Tokyo, 7 June, /AJMEDIA/
Yen tumbles to new 20-yr low around 132 line vs U.S. dollar
NEW YORK – The yen tumbled briefly to around the 132 line Monday in New York, its weakest level in 20 years and two months, as traders flocked to sell the Japanese currency for the U.S. dollar on speculation of further widening between the two countries’ interest rates.
At 5 p.m., the dollar traded at 131.85-95 yen, compared with 130.76-78 yen at 5 p.m. Monday in Tokyo. The euro was quoted at $1.0691-0701 and 141.00-10 yen against $1.0742-0743 and 140.47-51 yen in Tokyo late Monday afternoon.
———-
Amino acids found in asteroid samples collected by Hayabusa2 probe
TOKYO – More than 20 types of amino acids have been detected in samples Japan’s Hayabusa2 space probe brought to Earth from an asteroid in late 2020, a government official said Monday, showing for the first time the organic compounds exist on asteroids in space.
With amino acids essential for all living things to make proteins, the discovery could hold clues to understanding the origins of life, the education ministry said.
———-
Indo-Pacific economic framework talks to gear up by summer: USTR
WASHINGTON – Negotiations under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework are likely to gear up by the summer, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said Monday, referring to a recently launched U.S.-led trade initiative that currently involves 13 other nations.
“I am hopeful that by the summer we will have a more formalized convening and be able to just kick off in the different pillars and let the conversations go at their own pace,” Tai said. The framework will center on four pillars — fair trade, supply chain resilience, infrastructure and clean energy, and tax and anti-corruption.
———-
Japan household spending in April down 1.7% on year
TOKYO – Japan’s household spending in April fell a real 1.7 percent from a year earlier, declining for the second straight month, the government said Tuesday.
Average spending by households with two or more people stood at 304,510 yen ($2,300), the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.
———-
Japan, Lithuania vow cooperation to stop Russian invasion of Ukraine
TOKYO – Japan and Lithuania pledged Monday to cooperate with the international community to stop Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as soon as possible.
Senior vice foreign minister Takako Suzuki and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, during a meeting in Tokyo, also shared the view that the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific region is “indivisible,” according to Japan’s Foreign Ministry.
———-
Indonesia’s Borobudur temple may charge more for admission: minister
JAKARTA – Indonesia’s Borobudur temple may start charging $100 for foreign tourists to climb to the top of the main temple, an Indonesian minister has said, to preserve the nation’s historical and cultural heritage.
But the statement by Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan in a social media post came under fire as many people criticized the new charge for the Buddhist temple as too expensive.
———-
U.S. exempts tariffs on solar panels from 4 Southeast Asian nations
WASHINGTON – The U.S. administration of President Joe Biden said Monday it is exempting tariffs on solar panels from four Southeast Asian nations for two years as part of efforts to accelerate the clean energy transition.
The move is intended as a temporary means to enable U.S. solar deployers to source solar modules and cells from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam while domestic manufacturing ramps up, the White House said.
———-
Singapore PM Lee names Finance Minister Wong as deputy
SINGAPORE – Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he named Finance Minister Lawrence Wong as one of the two deputy prime ministers on Monday, cementing the position of Wong as his future successor.
Wong will take up the deputy post and also that of acting prime minister in the absence of the prime minister, effective on June 13, Lee said in a statement on his Cabinet reshuffle.
