The Nikkei Stock Average rebounded sharply on May 21st after falling below 60,000 at the previous day's close, briefly rising more than 2,200 points as hopes grew for progress in talks toward ending the fighting between the United States and Iran, while SoftBank Group gave the market a major boost following reports that OpenAI was preparing to file for an initial public offering.
Japan’s imports of crude oil from the Middle East plunged 67.2% in April from a year earlier, as the impact of the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz began to ripple through the country’s trade and energy supply chains.
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Toshiba announced on May 20th that they had jointly developed a new stock index utilizing quantum technology.
TOTO, a major Japanese manufacturer of housing and bathroom equipment, reopened its showroom in London, England, on May 20th after undergoing its first major renovation in 16 years.
Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East is beginning to affect daily life in Japan, as concerns over crude oil supplies spread to restaurants, cleaning services and even household garbage disposal systems across the Kansai region.
U.S. President Donald Trump was found to have traded large amounts of stock, including shares in Kura Sushi USA, in a wave of more than 3,700 transactions over a three-month period that has sparked criticism over possible conflicts of interest.