Tokyo, 4 December, /AJMEDIA/
U.S. keeps Japan, China on “monitoring list” over currency practices
WASHINGTON – The Treasury Department said Friday that Japan and China remain on a list of countries it monitors over potentially “unfair” currency practices, but refrained from labeling any major U.S. trading partner as a manipulator.
In a semiannual report to Congress on currency manipulation, the department also called China an “outlier” among major economies, citing its failure to publish foreign exchange intervention data and a broader lack of transparency around key features of its exchange-rate mechanism.
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U.S. fighter jet flying after incident “regrettable”: Japan’s Kishi
TOKYO – Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said Friday he expressed “regret” to his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin over the resumption of F-16 fighter jet operations without notification, after an incident involving the same type of aircraft in northeastern Japan earlier in the week.
Kishi told reporters after phone talks with the U.S. defense secretary that he called on the United States to address concerns over the safety of U.S. military aircraft.
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U.S. adds fewer-than-expected 210,000 jobs, jobless rate improves
WASHINGTON – The U.S. economy added a fewer-than-expected 210,000 nonfarm jobs in November, while the unemployment rate declined 0.4 percentage point from October to 4.2 percent, the Labor Department said Friday.
Growth in nonfarm payrolls greatly missed the market consensus of an increase of 550,000, marking a sharp slowdown from the previous month.
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Japanese airlines to resume inbound flight bookings for returnees
TOKYO – Japan’s transport ministry said Friday domestic airlines will resume taking inbound international flight bookings from the next day, enabling returnees and expatriates to travel back to the country after the reversal of an initial travel blanket ban to prevent the Omicron coronavirus variant spread.
All Nippon Airways Co. and Japan Airlines Co. will accept new reservations from midnight Friday, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, following criticism the measures against Omicron had gone too far.
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COVID variants could hamper Japan’s economic recovery: OECD
TOKYO – Japan’s economic recovery could be hampered if the spread of COVID-19 variants is not curbed, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Friday, amid growing concerns over the new Omicron coronavirus variant.
In its latest report on Japan’s economic and financial situation, the OECD noted that “losing the race against new variants could result in renewed states of emergency being declared delaying the recovery,” despite progress in the government’s vaccine rollouts.
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Taiwan forum airs concern over authoritarian sway in Asia
TAIPEI – Parliamentarians from democratic countries attending a democracy forum in Taipei issued a joint statement on Friday, expressing concern for the expansion of authoritarianism in the Asia-Pacific region.
Without explicitly mentioning China, the joint statement, issued at the conclusion of the two-day Open Parliament Forum, said participants “are deeply alarmed by recent examples of democratic backsliding and the expansion of authoritarianism in the Asia-Pacific region.”
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Japan, Indonesia agree to work together over Myanmar, S. China Sea
TOKYO – Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi agreed Friday in phone talks to work together over the situation in post-coup Myanmar, Japanese officials said.
The two also affirmed in their talks the significance of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea amid China’s growing assertiveness in the South and East China seas, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
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Baseball: Former Yankee Tanaka to remain with Eagles for 2022
TOKYO – Former New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka will remain with the Rakuten Eagles for the 2022 season rather than return to the United States, the Pacific League club announced Friday.
The 33-year-old Tanaka turned down offers from clubs in the United States to rejoin the Eagles this year for the first time since he pitched the team to the Japan Series championship in 2013.
