Overview
- The government on Friday decided to create the "Defence Equipment Transfer and Industrial Base Task Force" to speed overseas sales of defence gear and prepare factories for rapid wartime output with the National Security Secretariat as chair.
- Finance Minister Atsushi Mimura publicly warned that recent yen moves have been too fast after October US consumer prices surprised to the upside and raised market bets on further Fed rate hikes.
- Market participants say the stronger US inflation reading and higher Treasury yields have widened US–Japan interest rate gaps, prompting renewed dollar buying and heightened concern about possible government or Bank of Japan action.
- Energy developer JERA reported steady progress on the Akita offshore wind project after moving a 1,400‑ton monopile and completing about 40 percent of work toward a targeted June 2028 start of operations.
- Separate developments reported Friday included a Korean government‑led memorial at Sado for wartime Korean labourers and a record 447,403 municipal migration inquiries for fiscal 2025, underscoring domestic social and diplomatic pressures on policy makers.