Japan Update

• May Corporate (Wholesale) Price Index Up 4.9%
• JNTO Chief Targets 60 Million Tourist Arrivals by 2030
• Tokyo Area Ready-Mix Concrete Shipments Up 23% in May
• TSMC May Build Semiconductor Plant in Kumamoto
• Semiconductor Shortage Hits Retailer Inventories

• May Economy Watcher’s Index Falls
• May Machine Tool Orders Up 140%
• September Lower House Election Likely
• Suga: Everyone Who Wants a COVID Vaccine Will Have it by November

• April Consumption Up 13.0%
• One in Three Companies Hike FY 2021 Dividends
• New City Bank Lending Falls for First Time Since March 2018
• Equities Rise as Vaccination Rate Tops 10%
• Murata Manufacturing (6981) Sees Record Profits in FY 2021
• Inflation Watch: Fisheries Report Worst Catch Since 1950
• The Cost of Being Green: JFE Holdings (5411) to Begin Regular Scrap Purchases

• January-March GDP Gap -4.7%
• METI Sets Plan to Make Semiconductors and Electronics in Japan
• TSMC to Build 2-nanometer Test Line by Year-End
• MHI (7011) Subsidiary to Resume Nuclear Fuel Production by November
• Government to Require Solar Panels on New Public Building

• Restrictions on Retail Hours Eased
• Mixed Results in Quarterly Corporate Report
• April Production Index Up 2.5%
• Support for Suga Cabinet Wanes
• Subordinated Debt Issuance Higher
• TSMC to Expand Operations in Japan

• State of Emergency Extended to June 20
• April Unemployment Rises to 2.8%
• Tokyo CPI Falls 0.2%
• FY 2020 Salaries Declined for First Time Since FY 2012
• Government Shifts Responsibility for Summer Olympics to IOC

 

• Government Cuts Economic Outlook
• BoJ: Cutting Back on ETF Purchases a Good Thing
• Norinchukin Bank Profit Surges as US Dollar Funding Cost Declines
• Recycled Cardboard Inventories Drop 20% 
• April Job Classifieds Fall 13.4%

• Nuclear the Big Winner in New Energy Policy
• Department Store Sales Continue to Suffer Under New Lockdowns
• “Wood Shock” Rocks Japan’s Housing Market
• Cabinet Advisor Fired for Criticizing COVID Policy
• Toyota Motor (7203) Tests Hydrogen Engine in 24-Hour Race
• Lithium Extraction from Seawater May Ease Supply Problems

•  April Core CPI Falls 0.1%
• April Exports Rise 38% as US, China Recover
• March Machinery Orders Rise 3.7%
• Nippon Steel Construction Materials to Raise Prices in June and July
• “The Situation in Taiwan is Fully a Question for Japan”
• Moderna, AstraZeneca COVID Vaccines Approved

* January-March GDP Falls 5.1%, FY 2020 Worst in Postwar Era

* Government Seeks More Semiconductor Production in Japan as Shortage Worsens

* Kuroda Says Slow Pace of Vaccination Delaying Economic Recovery

* April Tourist Arrivals Down 99.6%

* Inflation Watch: Property Insurance Rates to Rise 10%

* US Blocks Import of Uniqlo (Fast Retailing 9983) Shirts from China