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(Bloomberg) -- Tokyo is set to report a jump in coronavirus cases Wednesday after infection clusters were discovered in workplaces, Governor Yuriko Koike told reporters. New Normal In her brief remarks, Koike highlighted the need to adjust workplace environments to contain the spread of the pandemic. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Tokyo is set to report a jump in coronavirus cases Wednesday after infection clusters were discovered in workplaces, Governor Yuriko Koike told reporters. In her brief remarks, Koike highlighted the need to adjust workplace environments to contain the spread of the pandemic. "This incident is showing us that workplaces can also become clusters", Koike said. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe saw his cabinet's approval rating jump 9 percentage points to 36% in a poll conducted by the Mainichi newspaper on June 20. Some 59% of respondents said Abe's ties to former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai and his wife Anri, who were arrested on vote-buying allegations last week, were a "serious" issue. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese mobile carriers NTT Docomo Inc. and SoftBank Corp. said they will delay their launches of Apple Inc.'s new iPhone SE model until May 11 instead of the scheduled April 27 amid the coronavirus outbreak. Japan's government expanded the area covered by its state of emergency declaration to the whole nation last week and is calling on citizens to cut contact with people by 80% in an attempt to control the outbreak. [Extracted from the article]

Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd., Lumine Co. and Rakuten Inc. are closing stores, while Nintendo Co. said it will shut its flagship Tokyo shop until further notice. The state of emergency declaration affects Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures, which together account for about half of the country's economic output. [Extracted from the article]

Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd., Lumine Co. and Rakuten Inc. are closing stores, while Nintendo Co. said it will shut its flagship Tokyo shop until further notice. The state of emergency declaration affects Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures, which together account for about half of the country's economic output. [Extracted from the article]

Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd., Lumine Co. and Rakuten Inc. are closing stores, while Nintendo Co. said it will shut its flagship Tokyo shop until further notice. The state of emergency declaration affects Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures, which together account for about half of the country's economic output. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- The world's biggest pension fund will raise its asset allocation in foreign bonds as continued monetary easing in Japan keeps domestic yields stuck below 0%, Nikkei Asian Review reported. Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund, with assets totaling 168.9 trillion ($1.5 trillion), will increase its allocation of foreign bonds to 25% from 10%, Nikkei said, without saying where it got the information from. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. said a branch employee in central Japan has tested positive for the coronavirus, the first case reported at a major bank in the country. The employee saw a doctor after coming down with a fever on Feb. 25, and tested positive the following day, the bank said. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Fujifilm Holdings Corp. rose as much as 8.8% following Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato's comments over the weekend on the country's plans to recommend its Avigan drug to treat coronavirus. Anti-influenza drug Avigan has previously been used to treat Ebola, according to Fujifilm's website, and Kato said test dosages have shown effects in mild and asymptomatic coronavirus cases. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Tokyo prosecutors raided the offices of a former lawyer for Carlos Ghosn, likely searching for documents related to the indicted former auto titan's escape to Lebanon from Japan, public broadcaster NHK reported. Hironaka, speaking just a few hours after Ghosn announced he was in Lebanon on Dec. 31, said his office held all of Ghosn's passports. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- Tokyo prosecutors raided the offices of a former lawyer for Carlos Ghosn, likely searching for documents that could be related to the indicted former auto titan's escape to Lebanon from Japan, public broadcaster NHK reported. Hironaka, speaking just a few hours after Ghosn announced he was in Lebanon on Dec. 31, said his office held all of Ghosn's passports. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. and Japan agreed on a broad framework for a trade deal that will keep U.S. tariffs on Japanese automobiles in place for now, while removing barriers to beef and pork exports to Japan, Japanese media reported. Trump, who threatened to raise tariffs on the approximately $50 billion worth of cars and auto parts Japan exports to the U.S. annually, had hinted that there might be a deal in August. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. and Japan agreed on a broad framework for a trade deal, pushing back the implementation of President Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs on automobiles, the Nikkei reported without citing sources. The U.S. will push back the removal of a 2.5% tariff on Japanese automobiles, while Japan's tariffs on imported beef will be lowered gradually to 9% from 38.5%, the newspaper said. [Extracted from the article]

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. and Japan agreed on a broad framework for a trade deal, pushing back the implementation of President Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs on automobiles, the Nikkei reported without citing sources. The U.S. will push back the implementation of a 2.5% tariff on Japanese automobiles, while Japan's tariffs on imported beef will be lowered gradually to 9% from 38.5%, the newspaper said. [Extracted from the article]

The article offers information on the cancellation of the press conference by the Former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn which was scheduled in April 2019, along with cancellation due to re-arrested Ghosn for additional charges.

Daiwa plans to allow two days for clients to trade U.S. stocks The total 10-day market closure will be Japan's longest since the end of World War II, a spokesman at Japan Exchange Group Inc. said. [Extracted from the article]

Writedown relates to business restructuring, securities losses Japanese banks' quest for yield is creating more turbulence, with Mizuho Financial Group Inc. announcing another round of losses on its foreign-bond holdings as part of a surprise writedown that will severely curtail full-year profit. [Extracted from the article]

Nintendo Co. shares dipped after saying that it is scrapping development of its Metroid Prime 4 and starting again with a new team after the highly anticipated Switch game failed to meet internal standards. AttributionCormac Mullen: editor primaryEdward Johnson: editor secondaryYuji Nakamura: assistGareth Allan: by reporterShamim Adam: editor responsible. [Extracted from the article]

Nissan Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Hiroto Saikawa will meet with his counterparts from Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. this month to discuss improving relations among the automaker alliance members after former chairman Carlos Ghosn's arrest and detention, Yomiuri reported, without saying where it got the information. The two-decade relationship between Nissan and Renault has been strained after Ghosn was arrested in November on suspicion of breaching laws surrounding the reporting of his compensation. [Extracted from the article]

Nintendo Co. said its highly anticipated Metroid Prime 4 game for Switch has not met internal standards and it will scrap development and start again with a new team. AttributionCormac Mullen: editor primaryEdward Johnson: editor secondaryYuji Nakamura: assistGareth Allan: by reporterShamim Adam: editor responsible. [Extracted from the article]

Bank lending remains active at home and abroad, report says The Bank of Japan said the financial system remains stable and growth in bank lending continues to support the economy, signaling it's comfortable that lenders are coping with its record monetary easing program for now. [Extracted from the article]

MUFG Bank CEO Mike to be replaced by deputy, spokesman says MUFG Bank Ltd. CEO Kanetsugu Mike won't attend the Future Investment Initiative conference that begins Tuesday, spokesman Kazunobu Takahara said Sunday by phone, without giving a reason for his withdrawal. [Extracted from the article]

Japanese bank rues hiring "exactly the same" types of people Fellow megabank Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. has also adjusted its recruiting plans this year to target more science and technology graduates, a spokesman for the Tokyo-based lender said. [Extracted from the article]

"There's room for negotiation", Chairman Tian Guoli says AttributionRussell Ward: editor primarySam Mamudi: editor secondaryGareth Allan: by reporterAlfred Liu: by reporterMarcus Wright: editor responsible. [Extracted from the article]

Suruga Bank Ltd.'s top executives resigned after an independent panel found that weak governance led to a loan scandal that has rocked the Japanese regional bank. Suruga said it may adjust its profit forecast in light of the report and the bank's ongoing internal assessment of its loan book. [Extracted from the article]

Names Japan global markets head Honma to succeed Kuwahara Kuwahara, 46, is the latest senior departure from Deutsche Bank, which is cutting costs and concentrating more on European customers as part of a global overhaul under Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing. [Extracted from the article]

The Tokyo-based lender may have been a "little conservative" in adjusting its asset profile toward non-investment grade assets overseas and away from lower-margin clients, Sakai said in an interview this week. Sakai said Mizuho would target non-investment grade companies, mostly in the U.S., for lending and debt capital markets transactions, in order to raise the overall risk profile of its clients. [Extracted from the article]

Deal gives Japanese company 30% of No. 3 aircraft-rental firm Through its aviation-leasing unit, Orix will get a 30 percent stake in Avolon from HNA's Bohai Capital Holding Co. unit, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement on Wednesday. [Extracted from the article]

Bank shares fell earlier as BOJ pledged to keep rates low BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank doesn't conduct policy to improve lenders' profits. [Extracted from the article]

Bank began offering tailor-made trusts for wealthy retirees The company has begun selling a type of trust that gives rich retirees more options for managing their money, and sales of the product are exceeding expectations, Chief Executive Officer Tetsuo Iimori said. The product provides more flexibility than other trusts offered by the Tokyo-based bank. [Extracted from the article]

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. is confident it can remain a global force in the aviation leasing industry by fending off intensifying competition from Chinese firms. About 20 percent of the bank's overseas portfolio is in "high-profit" assets, which includes plane leasing. [Extracted from the article]

Mizuho Financial Group Inc.'s securities unit suffered another outage at its stock trading website on Thursday, disrupting services for individual investors a day after telling the press it expected the platform to restart. The Internet trading system, which processes transactions for about 50,000 of Mizuho Securities Co.'s 1.2 million account holders each day, has been offline since early Tuesday morning after the brokerage discovered problems it said were related to an internal network connection. [Extracted from the article]

Local Japan banks lose most of $460 billion inherited annually "Regional banks need this product to reach the next generation of customers as the population ages and deposits flow outward", said Mitsuhiro Morishita, an executive officer at Mizuho's trust banking unit. [Extracted from the article]

Suruga Bank has lost almost half of its value this year Now, Suruga has come unstuck for giving credit to investors in failed real estate investment projects, prompting Japan's financial regulator to investigate the company's lending practices. Read more on how Suruga Bank beat Wells Fargo in loan margins. [Extracted from the article]

Asahi says Suruga gave loans based on falsified applications Suruga Bank Ltd., the worst-performing bank stock in Japan this year, tumbled the most since 1975 after the Asahi newspaper reported that it gave property investment loans based on faked applications. Suruga Bank is already being probed by Japan's financial regulator following its loans to investors in troubled shared-home projects. [Extracted from the article]

Spurred by law change, lenders are working on digital payments "Releasing their own coins and payment methods is what the banks need to be doing", said Eiichiro Yanagawa, a senior technology and banking analyst for consulting firm Celent. [Extracted from the article]

Mergers and tie-ups can tackle profit pressures, Fujiwara says Japanese banks must move forward with consolidation by using everything from mergers to informal tie-ups to tackle declining profitability, according to the new chief of the industry's main lobby group. [Extracted from the article]

Legal framework overhaul would expose banks to new competition The Financial Services Agency is examining how to change the legal framework so that all providers of financial services are subject to the same rules -- a move that would allow emerging companies such as technology startups to compete directly with traditional financial institutions. [Extracted from the article]

Real estate arm of Norway's fund manages $25 billion globally The property-investment arm of Norway's $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund is keen to buy more real estate in Japan after making its first investment in the country last year. Norges Bank opened its Tokyo real estate investment office in 2015 but has had to be patient about finding suitable deals. [Extracted from the article]

U.S. exchanges Cboe Global Markets Inc. and CME Group Inc. began trading Bitcoin futures in December amid criticism from some financial firms that the move may have been rushed. In Japan, cryptocurrency enthusiasts have waiting for clues from authorities since Tokyo Financial Exchange Inc. Chief Executive Officer Shozo Ohta said in December that he would list digital-currency futures upon any law change allowing such a move. [Extracted from the article]

Politics, sales tax are among barriers, Sato says in interview Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda quelled speculation on Tuesday that the BOJ might be preparing to normalize policy when he said that the central bank isn't in a position to even consider exiting. [Extracted from the article]

Japanese national broadcaster NHK issued a false alert about a North Korean missile launch, adding to questions about the reliability of early-warning systems after a similar incident in Hawaii. AttributionColin Keatinge: editor primaryRuth Pollard: editor secondaryGareth Allan: by reporterMarcus Wright: editor responsible. [Extracted from the article]

Sato to become chairman, Iida to replace Sakai at brokerage Mizuho Financial Group Inc. named its securities head to replace Yasuhiro Sato as chief executive officer, the first change at the helm of Japan's third-biggest banking group since 2011. [Extracted from the article]

Startup Nowcast to tap transaction data from 65 million users CCC has teamed up with big-data company Nowcast to analyze the T-point data and provide sales forecasts for about 50 companies that manufacture consumer goods ranging from toiletries to digital cameras. Hayashi sees this as an opportunity for companies like Nowcast, whose data scientists can automate what humans do in certain areas of corporate and economic analysis, to claim a piece of the lucrative equity research market. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the economic performance of banking industry in Japan. It mentions the plan of banking company Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. to sell its cross-shareholdings, and lower its cross-shareholdings in the forthcoming years. It notes the plan of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. to reduce its ratio of stock holdings to common equity Tier 1 capital.