announced plans to split into two companies, revising a controversial proposal to divide into three following a tumultuous period for the storied industrial conglomerate.

As Tokyo is getting ready to host the 2020 Olympics this week, Japan's ambassador to Ankara has said that the decision to postpone the games was not easy but demonstrated a "strong determination" to provide safety to the athletes and officials.

Roughly 30,000 vehicles were registered in Romania in the first half of July, of which 20,461 units in the "used" category, according to the recently published data of the Driving Permits and Vehicle Registration Regime Directorate (DRPCIV). According to the official statistics, in the analyzed interval, out of the total of the 9,291 new vehicles registered, 6,755 are cars.

The Japanese tech conglomerate Toshiba announced that its European operations suffered a ransomware cyber attack, Reuters reported. The French headquarter of the company was worst hit. Toshiba elaborated that the DarkSide, the hacking group blamed for crippling a major US pipeline company, had targeted it in a ransomware attack during the night of 4 May.