China's exports of rare-earth magnets to Japan fell by more than half in July from a year earlier, while shipments of tungsten carbide remained at zero for a sixth consecutive month, according to trade data released by Chinese customs authorities.
Japan's nationwide core consumer price index rose 1.8% in July from a year earlier, with the pace of inflation accelerating for a second consecutive month as higher food prices and a rebound in energy costs outweighed a sharp decline in rice prices.
Mitsubishi Electric said on August 20 that it will acquire U.S.-based PCI Energy Solutions, a developer of software used to manage electricity trading and other energy operations, in a deal worth about 220 billion yen, the largest acquisition in the Japanese company's history.
Tokyo stocks rebounded on August 20, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 66,216.79, up 890.37 points, or 1.36%, as gains in U.S. equities, a sharp rally in South Korean semiconductor shares and easing global bond-market stress encouraged investors to buy back Japanese shares after two days of heavy selling.
Japan's labor ministry will revise its guidance on overtime from September 1, moving away from a uniform recommendation that workplaces keep overtime within 45 hours a month and placing greater emphasis on whether employers have adequate measures in place to protect workers' health.
Whistleblowers who expose suspected wrongdoing at companies and other organizations in Japan are increasingly finding themselves targeted by multimillion-yen damages claims, raising questions over whether the country's legal system adequately protects people who report misconduct.
Small businesses across Japan—from Tokyo tech startups to traditional long-standing shinise enterprises— are increasingly becoming targets for sophisticated digital scams.
Catalog House, the operator of shopping catalog magazine Tsuhan Seikatsu, has announced it will stop selling through Rakuten Market in protest over Rakuten Group's partnership with a German military drone company and its plans to support the introduction of the drones to Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force.