NEWSWORTHY
Australia finds a ready Japan market for 'pest' sea urchin
The island of Tasmania has long been renowned for producing some of Australia's tastiest seafood. But when warming seas allowed a foreign species of sea urchin to move farther south, devastating valuable fisheries, local businesses tried to innovate and ended up fostering a new industry ...
As new free trade pact comes into force, Japan and EU tout deal's benefits
Japan and the European Union on Friday celebrated the entry into force of a free trade agreement between them, with officials from both sides hopeful about the potential business and economic opportunities available in a new marketplace of over 600 million people. For Japan, the ...
Cheaper goods in store as Japan-EU free trade pact enters into force amid U.S.-China tariff war
Japan's economic partnership agreement with the European Union entered into force Friday, creating a free trade area that covers about a third of the world's economy. The pact will eliminate tariffs on most reciprocal trade, encourage business investment and ensure the protection of intellectual property ...
Japan's economy likely in longest postwar expansion phase, government says, as risks loom
The Cabinet Office cut its monthly assessment of exports for the first time in three months as fallout from the U.S.-China trade war spreads.
Chinese exports in December contracted the most in two years, raising risks for global economy
China's exports unexpectedly fell the most in two years in December, while imports also contracted, pointing to further weakness in the world's second-largest economy in 2019 and deteriorating global demand. Adding to policymakers' worries, data on Monday also showed China posted its biggest trade surplus ...
Japan farming co-op federation to resume Niigata rice exports to China this month
The National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (JA Zen-Noh) will resume sales of rice produced in Niigata Prefecture to China later this month after a break of nearly eight years. Niigata rice exports were suspended following the triple core meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Company ...
A key quarterly economic survey by the Bank of Japan shows sentiment among large manufacturers remained unchanged between November and December, even as worries about global trade tensions persisted. The tankan survey, released Friday, says sentiment remained flat at 19 for a second time after ...
Japanese rice farmers now see overseas market as potential savior
Rice farmers are seizing on their chance to boost sales for their high-quality product amid a fall in domestic demand and expected liberalization of trade rules. Kazuya Terasawa, 66, plans to export about 10 percent of this year's output from his paddies in Niigata. The ...
Japan logged goods trade deficit in October thanks to surging energy imports
Japan posted a goods trade deficit in October as rising energy costs led imports to rise at the fastest pace in nearly five years, according to government data released Monday. The trade balance in goods with the rest of the world came to a deficit ...
Exports of Fukushima-brand alcohol hit record in fiscal 2017
Exports of sake, liquor and other alcoholic beverages produced in Fukushima Prefecture reached a record high of about 296,000 liters in fiscal 2017.
Natural disasters add to growing economic headwinds as GDP contracts in third quarter
Natural disasters this summer combined with global trade frictions were behind the economy’s sluggish third-quarter performance, making GDP fall at an annualized rate of 1.2 percent, government data showed.
China's cut to rare earth output unnerves global manufacturers
The Chinese government is limiting domestic production of rare earth minerals in the second half of the year, a move likely to crimp international exports and send prices for the critical materials soaring, according to data from Adamas Intelligence. China is by far the world's ...
