Japan

TOKYO, April 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Japan’s Cabinet said on Friday that an official had tested positive for the coronavirus, making him the third case among officials at the Cabinet office.

The case inside the Cabinet office comes as Japan has expanded a state of emergency to all regions. The move allows local municipalities to urge people to stay inside, but without punitive measures or legal force.

TOKYO (AP) — IOC member John Coates, who oversees planing for next year’s Tokyo Olympics, has claimed the postponed games could help “kick start” Japan’s economy.

Japan has been devastated like many countries by the coronavirus pandemic and could be in a recession when the Olympics are to open on July 23, 2021.

“These games are a very positive opportunity for an economic stimulus,” Coates said in a teleconference on Thursday with the Tokyo organizing committee. “These games can help kick start the economy again. These games could be the rebirth of the tourism industry.”

TOKYO, Apr 16 (NNN-NHK) – In a further bid to try and help cushion the economic impact on society, amid the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Japanese government is mulling providing 100,000 yen (931 U.S. dollars) to each people, government officials said on Wednesday.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Komeito coalition ally, reportedly made the latest cash handout suggestion to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, saying, the government needed to send a firm message to the public that it is doing everything in its power to curb and mitigate the economic fallout from the virus.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s coronavirus emergency economic stimulus should boost the country’s real gross domestic product by 3.8%, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday at the end of a meeting of the government’s top economic advisory council.

The government last week approved an emergency economic stimulus package worth 108.2 trillion yen ($1.01 trillion), with fiscal spending of 39.5 trillion yen, aimed at battling the fallout from the coronavirus.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan urged its citizens on Wednesday to stay home, as media reports warned that as many as 400,000 of them could die of the coronavirus without urgent action, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came under pressure to hand out more cash.

Japan, which tests only people with symptoms of the coronavirus, has so far recorded more than 8,000 infections with nearly 200 deaths.

(AP) --- Asian stocks edged lower Wednesday after the International Monetary Fund said the global economy will suffer its worst year since the Great Depression of the 1930s due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Benchmarks in Tokyo and Hong Kong were flat while Shanghai and Sydney declined despite Wall Street’s overnight gain driven by buying of technology stocks.

TOKYO (AP) — The International Olympic Committee will face “several hundred million dollars” of added costs because of the postponement of the Tokyo Games, the body’s president said.

Thomas Bach spoke in an interview with German newspaper Die Welt on Sunday.

Estimates in Japan put the overall cost of the postponement at $2 billion-$6 billion. Except for the IOC portion, all added costs will be borne by the Japanese side according to an agreement signed in 2013 when Tokyo was awarded the Olympics.

TOKYO (AP) — South Korean officials warned Monday that hard-earned progress fighting the coronavirus pandemic could be upset by new infections at bars and leisure spots, highlighting global tensions between governments desperate to maintain social distancing and citizens eager to resume their lives as economic pressure mounts and infections slow in some places.

TOKYO (Reuters) - The huge cost of the coronavirus pandemic is upending Japan’s seven-year experiment to rescue the economy from its debt timebomb, as recession fears prompt calls for “helicopter money” - unlimited spending bankrolled by the central bank.

Days after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe launched a nearly $1 trillion stimulus package to battle the pandemic’s financial fallout, some ruling party lawmakers are calling for even bigger spending.

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly lower, gyrating in early Wednesday trading amid uncertainty over the coronavirus outbreak, which continues to claim more lives around the world.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 inched up 0.1% to 18,974.06 in morning trading. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.3% at 5,234.60, while South Korea’s Kospi lost nearly 0.4% to 1,816.84. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6% to 24,121.07, while the Shanghai Composite dipped 0.4% to 2,808.85.