Japan

Japan's service activity expanded for a second straight month in December, buoyed by solid demand and business expansion, a private-sector survey showed on Monday, Reuters reported. The final au Jibun Bank Service purchasing managers' index (PMI) grew to 50.9 in December from 50.5 in November, according to the survey compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence. It was lower than a flash reading of 51.4 but stayed above the 50.0 threshold separating expansion from contraction for a second straight month.

For all its focus on the newest anime and latest electronics, Tokyo’s Akihabara neighborhood also has a lot of local history. Sadly, a tasty piece of that history is disappearing, with the news that an Akihabara curry restaurant that’s been in business for 50 years will be filing for bankruptcy, Japan Today reported. Bengal was officially founded in 1973 and started serving customers at its Akihabara curry restaurant in 1974, while also operating as a spice wholesaler.

Inflation in Tokyo accelerated for a second month in December while the labor market remained tight, results that largely keep the Bank of Japan on track for an interest rate hike next year, Bloomberg reported. Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.4% in the capital, quickening from growth of 2.2% the previous month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported Friday. Tokyo’s figures serve as a leading indicator for national trends.

Japan's factory activity shrank at a slower pace in December as declines in production and new orders eased, a private-sector survey showed on Monday, edging closer to stabilisation after recent falls, Reuters reported. The final au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 49.6 in December, indicating the softest contraction in three months. The index was slightly higher than 49.5 in the flash reading and 49.0 in November but stayed below the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction for the sixth straight month.

Personal debt is overwhelming an increasing number of Japanese as higher interest rates and the rising cost of living bite, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer loans are rising at the highest rate in 16 years. Household borrowing exceeded incomes for the first time last year. And government officials are worried that many people accustomed to rock-bottom rates will struggle with their mounting loans. While Japan is by no means alone in confronting a debt problem, salaries are the lowest of Group-of-Seven countries, and the central bank is raising borrowing costs while its peers cut them.

Honda and Nissan said that they planned to merge in 2026, a move Honda’s chief executive said wasn’t a rescue of troubled Nissan but a recognition that developing new technologies was too hard to do alone, the Wall Street Journal reported. The companies said that they intended to create an automaker that, combined with Nissan partner Mitsubishi Motors, would be the third-largest carmaker in the world, after Toyota and Volkswagen, with more than eight million vehicles sold annually.

Japan’s consumer inflation sped up in November, fanning rate-hike hopes, but price growth may not be strong enough yet to rush an immediate move, especially as the central bank remains wary about uncertainties at home and abroad, the Wall Street Journal reported. Overall consumer prices rose 2.9% in November from a year earlier, compared with the 2.3% growth seen in October, government data showed Friday. ​Energy prices rose 6.0% due to the fading effects of government subsidies for electricity and gas, compared with a 2.3% increase in October.

A Tokushima-based startup that produced edible crickets has suspended operations and filed for bankruptcy after facing criticism over the use of its product in school lunches, it has been learned, the Japan News reported. Gryllus Inc. filed for bankruptcy at the Tokushima District Court on Nov. 7 with debts of about ¥153 million. The company had suffered poor performance after receiving criticism online due to the public’s resistance to the idea of eating insects.

Japan’s biggest bank apologized Monday for the alleged theft by an employee of more than 1 billion yen ($6.6 million) from customers’ safe deposit boxes, the Associated Press reported. The bank, formally known as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc., said Monday that it was investigating and that verified thefts from about 20 of the 60 clients thought to have been affected amounted to 300 million yen (nearly $2 million). Compensation was being worked out, it said.