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SoftBank Group narrows Q1 loss as Vision Fund rebounds

Aug 08 (Nikkei) - SoftBank Group on Tuesday announced a net loss of 477 billion yen ($3.3 billion), in the three months ending June, slicing its loss by 85%, year-on-year, thanks to an improving valuation for its flagship Vision Fund, as technology stocks rebound.

According to the company's financial statement, pretax profit from the Vision Fund, which includes the Latin America Fund, was 61 billion yen for the quarter, partially reversing a loss of 2.33 trillion yen, last year. However the Japanese investment giant suffered from foreign exchange losses, with the weak yen inflating the value of its dollar-denominated debt. ...continue reading

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[11:56] Typhoon No. 22, which formed at 3 a.m. on October 5th, was moving slowly westward about 280 kilometers south of Chichijima as of 9 a.m. The storm is expected to gradually intensify as it continues west and could reach strong intensity by October 8th.

Sanae Takaichi, elected as the Liberal Democratic Party’s new president on October 4th, declared on stage, “I ask everybody to work like a horse,” after defeating agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi in a runoff to become the party’s first female leader.

A string of so-called “honey trap” cases is drawing attention across Japan as schemes once limited to extortion have become increasingly violent, involving physical assaults and life-threatening intimidation.

Police have revealed that a woman killed by her former partner in Higashi-Osaka had sustained dozens of stab wounds across her body, including injuries that pierced internal organs.

Vast hillsides have been cleared for the construction of a large-scale solar power facility in Kamogawa, Chiba Prefecture, leaving piles of felled trees scattered across the slopes. The development covers approximately 146 hectares, or the size of 32 Tokyo Domes, and involves cutting down about 365,000 trees to make way for 470,000 solar panels.

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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.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation has reduced 206 Toei bus services in its October timetable revision, underscoring how the nationwide shortage of drivers is now taking a serious toll on the capital’s public transport.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated that the pace of Japan’s economic growth is expected to temporarily slow due to the effects of tariffs, while predicting that growth will pick up again as overseas economies recover. Speaking in Osaka on October 4th at a meeting with the Kansai business community, Ueda stressed that monetary policy would be guided by overall economic and price conditions.

Around 60 percent of hospitals across Japan are operating in the red, creating a critical situation where closures and bankruptcies are no longer a distant threat. Behind the figures lies a deepening financial crisis that is raising questions about whether patients can continue to rely on stable access to medical care.

A system failure caused by a cyberattack at beverage giant Asahi Group shows no sign of resolution, disrupting deliveries and leaving some supermarket shelves empty.

Forever 21, the American fast fashion brand that once led a global boom in affordable clothing, has decided to withdraw from Japan for the third time after its US parent company filed for bankruptcy and supply from the United States came to a halt.

The wave of price increases continued into October, with more than 3,000 items, including beverages and food, set to rise in price, leaving supermarkets and retailers grappling with how to respond.

From October, Japan’s minimum wage will rise across the country to exceed 1,000 yen for the first time, a development welcomed by workers but one that is expected to squeeze retailers such as discount supermarkets where higher personnel costs could lead to losses.