The meeting between Japan's finance minister and the US Treasury Secretary in Washington on Thursday seems to have eased recent concerns about the strengthening yen.
Finance Minister Kato Katsunobu says the US did not bring up currency targets in the meeting, which lasted about 50 minutes.
There was no talk from the US side about currency levels, targets, or any framework to manage exchange rates.
Trump's comments led to speculation Washington would push for a stronger yen, which prompted recent gains in the currency. The Kato-Bessent meeting appears to have deflated some of those concerns with the yen weakening in Tokyo trading on Friday.
In other markets, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 benchmark stock index gained ground, ending Friday at 35,705, up almost two percent from the previous day.
Japan is gearing up for the second round of tariff talks with the United States, planned for next week.
Japan's top negotiator Akazawa Ryosei is scheduled to visit Washington from Wednesday. He will meet with Treasury Secretary Bessent during his three day visit. Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru on Friday instructed his cabinet ministers to accelerate preparations for the talks. The ultimate goal is to achieve neutral benefits for both countries. Ishiba said the US tariffs could shake the free and fair economic order nurtured by the international community from its foundation. He also said they could have a major impact on Japanese industries, including auto and steel, as well as the global economy.
It is extremely important for Japan to urge the US to review the tariff measures by showing how Japanese companies greatly contribute to the US economy through investment and job creation.
The government is also working to address US complaints about Japan's auto exports. It is compiling a detailed report on the investments and production expansion that Japanese automakers are planning in the US. Honda and Nissan are shifting some car production for the American market to the US. Toyota has announced a new investment of $88 million to boost output in the US. The government hopes to convince the Trump administration of the continued contributions of Japanese businesses to local economies to move the negotiations forward.
South Korea has announced that it held talks with the US on President Trump's tariff policies and that the two sides agreed to continue negotiations.
The government says the meeting took place in Washington on Thursday. South Korean Deputy Prime Minister Choe Sun-mok and Industry Minister Ahn Deok-geun met with Treasury Secretary Bessent and Trade Representative Jamison Greer.
The ministers explained that the tariffs could threaten their economic relationship. They conveyed Seoul's stance that removing the levies is vital, especially for the auto industry. The government says the two parties agreed to continue talks on tariffs and non-tariff measures, as well as economic security, investment cooperation, and currency policy.
Local media reports compared the tariff talks to those between Japan and the US, pointing out Trump's absence in the meeting with the South Korean ministers.
And now let's see what's happening in the world of business. Here's Gene Ohtani from The Biz Desk.
Yuichi, thanks. Opening our business story this hour. Tokyo's consumer inflation this month has hit its highest level in two years. The surging cost of rice is a major factor. The Internal Affairs Ministry says the Consumer Price Index for the capital rose a preliminary 3.4% compared to a year earlier. That's up one percentage point from March. The figure excludes fresh food, whose prices tend to fluctuate based on the weather. The price of rice surged 94%. That's the biggest jump since comparable data became available in 1971.
It also marks the seventh straight month of record-setting price growth for the staple crop. The inflation affected items made from rice.
Onigiri rice balls jumped nearly 16 percent and restaurant sushi more than 8 percent. Meanwhile, bird flu outbreaks across Japan pushed up egg prices 7 percent. Strong inflation was also seen in energy bills due to a reduction in government subsidies. Households paid 13 percent more for their power. City gas was up 4.8 percent. Tokyo prices are considered a leading indicator of nationwide inflation. The country's CPI figures will be released on May 23.
The incoming president of Japan Seven and I Holdings says the company wants to expand the global presence of its convenience store chain.
Stephen Hayes Dacus will officially become the first non Japanese president of 7-Eleven's operator following a shareholders meeting next month. Dacus told members of the media that the firm is eyeing Europe, where many countries have no 7-Eleven stores in South America where there are none.
He said 7 and Eye's growth strategy will focus on the convenience store business.
We don't know how much bigger we can expand our business, but there are many opportunities. Many more than we can imagine. We want to have another strong pillar outside Japan and North America.
Canon reported strong gains in sales and profit in the January through March quarter, but cut its earnings forecast for the full year. The leading precision equipment maker says the rise in US import tariffs and the stronger yen have dampened its business outlook.
Canon on Thursday reported a year-on-year 20.5% jump in group net profit for the quarter to more than 72 billion yen, or about $500 million. Revenue in the three-month period climbed 7% to more than 1 trillion yen. That's the equivalent of $7.4 billion. However, Canon revised down its group net profit forecast for all of 2025 to about $2.3 billion.
That's a drop of almost 9%, or about $220 million from the previous forecast. Canon expects sales will decline when it raises prices in response to the new US tariffs.
It also foresees headwinds from the yen's gain against the dollar. In response, the company says it may shift production to countries facing lower tariffs or to the US.
Next, NHK World's John LaDue is here with BizPicks, looking at key business and economic stories for the week ahead.
On Thursday, the Bank of Japan is due to announce its monetary policy decisions. The BOJ has been taking steps to emerge from years of ultra low and negative interest rates. Traders and investors will be pouring over Thursday's policy statement for any signs. That furious swings in financial markets and tariff driven uncertainty are prompting the central bank to alter its course.
Here's more to know ahead of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting. In January, the central bank raised its benchmark rate to around half a percent and hinted it would consider another increase. Economic growth in tandem with wage hikes and inflation in line with the bank's 2% target are seen as its preconditions for higher rates. But how large does tariffs turmoil loom over the BOJ's outlook?
Executive economist Kiuchi Takahide at Nomura Research Institute suggests the central bank may not be able to take new steps for a while. Kiuchi is a former member of the central bank's policy board.
The BOJ is highly likely to hold off on additional interest rate hikes as financial markets have been severely disrupted by Trump's tariff policies. In the coming meeting, financial market players will pay attention to what kind of message Governor Ueda sends about future monetary policy and whether the bank's stance will change significantly.
Japanese share prices tumbled and the yen jumped higher this month after the Trump administration slapped a baseline 10% tariff on imports from the country, plus a 25% point increase in duties on cars. Kiuchi estimates that the levies will directly cut Japan's GDP growth rate by around 0.42 percentage points. He notes that a gradual slowdown would not change the BOJ's stance on raising rates.
If the economy and prices continue to move as the BOJ expects, the bank will gradually raise interest rates. In terms of real interest rates, current levels are very low. So I think the BOJ's stances are that the rate hike is not a tightening, but an adjustment to reduce the degree of easing and that policy normalization should continue.
Kiuchi predicts the next hike will be in September, depending on three preconditions.
The first condition is that the economic situation in Japan and the world doesn't get much worse. Second, in response to an economic downturn and public criticism, the Trump administration would significantly scale back tariffs by September. The third condition is that there is no party within the coalition government strongly opposed to the rate hike. after Japan's upper house election in July.
However, he knows the biggest risk is the US economy. He says that some conditions are in place for a broader financial meltdown that could reverberate around the world, including Japan.
Financial problems in the US that could worsen include things like massive defaults of commercial real estate and small business lending, which banks have been significantly increasing. If that happens, Japan will also suffer a serious recession and the yen will rapidly strengthen. The BOJ will not be able to raise interest rates, but would probably need to implement monetary easing again.
I'm John LaDue and that was this week's BizPicks.
John, thanks. All right, let's have a look at the markets.
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And that's a look at business news. Ryuichi, I'm going to hand it back to you.
Okay, Gene, thank you.
South Korea says it has told China it is deeply concerned about Chinese structures in part of the Yellow Sea.
Maritime boundaries have not yet been determined between the two countries in the area. South Korea's public broadcaster KBS reports there are three structures. It says one is 80 meters wide and 70 meters high, large enough to be used as a heliport. KBS says China has been preventing South Korean survey vessels from approaching the structures.
South Korea's foreign ministry conveyed its concern during talks in Seoul on Wednesday. China did not notify South Korea before it built the structures in the provisional maritime zone. The two nations' exclusive economic zones overlap in that area. South Korea says such installations violate a bilateral fishery agreement.
A Chinese foreign minister spokesperson said on Thursday that the structures are aquaculture facilities. He also said their construction is consistent with Chinese and international law. He said the structures do not breach the bilateral fishery agreement. The two countries' governments say they will establish a subcommittee to discuss the issue.
It's been 10 years since a deadly earthquake rocked Nepal, leaving 9,000 people dead. About 20 percent of country's buildings, nearly 900,000 of them, were damaged. Many are still working to rebuild their lives. Earlier, I spoke with NHK World's Mitamura Taro in Lalitpur, one of the city's hardest hit by the disaster.
Earlier today, a memorial was held at this square just behind me. Over 3,000 people came to pay their respects. Some were local residents. Others were police and fire crews who took part in the rescue operations. They offered flowers to the victims. I spoke to one woman who lost two of her grandsons.
She told me she still wishes she could see them again. She said she hoped there will be never another tragedy like this.
This ancient city is filled with historical buildings. Many were damaged by the quake. But as you can see, now they've been repaired or reconstructed thanks to help from the international community.
The Nepali government said, that's also the case for home nationwide, for many home nationwide.
However, the country is still grappling with the idea of disaster striking again. Preparedness is still a challenge, especially when it comes to emergency care. I spoke with some doctors who are trying to change that.
This regional hospital in central Nepal holds this emergency drill every three months. It's to make sure they are ready for the next disaster.
In an emergency, doctors face a surge of patients all at once.
Triage is key to identify who needs help first. In this drill, they assess the severity of the injured before marking them with a ribbon.
It follows the green, yellow, and red system, with red being the most severe. Dr. Deepak Shrestha is supervising the drill. It comes from his own experience treating the injured in 2015.
For the last 10 years, we are doing this drill again and again. And as you can see in this hospital, that everybody is tuned up in any disaster situations.
The hospital is in Kabreplanchak, one of the regions hit hardest by the quake.
Around 10,000 patients arrived at its doors. Its surgeons performed over 500 major surgeries.
As an expert in spinal injuries, Shresta himself worked day and night.
He performed countless operations, but regrets how many lost their lives before reaching the hospital. He realized that after a disaster, patients are in a race against time.
What we call the golden hour, the six hours, so I think many patients could not be brought within the six hours, and that's why we lost the patient, and as well as I think they have not good quality of life.
But 10 years later, he feared they are still far from those golden hours.
Nepal is mostly mountains. It makes emergency response difficult, especially if you have a time limit. It's a reality this small village knows all too well. Earthquakes and heavy rain make this village prone to landslides. When the roads are cut off, emergency crews can't reach the area. 800 residents. Its only clinic has just one health worker.
He says he is struggling to make do with what they have.
We can only use what the government gives us for free, so we only have things like cold and cough medicine.
Some residents here still live in temporary housing. This man says when the quake struck, it took a long time for help to arrive.
On that day, my eldest son was injured here, here and here.
It took three days for the helicopter to take him to hospital.
Doctors are trying to expand their youth.
Right now, helicopters are used just to transport patients. The hope is to get equipment and doctors on board so the injured can also receive treatment en route.
And soon, they will be taken to a new trauma and emergency center.
Construction starts at Shresstad's hospital next month.
The Japanese government is helping to build it. The center is designed to treat over 100 patients at once.
Earthquake we cannot prevent, but what we can prevent is the damage caused by the earthquake or minimize the damage caused by the earthquake.
Nepal doctors say it's key to improve emergency care to save life when disaster finally strikes again.
So, Taro, the doctor there mentioned minimizing damage in future disasters.
So what else is Nepal doing to try to save lives?
Well, it's important to teach people the basics of disaster risk reduction, so education is key. Some schools have started teaching disaster preparedness for kids, so they know how to protect themselves and evacuate. Teachers hope it will help keep them safe.
But if Nepal wants to offer that nationwide, it will definitely need more teachers and more funding. Experts tell me the program itself also needs to be improved. It's not tailored to specific situations, like what to do if we were outside when an earthquake hits, for example.
Another issue has to do with Nepal's buildings. As I mentioned before, nearly 900,000 were damaged in the quake. While many were reconstructed, experts say they might not be earthquake-resistant.
In rural areas, there are still many houses made of stone, clay, or bricks. Those are the type of fragile buildings that crumpled in the quake.
Some people don't have the money to build more resilient homes.
So what what is the solution to that?
Well, one of the reasons Nepal is struggling is because of the brain drain.
Like other developing nations, the country is losing some of its top talent.
For example, look at doctors and nurses. They would make huge differences in post-disaster care.
But many are going abroad to seek better opportunities. Nepal is prone to many natural disasters, including heavy rains and flooding. The country will still need international support to build back better before disaster strikes again.
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It's now time to check the world weather. The South Central United States is experiencing rough conditions. Our meteorologist Yumi Hirano has the details.
Severe thunderstorms hit Oklahoma State on Thursday evening, bringing large storm clouds and flashes of lightning.
Local TV cameras captured a dramatic video of the stormy skies. Some areas saw tornado-producing storms and up to 150 millimeters of rain fall in the northwestern region. The severe weather is expected to continue into the weekend. So the similar conditions are expected to persist across the same regions on Friday as ample moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will continue to flow in. There are risks of thundershowers, lightning and also tornadoes leading to possible power outages and flash flooding.
Thundershowers are also likely in Houston and Oklahoma City, but sunny skies are expected in Seattle with a high of 21.
Moving to Asia, a frontal system is bringing downpours to southern China. Over 120 millimeters of heavy rain was reported in just a day. The rain is expected to ease on Friday, but another round is likely to start from Saturday.
Even a small amount could lead to flooding, so please stay alert.
Showers will continue in Chongqing, Hong Kong and Taipei, but dry weather is expected in Beijing and Seoul.
In Japan, some people will start a long weekend. Sunny skies are expected in Fukuoka and Osaka, but in Tokyo, there is a possibility of afternoon showers on Saturday and also on Monday. That's all for now. Have a nice weekend.
♫～
And that wraps up this edition of NHK Newsline. I'm Yoshikawa Ryuichi in Tokyo.
Thanks for joining us.
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