Factory worker Satomi Iwata has new co-workers, a troupe of humanoid automata that are helping to address two of Japan's most pressing concerns - a shortage of labor and a need for growth.
Bank of Japan
The Bank of Japan said it expects factory output to fall for the first time in three quarters in April-June on weak Asian demand, underscoring the fragile nature of the economic recovery.
Japan's export growth slowed for a second straight month in May, with weak external demand now threatening to erode economic growth in the current quarter.
The Bank of Japan offered a slightly more upbeat view of the economy on Friday and its governor shrugged off the need for more monetary stimulus, dismissing market concerns that the recovery is too slow to accelerate inflation toward the bank's target.
Prospects for a step-change in global economic growth are better than they have been in many years, but much depends on solid evidence that an awful first quarter for the United States is far in the rear-view mirror.
Japan's economy was expected to post a second straight quarter of moderate growth in January-March, led by a pickup in exports and business investment, a Reuters poll found, pointing if realized to a steady recovery from recession after last year's sales tax hike.
China's factories stayed stuck in the slow lane in April while Japanese output went into reverse and South Korea suffered its worst export performance in two years, adding urgency to calls for more state stimulus in all three economies.
The euro rose for a third day against the dollar on Thursday, pushing above $1.12 for the first time in two months on growing concern over the U.S. economy's prospects.
World shares hit a new high on Monday, led by China, though the global rally faded in Europe as investors looked ahead to central bank meetings in the United States and worried over Greece.
Japan's consumer inflation was expected to edge up slightly in March as oil prices stabilized and consumer goods prices stayed steady, calling the Bank of Japan's bullish forecasts into question.
Emerging Asian central banks are expected to cut interest rates again in the coming months, but economists polled by Reuters are doubtful the moves will significantly boost growth or inflation.
Japanese and U.S. officials will meet from Wednesday in a bid to strike a two-way deal giving momentum to a pan-Pacific free-trade pact, the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), ahead of a leaders' summit late this month.
Nippon Life Insurance Co [NPNLI.UL] is looking for acquisition targets both in developed and emerging markets, including asset managers in the United States, as the domestic-focused insurer seeks to diversify sources of income.
The Bank of Japan is set to maintain its massive stimulus program on Tuesday and signal its conviction that a steady economic recovery will help achieve its ambitious price target without immediate, additional monetary easing.
Japanese households cut spending further and retail sales fell for the first time in seven months in January, data on Friday is likely to show, a sign the central bank's radical stimulus has yet to convince consumers that inflation will take hold.
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