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Japan business mood dims for a 2nd quarter as costs rise: BOJ Tankan

Jul 01 (Nikkei) - Business sentiment among Japan's large manufacturers cooled for the second straight quarter amid economic headwinds, including the war in Ukraine, the extended lockdown in China, and global supply shortages and inflation, the Bank of Japan's latest Tankan survey showed Friday.

The headline diffusion index (DI) of sentiment among large manufacturers came to plus 9 for June, compared with plus 14 in March.

Economists had predicted a reading of plus 12, according to a Nikkei survey of 21 forecasters.

The headline figure was weighed down by a slump in sentiment in basic materials sectors, such as steel, whose profit margins have been squeezed by higher commodity prices and the weaker yen, while "sentiment at the auto industry didn't deteriorate as much as feared despite the parts shortages caused by the extended COVID lockdown in China," said Hideo Kumano, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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As of 7:30 a.m. on October 7th, satellite images showed Typhoon No. 22 (Halong) rapidly developing as it moved northward, with its eye becoming increasingly distinct. Earlier in the morning, dry air had surrounded the center, but by this time the area was fully covered by thick cloud bands, indicating significant strengthening. By 9 a.m., the typhoon had reached “strong” intensity, with maximum sustained winds near the center reaching 35 meters per second and a central pressure of 975 hectopascals. The system was moving due north at around 15 kilometers per hour.

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake occurred off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture around 9:30 a.m. on October 7th, registering a maximum intensity of 4 on the Japanese seismic scale. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, there is no risk of a tsunami caused by this tremor.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump took to social media to congratulate Japan following the selection of its first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, writing that "Japan has just elected its first female Prime Minister, a highly respected person of great wisdom and strength.” While Trump did not name Takaichi directly, his post came as she assumed leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and was set to be formally elected as prime minister.

Osaka University’s Shimon Sakaguchi, a specially appointed professor, has been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his groundbreaking work in immunology. Sakaguchi is best known for discovering “regulatory T cells,” a type of immune cell that suppresses excessive immune responses, a finding that has had far-reaching implications in medical science.

A collision occurred on the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line on the night of October 5th when a local train attempting to arrive at Kajigaya Station in Kawasaki City struck a stationary out-of-service train, causing several cars of the latter to derail. Investigators from the Japan Transport Safety Board arrived at the scene on the morning of October 6th to begin examining the cause of the accident.

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The Nikkei Stock Average climbed again on October 7th, setting another record high amid growing expectations surrounding the Liberal Democratic Party’s new leader, Sanae Takaichi. The benchmark index at one point rose more than 500 yen, marking the second consecutive day it reached an intraday record.

Toyota Motor Corporation announced that the planned tender offer (TOB) for its founding company, Toyota Industries, will be delayed from the original schedule of December to February 2026 or later due to pending antitrust procedures.

Household spending in Japan rose 2.3% in August from a year earlier, marking the fourth consecutive month of increase, according to data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

The Tokyo District Court on October 6th sentenced former Mitsubishi UFJ Bank assistant branch manager Yukari Yamazaki to nine years in prison for stealing about 400 million yen worth of gold bars and cash from a bank safe deposit vault.

Zines — short for “magazines” — are small, handmade booklets that allow individuals to express themselves freely without going through traditional publishers. Unlike commercial magazines, zines are self-funded and created entirely by individuals. Across Japan, zine fairs are drawing large crowds and fueling a quiet but powerful publishing trend.

Nikkei stock prices soared on October 6th after Takaichi was elected as the new president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), with the benchmark index surging more than 2,100 yen at one point and surpassing the 47,000 range for the first time in history.

From October, a new policy has come into effect requiring some people aged 75 and over to pay 20% of their medical costs at the counter, doubling the previous burden for many elderly patients. For those living on pensions, the increased costs are squeezing already tight household budgets and fueling concern about how to manage daily life.

Tokiwair, a Niigata-based airline, is planning to produce lightweight sport aircraft (LSA), a category of small propeller planes, in collaboration with factories in the Tsubame-Sanjo area of Niigata Prefecture.