Tokyo, 29 April, /AJMEDIA/
Yen briefly drops to 160 level vs dollar in very volatile trading
SINGAPORE – The yen briefly dropped to a new 34-year low in the 160 level against the U.S. dollar in Singapore on Monday, but trading remained very volatile and the Japanese currency rallied back by several yen with market players nervous about any sign of intervention by authorities.
The dollar topped the 160 yen line for the first time since April 1990, rising from the 158 yen level in thin trading with financial markets in Tokyo closed for a national holiday.
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Japan may have conducted intervention to stem yen’s plunge: dealers
TOKYO – Japanese authorities may have intervened in the currency market on Monday, some dealers said, amid volatile trading of the yen against the U.S. dollar.
A senior Finance Ministry official declined to comment on the yen’s brief rise to the 155 level after the Japanese currency dropped to the 160 range.
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Ex-U.S. No. 2 diplomat Wendy Sherman among foreigners decorated in Japan
TOKYO – Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is among the 101 foreigners recognized in this year’s spring decorations for their notable contributions to Japan, the government said Monday.
Sherman, 74, who served as the first female No. 2 official at the U.S. State Department from 2021 to 2023, will be bestowed with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.
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Kin of Japanese abducted by N. Korea departs for U.S. to seek support
TOKYO – The families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea decades ago departed for Washington on Monday to seek support from U.S legislators and government officials for their return.
The members of the families include Takuya Yokota, the head of a group representing the families of Japanese kidnapped in the 1970s and 1980s, and Koichiro Iizuka, secretary general of the group.
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Tokyo-Hakata shinkansen trains to offer private rooms from FY 2026
TOKYO – Shinkansen bullet trains linking Tokyo, Osaka and Hakata will start to offer special seats in dedicated rooms from fiscal 2026 as its operator seeks to satisfy growing demand for luxury and privacy on rail journeys.
Central Japan Railway Co. plans to install two private rooms per bullet train, equipped with reclining seats with foot rests. Passengers can have access to Wi-Fi, and adjust settings such as lighting, air-conditioning and audio based on their preference.
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Raccoon numbers surge in Tokyo, causing damage to crops
TOKYO – The number of raccoons caught each year in Tokyo has increased around fivefold in the past decade, causing damage to crops in suburban areas and raising concerns over the invasive species’ impact on the ecosystem.
The omnivorous animals, which are subject to extermination measures, are native to North America and went wild after those kept as pets escaped or were abandoned, according to the Environment Ministry.
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Japan PM’s LDP loses 3 Diet seats to main opposition amid scandal
TOKYO – Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, headed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, lost three seats in House of Representatives by-elections Sunday, including Shimane Prefecture, known as a conservative stronghold, delivering a harsh indictment on the scandal-hit LDP.
The leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, led by left-leaning lower house lawmaker Kenta Izumi since November 2021, acquired all three seats by obtaining support from anti-LDP voters.
