The number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan fell at the fastest rate this year to hit the lowest in 50 years for a July, thanks to funding support from the government and banks, a private-sector credit research firm said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. There were 476 company bankruptcies in July, down 40% from the same month a year ago, Tokyo Shoko Research showed, pointing to government help for corporate financing amid a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Japan will act "without hesitation" to cushion the economic blow from the COVID-19 pandemic, economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Friday, signaling the government's readiness to compile another spending package as the crisis weighs on growth, Reuters reported. Japan decided on Friday to expand states of emergency to three prefectures near Olympic host Tokyo and the western prefecture of Osaka, as COVID-19 cases spike, a move that will delay an already fragile economic recovery.
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The Olympics have long been an almost ideal forum for companies looking to promote themselves, with plenty of opportunities for brands to nestle ads among the pageantry and feel-good stories about athletes overcoming adversity — all for less than the price of a Super Bowl commercial, the New York Times reported. But now, as roughly 11,000 competitors from more than 200 countries convene in Tokyo as the coronavirus pandemic lingers, Olympic advertisers are feeling anxious about the more than $1 billion they have spent to run ads on NBC and its Peacock streaming platform.
More Japanese companies have decided against sending executives to Friday’s opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics as concerns about holding the games during the pandemic grow, Bloomberg reported. Senior officials from Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp., Fujitsu Ltd. and NEC Corp. will skip the event given that organizers decided to hold the games without spectators, spokespeople for the technology giants said Tuesday, a day after Toyota Motor Corp. announced its top executive wouldn’t attend.
Japan's financial regulator and central bank will launch a sweeping investigation into how well anti-money laundering measures work at regional banks and other local financial institutions, Nikkei has learned. The probe, which comes amid a spate of fraudulent money transfers in the country, could get underway this summer. An international assessment by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on money laundering, scheduled to be released in August, will likely point out inadequate internal control systems at Japanese financial institutions.
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Until last year, Kyoto basked in the glow of being ranked as one of the best, if not the best, places in the world to visit, the Japan Times reported. Polls like one by the U.S. travel magazine Conde Nast in 2020 called Japan’s ancient capital the world’s best city. One estimate showed that the city went from about 30,000 available rooms at hotels and traditional inns in 2015 to over 53,000 last year.
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Japan's household spending rose at a double-digit rate in May as consumers bought cars and mobile phones, though the pace of growth slowed from the prior month as a new wave of COVID-19 infections weighed on consumer confidence, Reuters reported. Japan's economy is struggling to shake off the drag from the coronavirus pandemic after the government put in place "quasi-emergency" measures in Tokyo and other major areas to curb a resurgence of infections. Household spending grew 11.6% year-on-year in May, the third month of gains, after a 13.0% rise in April, government data showed on Tuesday.
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Japan cleared the way for holding the Summer Olympics on schedule by setting an end to its state of emergency and lifting vaccinations to about a million shots a day, the Wall Street Journal reported. Thursday’s developments, combined with falling Covid-19 infection numbers and rising public support for the Games, make it highly likely that the Olympics will start in Tokyo on July 23 as scheduled, barring a last-minute surprise such as a renewed coronavirus wave.
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Brazilian metropolitan rail company Supervia filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, the company said, as traffic was sharply hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters reported. The company, controlled by a Japanese group that includes a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co 8031.T and West Japan Railway Co 9021.T, will restructure 1.2 billion reais ($237.4 million) in debt. Before the pandemic, Supervia, which operates in Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area, had around 600,000 passengers a day but now the number has dropped to 300,000.
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Japan extended a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas for 20 more days on Friday, with infections still not slowing as it prepares to host the Olympics in just over 50 days, the Associated Press reported. Cases remain high and medical systems in Osaka, the hardest-hit area in western Japan, are still overburdened, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said in announcing the decision. “I am aware that many people are voicing concern about holding the Olympics and Paralympics,” he said.
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