Here are our summaries of noteworthy news events of the week. Today, we turn the spotlight on Japan as the country braces for its first sales tax hike in 17 years. To offset its impact, Japan’s biggest banks have agreed to raise salaries for the first time in 19 years. The world’s third largest economy also anticipates a rise in travel demand when Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games in 2020. Find out what its biggest airline is doing to prepare for the big event.
- Japan’s Big Banks to Raise Pay for First Time in 19 Years
Japan’s biggest banks agreed to raise salaries for the first time in 19 years as an economic recovery puts them on pace to achieve record annual profit. The banks follow manufacturers from Toyota Motor Corp. to Hitachi Ltd. in increasing pay as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe calls for companies to boost wages to help sustain the economy’s revival. Without higher incomes, Japanese households face declining spending power as the government targets 2 percent inflation and will raise the sales tax next week. (Business Week)
- Japan’s ANA Orders Jets worth $16bn ahead of 2020 Tokyo Olympics
All Nippon Airways (ANA) will spend $16 billion to expand its fleet in anticipation of a rise in travel demand when the capital city Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games in 2020. The purchase is for a mix of 30 planes from European manufacturer Airbus and 40 from US aircraft maker Boeing. It is a record order for Japan’s biggest airline as it embarks on an expansion plan. (BBC)
- Yahoo Japan Buys SoftBank’s eAccess
Yahoo Japan Corp will buy mobile network operator eAccess from No. 3 Japanese wireless carrier SoftBank Corp for $3.17 billion to launch its own mobile Internet service. Yahoo Japan, the country’s biggest Internet portal and 42.6 percent owned by SoftBank, said its new Y!mobile service would aim for more than 20 million users and would use a simple pricing structure to attract new customers. (Reuters)
- For Otsuka Drug, U.S. Says No, Japan Says Yes
Japanese pharmaceutical regulators have approved a treatment for a rare kidney disease, only a few months after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected the use of the drug for the same purpose. Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. developed a drug called Samsca to treat the rare disorder autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). (The Wall Street Journal)
- AstraZeneca Buys Out Sumitomo
AstraZeneca has raised its bet on Japan’s drug market by buying out the remaining stake held by Sumitomo Chemical in its Japanese unit AstraZeneca K.K. The British group said the purchase of the shares cost approximately $102 million and reinforced its focus on Japan as a key growth platform. Japan, the world’s second-largest pharmaceuticals market after the United States, is an increasingly important country for Western drug makers. (Fox Business)
- Japanese Architect Wins Pritzker Architecture Prize
Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, who has used high-strength cardboard tubes to make temporary housing for victims of natural disasters and refugees fleeing conflicts, was named the 2014 winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the field’s highest honor. Sponsored by Chicago’s billionaire Pritzker family, the annual award recognizes “consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.” (Chicago Tribune)
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Here are our summaries of noteworthy news events of the week. Today, we turn the spotlight on Japan as the country braces for its first sales tax hike in 17 years. To offset its impact, Japan’s biggest banks have agreed to raise salaries for the first time in 19 years. The world’s third largest economy also anticipates a rise in travel demand when Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games in 2020. Find out what its biggest airline is doing to prepare for the big event.