Latest news with #Katayama
Business Recorder
04-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Global LNG: Asian spot prices fall on weak demand and rising supply
SINGAPORE: Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) eased this week as subdued demand, rising supply and ample inventories weighed on prices, while the ceasefire between Israel and Iran reduced risk premiums. The average LNG price for August delivery into north-east Asia was $12.70 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), down from $13.10/mmBtu last week, industry sources estimated. 'Rising Pacific supply, high LNG inventories in China and South Korea, and weak industrial demand across China and India continued to pressure the market. The Iran–Israel ceasefire further eased geopolitical risk premiums,' said Kpler analyst Go Katayama, adding that output from Australia, Malaysia and Nigeria has increased. 'Looking ahead, the bearish outlook persists, with initial LNG Canada exports adding to supply length. While soft fundamentals dominate, further price declines could stimulate restocking, particularly in Japan.' LNG stockpiles held by major Japanese utilities fell to 2.15 million tons as of June 29, industry ministry data showed, as hotter weather drives cooling demand. This is down from 2.27 million tons the previous week but slightly above the five-year average of 2.1 million tons. 'Despite steady nuclear output, rising temperatures are outpacing non-gas generation capacity, potentially triggering incremental spot buying if the heatwave persists,' added Katayama. In Europe, S&P Global Commodity Insights assessed its daily North West Europe LNG Marker (NWM) price benchmark for cargoes delivered in August on an ex-ship (DES) basis at $11.142/mmBtu on July 3, a $0.435/mmBtu discount to the August gas price at the TTF hub. Global LNG: Asian spot LNG prices at 4-month high on supply concerns Argus assessed the price for August delivery at $11.19/mmBtu, while Spark Commodities assessed it at $11.175/mmBtu. 'A lack of a demand catalyst in the global LNG market failed to spark strong price reactions on the week with the supply picture balancing out as increased liquefaction from the U.S. and Qatar helped to improve supply fundamentals,' said Aly Blakeway, manager of Atlantic LNG at S&P Global Commodity Insights. 'With large supply hubs returning from maintenance and Asian demand still relatively on the sidelines, Europe continued to attract the brunt of cargoes as a closed arbitrage to Asia and heatwaves in the Mediterranean lured in waterborne LNG cargoes.' European prices have seen limited upside as demand in competing regions has been weak, while the European Union's less stringent storage targets have shifted supply risks to winter, said Xiaoyi Deng, deputy head of LNG pricing at Argus. 'This is reflected in increasing winter premiums over prompt deliveries in recent weeks,' said Deng. Meanwhile, the U.S. arbitrage to northeast Asia via the Cape of Good Hope is marginally pointing to Europe, while the arbitrage via Panama continues pointing to Asia for a fifth week, said Spark Commodities analyst Qasim Afghan. In LNG freight, Atlantic rates fell to $42,000/day, while Pacific rates eased to $40,000/day, he added.
13-06-2025
- Politics
Hyogo Gov. Referred to Prosecutors over Baseball Parade
News from Japan Jun 13, 2025 18:16 (JST) Kobe, June 13 (Jiji Press)--Police in Hyogo Prefecture on Friday sent papers on Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito and former Vice Governor Yasutaka Katayama to prosecutors for an alleged breach of trust related to a victory parade for local professional baseball teams, according to investigative sources. The Kobe District Public Prosecutors Office is expected to carefully decide whether to indict them. Last year, a civic group filed a criminal complaint against Saito and Katayama, claiming that they sought donations for the victory parade in return for an increase in subsidies for financial institutions in November 2023. The group argued that the subsidy increase was unnecessary and caused losses for the prefectural government. Speaking to reporters in the Hyogo city of Toyooka, Saito reiterated that he was handling the matter while abiding by the law, and added that he will fully cooperate with the investigation. Katayama issued a statement through a lawyer, saying that police raised no issues after he explained that there was no link between the victory parade and the subsidy increase. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
02-06-2025
- Business
2-Yr-Sentence Sought for Ex-Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Worker
News from Japan Society Jun 2, 2025 16:32 (JST) Tokyo, June 2 (Jiji Press)--Prosecutors sought a two-year prison term for a former Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank employee in an insider trading trial on Monday. In their closing argument at Tokyo District Court, prosecutors pointed out that when he was in the bank the defendant, Hajime Katayama, 55, took the advantage of his position as a securities transfer agency business director to repeat stock transactions based on information about clients and gained some 29.3 million yen in profit. Then they demanded that Katayama be imprisoned for two years, fined 2 million yen and ordered to forfeit additional 61.4 million yen, calling him a habitual, malicious offender with a strong criminal intent. "There is no room for clemency," they stressed. Meanwhile, the defense in its final plea called for a cut in the penalty money and a suspended sentence, insisting that Katayama's case be treated as a voluntary surrender because he reported the illegal transactions to the Tokyo Public Prosecutors Office before they came to light. The defendant, who has already admitted to violating the financial instruments and exchange law, said, "I'm sorry for causing a big trouble." [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
The Mainichi
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Mainichi
Japan auto body urges swift removal of Trump's additional tariffs
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The head of Japan's auto industry body urged Thursday the swift removal of U.S. President Donald Trump's additional 25 percent tariffs on cars and their parts, as Tokyo plans another round of ministerial-level tariffs talks with Washington later this week. "We hope for tenacious talks to achieve an early agreement," Masanori Katayama, chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, told a press conference. He added that the association looks forward to "productive dialogue" to continue between Japan and the United States and hopes such discussions will foster the business environment of both countries' automotive industries. Japan's top tariffs negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, is set to travel to the United States from Friday for the third round of tariffs talks with U.S. ministers, where negotiations in the auto and farm sectors are set to be in focus. Major Japanese automakers including Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. have projected a fall in net profits, while others skipped releasing their earnings estimates for the current year through March due to uncertainties over Trump's tariff measures. "It is impossible" for tariffs on autos not be negotiated in the talks with the United States, Katayama, chairman and CEO of Isuzu Motors Ltd., told reporters. Katayama stressed that Japanese automakers have contributed significantly to the U.S. economy, unveiling latest data that they have invested some $66.4 billion in the country since 1982, when local production there was launched, through the end of 2024. Data also showed that the automakers locally produced 100 million units. In 2024, 3.28 million units were produced, generating 110,000 jobs. Trump's auto tariffs have weighed on Japan's mainstay auto sector. According to official Japanese trade data, about 1.37 million vehicles were shipped to the United States in 2024, accounting for 28.3 percent of its total exports to the world's largest economy in terms of value.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Japan lawmaker says yen undervalued, eyes steps to reverse outflows
By Makiko Yamazaki and Yoshifumi Takemoto TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's economic fundamentals suggest the yen's real value is closer to 120-130 per dollar rather than the current 150 levels, senior lawmaker told Reuters, as the ruling party considers steps to help reverse capital outflows. "I believe 120 to 130 levels to the dollar are seen as the value reflecting Japan's economic strength," Satsuki Katayama, who chairs the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) research commission on the finance and banking systems, said in an interview on Tuesday. She declined to comment specifically where she believes the yen should trade. The Japanese currency fell past 150 to the dollar this week on solid U.S. data, cautious optimism on U.S. tariff policies and expectations that the Bank of Japan will go slow on monetary tightening. A weak yen has been a headache for Japanese policymakers because it accelerates inflation by pushing up import costs, weighing on consumption. Katayama said U.S. President Donald Trump's administration also does not want excessive yen weakness versus the dollar, but noted there are limits to what monetary policies of both countries can do to change the tide. "While currency interventions could serve as a trigger (for currency moves), their long-term impact tends to be limited, so we need measures that fundamentally address the issue," Katayama said. For example, the LDP is set to propose an expansion in a tax-free investment programme to encourage individual investors to own domestic stocks, she said. This could help stem the flow of household funds overseas, in turn supporting the yen. Specifically, holdings of domestic stocks held by elderly investors for an extended period of time under the programme should be exempt from inheritance tax when they are succeeded by younger generations, Katayama said. The Nippon Individual Savings Account (NISA) programme, which exempts retail investors from paying capital gains taxes on stock holdings, expanded significantly in 2024. But high-yielding overseas stocks have dominated the popular investment product rankings so far, which analysts see as one factor behind the yen's persistent weakness. "We want to create benefits for long-term investors in domestic stocks," Katayama said, adding that the LDP aims to include those measures in the government's annual policy guidelines for budget planning to be released around June. Sign in to access your portfolio
