Tokyo, 22 October, /AJMEDIA/
Yen briefly surges to 146 vs. dollar amid speculation of intervention
NEW YORK – The value of the yen fluctuated against the U.S. dollar Friday from a fresh 32-year low in the upper 151 range to the 146 zone amid speculation that Japan intervened in the foreign exchange market again to prop up the sagging currency.
In New York, the yen was continuously sold against the dollar and briefly came to 151.94 in the morning. But it later advanced by more than 5 yen to 146.20.
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Toyota FY 2022 global output to fall below target due to chip crunch
NAGOYA – Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday its total global output in the year through March is likely to fall below its initial target of 9.7 million units due to an ongoing semiconductor shortage, with the automaker expected to revise down its outlook.
The company did not provide a revised target in its press release and is expected to supply an explanation when it announces on Nov. 1 its earnings results for the first half of fiscal 2022 that ended in September.
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Int’l Criminal Court head “keen” to set up 1st regional office in Japan
TOKYO – The International Criminal Court is considering building a new regional office in Japan — the first of its kind outside The Hague –, in order to establish a stronger presence in Asia, a region underrepresented among the court’s 123 members, its head said Friday.
“I personally would be keen for the ICC to have a permanent presence in the region, especially in Japan,” said ICC President Piotr Hofmanski in an interview with Kyodo News in Tokyo during his first visit to Japan since assuming the post in 2021.
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U.S. defense chief tells Russia communication is vital amid war
WASHINGTON – U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin conveyed to his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu on Friday the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid Moscow’s war against Ukraine, the Pentagon said of their second phone call since the start of the invasion.
Details of the discussion were not provided by a Pentagon spokeswoman who talked to reporters later. She said the call was initiated by Austin and that the United States welcomes the “open line of communication.”
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Shanghai party boss Li likely to join China’s top leadership
BEIJING – Li Qiang, Shanghai chief of China’s ruling Communist Party, is likely to join the nation’s top leadership to be launched this weekend following the end of a twice-a-decade key party congress, several Chinese sources familiar with the matter said Friday.
Hong Kong media have reported the 63-year-old close ally of leader Xi Jinping is a potential candidate to succeed Premier Li Keqiang, 67, who is set to retire next spring.
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U.S. budget deficit halves to $1.4 tril. on less COVID-19 spending
WASHINGTON – The U.S. budget deficit in fiscal 2022 fell by half from a year earlier to $1.38 trillion, due to less spending to address the coronavirus pandemic and record revenues as the economy picked up, Treasury Department data showed Friday.
The $1.38 trillion dive in the deficit for the fiscal year through Sept. 30 is the largest one-year drop in U.S. history, the department said.
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Sport climbing: Tomoa Narasaki leads Japan World Cup podium sweep in Iwate
MORIOKA, Japan – Tokyo Olympian Tomoa Narasaki overcame fatigue and brisk temperatures to head a Japanese men’s podium sweep at the season-ending Boulder & Lead World Cup in Morioka on Friday.
Climbing last in the lead round, Narasaki totaled 156.4 to finish ahead of back-to-back overall World Cup bouldering champion Yoshiyuki Ogata on 138.4 and Kokoro Fujii with 132.6 at Iwate Prefectural Sports Park Climbing Stadium.
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Japan has only 60% of needed interceptor missile stockpiles: estimate
TOKYO – Japan has only about 60 percent of missile stockpiles deemed sufficient to intercept enemies’ ballistic missiles, the Defense Ministry said Friday, in a call for urgent replenishment amid military threats from North Korea and China.
In a rare move for the ministry, an official of the ministry revealed the estimated ammunition sufficiency rate to reporters, as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida aims to update the government’s long-term security and diplomacy policy guideline by the end of this year and to secure larger defense budget to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities.
