Daily brief
The yen weakened to 160 per dollar, erasing gains from earlier intervention, as the Nikkei stock index hit a record high near 68,000, driven by an AI boom that lifted Kioxia above Toyota in market value. Japanese officials issued warnings as the currency hovered near the key level, while the Bank of Japan governor said the board would discuss a rate hike despite uncertainties from Middle East hostilities.
SoftBank is among the bidders for Blackstone’s Japanese payment firm, while Nissan signed a deal with China’s Chery to produce cars at its Sunderland plant.
The Japanese government and banks were granted access to Claude Mythos, and the US proposed new tariffs of 12.5% on Japan as part of a broader plan targeting 60 countries over forced labor.
Japan approved a $19 billion extra budget to address the fallout from the Iran war, and the EU plans a $500 billion public-private investment in semiconductors and AI.
Honda executives face pay cuts over EV losses, and Japan Post’s president warned that the mail service is unsustainable.