Japan's top three automakers post record 2012 sales

Japan's three biggest automakers -- Toyota, Nissan and Honda -- on Monday posted record sales for 2012, as the results confirmed that Toyota recaptured the world's biggest automaker crown.

The rosy results underscored the trio's recovery after Japan's quake-tsunami disaster in 2011 devastated sales and production, and highlighted strong demand in the key Asian and US markets.

That helped offset weakness in debt-hit Europe and a downturn in China stemming from a diplomatic row that sparked a consumer boycott of Japanese goods in China, the world's biggest vehicle market.

On Monday, Toyota said sales last year soared 22.6 percent to 9.75 million vehicles, while Nissan saw a 5.8 percent on-year rise to 4.94 million units with record numbers in the US market.

Honda, Japan's number-three automaker, logged sales of 3.81 million vehicles, up from 3.09 million a year earlier.

The latest figures confirmed that Toyota regained the global sales title which it lost in 2011 to US-based General Motors, largely due to the natural disasters.

The crisis and flooding in Thailand -- where Japanese automakers have production plants -- during 2011 marked a "particularly harsh year", said Nomura auto analyst Masataka Kunugimoto.

"2012 is the year we saw things becoming normal again," he said.

However, Nissan, part-owned by France's Renault, warned in November that its net profit for the fiscal year through March would be down 20 percent to 320 billion yen ($3.52 billion), citing its heavy exposure to China.

Honda has blamed the territorial row with Beijing over an East China Sea island chain -- and a strong yen -- for a 20 percent cut to its annual profit forecast.

Less affected by the dispute, Toyota hiked its profit forecast to 780 billion yen for the same period, up from 760 billion yen, although it trimmed its annual sales forecast to 21.3 trillion yen and credited much of its improved earnings outlook to cost cuts.

The long-standing row flared again in September when Tokyo nationalised some of the tiny archipelago that is also claimed by Beijing, setting off huge demonstrations across China and the consumer boycott.

Japanese factories and businesses across China temporarily closed or scaled back operations over fears of being targeted by angry mobs.

Nissan's chief executive Carlos Ghosn has warned that the firm would think twice about making new investments in China, where it has several production plants with a new factory in the northeastern city of Dalian planned for 2014.

On the production side, Toyota said Monday that it made 9.90 million vehicles last year, up 26.1 percent, while Nissan posted a 5.5 percent production increase to 4.88 million units in 2012.

The automakers have been forced to recall millions of vehicles over safety and quality concerns in recent years, while being hit by the strong yen which makes their products less competitive overseas and shrinks repatriated foreign income.

The unit hit record highs around 75 against the dollar in late 2011 and remained strong through most of last year until Japan's new conservative government swept to power in December.

Its promises to pressure the Bank of Japan for aggressive easing to boost the world's third-largest economy has sent the yen into a steep dive to below the 90-level on the dollar.

"Foreign exchange remains the major factor that can change the tone of the industry," Nomura's Kunugimoto said.

"A lower yen is positive for earnings. If that continues, it would allow for more research and development spending which should then strengthen automakers' competitiveness."

Toyota shares were down 0.57 percent to 4,315 yen and Honda was off 0.58 percent at 3,400 yen while Nissan bucked a fall in the broader market on Monday by closing up 2.40 percent at 895 yen.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iEK75VICG8RN1iFZX4Gda5MIh9oQ?docId=CNG.aa9d51b6bc05023676c951da3045f307.251

Foreign visitors flock back to post-disaster Japan

The number of foreign visitors to Japan in 2012 surged 34.6 percent from the previous year as the tourism sector rebounded after the 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster, the government said Friday.

Overseas arrivals totaled more than 8.3 million, just short of the record 8.6 million seen in 2010, the Japan National Tourism Organization said.

"The inauguration of new services by low-cost carriers and the easing of visa-issuance conditions by the Japanese government have also contributed to the increase," an official from the organisation said.

The number of visitors in 2011 plunged to 6.2 million, hit by the massive earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan's northeast and sparked a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima power plant in March that year.

The number of visitors from mainland China slipped by more than a third in December from a year earlier following a flare-up in a territorial row between Tokyo and Beijing, however for the full year, numbers were up 37.1 percent.

Annual arrivals from Taiwan were up 47.6 percent to a record 1.4 million.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/foreign-visitors-flock-post-disaster-japan-article-1.1247547

US Treasury Freezes Assets of Top Gangsters Around the World

Earlier today, the Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against the members of three international crime syndicates in an effort to crack down on organized crime.

President Obama had previously named the Camorra, Yakuza, and Brothers’ Circle as TCOs, or transnational criminal organizations, in July 2011, and instructed the Treasury to follow up with sanctions.

The release is that it actually identifies and provides brief background information on eight gangsters from the Yakuza, Camorra, and Brothers’ Circle, as well as an overview of each syndicate.

The Treasury has frozen these gangsters’ assets and prohibited any U.S. citizen from engaging in business with them.

Read the full release from the Treasury Department below. The gangsters are listed at the bottom:

Treasury Targets Leading Figures of Transnational Criminal Organizations

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today took action against three transnational criminal organizations (TCO), the Camorra, the Yakuza, and the Brothers’ Circle. Today’s designations include four members of the Camorra, one of Europe's largest criminal organizations; the Inagawa-kai, the third-largest clan within the Japanese Yakuza criminal network; and an individual providing support to a key member of the Brothers’ Circle, a large multi-ethnic Eurasian criminal network. These designations were imposed under Treasury’s authority targeting transnational organized crime.

President Obama identified the Camorra, the Yakuza, and the Brothers’ Circle along with the Zetas, as significant TCOs in the Annex to Executive Order 13581 (Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations) on July 24, 2011, and charged the Treasury Department with pursuing additional sanctions against its members and supporters to undermine and interdict their global criminal operations.

Today’s action freezes any assets these persons may have within the jurisdiction of the United States and generally prohibits any transactions with them by U.S. persons.

“The individuals designated today are key members of criminal organizations who engage in serious crimes around the world,” said David S. Cohen, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. “Treasury will continue to target additional members and supporters of these groups, as well as other significant TCOs, as we systematically expose their criminal operations and protect the U.S. financial system from their illicit activity.

The Camorra

The Camorra operates internationally and is involved in serious criminal activity, such as money laundering, extortion, alien smuggling, robbery, blackmail, kidnapping, political corruption, and counterfeiting. In 2012 Italian law enforcement conducted multiple operations to seize Camorra assets, including 800 million euro seized from the Casalesi clan in July. To date, Treasury has identified five individuals affiliated with the Camorra under E.O. 13581, including their most prominent leaders Michele Zagaria and Antonio Iovine.

In August 2012 the Treasury Department designated Michele Zagaria, a leader of the Camorra Casalesi clan, who is serving a life sentence for conspiracy, murder, extortion, and robbery. The Camorra members designated today are all members of the immediate family of Michele Zagaria: his brothers Pasquale Zagaria, Carmine Zagaria, Antonio Zagaria, and his father Nicola Zagaria. Each of these four individuals is designated for acting for or on behalf of, or providing support to, Michele Zagaria and/or the Camorra. All the brothers have led the Caselasi clan at one point while other siblings were serving jail sentences. All are involved in the family’s criminal enterprises. This network has been involved in extortion, kidnapping, money laundering, and bribery.

The Yakuza

The Yakuza, reputedly the world’s largest criminal organization with over 70,000 members, is involved in serious criminal activities, including weapons trafficking, prostitution, human trafficking, drug trafficking, fraud, and money laundering. The Treasury Department designated the Yamaguchi-gumi and the Sumiyoshi-kai, in February and September 2012, respectively. The Inagawa-kai, designated today, is the third-largest of the Yakuza organizations, and the Department of the Treasury is targeting it today for acting for or on behalf of the Yakuza. The top three clans account for approximately 72.4 percent of the Yakuza membership. To date, Treasury has identified four individuals and two entities affiliated with the Yakuza under E.O. 13581, including their most prominent leaders Kenichi Shinoda and Shigeo Nishiguchi.

Today’s action also imposes sanctions on Jiro Kiyota, the top Inagawa-kai leader, as well as the Inagawa-kai’s second-in-command, Kazuo Uchibori, for acting for or on behalf of the Inagawa-kai. As leaders of Inagawa-kai, Kiyota and Uchibori play key roles in directing the syndicate’s policies and settling disputes with other Yakuza syndicates. Under the leadership of Kiyota and Uchibori, the Inagawa-kai has become increasingly aligned with the Yamaguchi-gumi.

The Brothers’ Circle

The Brothers’ Circle is a multi-ethnic criminal group composed of leaders and senior members of several Eurasian criminal groups largely based in countries of the former Soviet Union but extending to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. To date, Treasury has identified 15 individuals affiliated with the Brothers’ Circle and their associates under E.O. 13581, including their most prominent members Gafur Rakhimov and Zakhariy Kalashov. The Brothers’ Circle serves as a coordinating body for several national level criminal networks, mediating disputes between the individual criminal networks and directing global criminal activity.

On December 20, 2012, the Treasury Department designated Zakhariy Kalashov, a key member of the Brothers’ Circle and a prominent Eurasian organized crime figure with extensive connections to criminal groups in Russia and countries throughout Eurasia. His criminal activities include money laundering, extortion, criminal protection, and drug trafficking. He is currently incarcerated, serving a nine year sentence for money laundering in Spain. Marina Kalashova, who has been designated today, is a key part of Zakhariy Kalashov’s network. Kalashov communicates with Kalashova to pass messages on his behalf to his organization.

Identifying Information:
Name: Zagaria, Carmine
DOB: 27 May 1968
POB: San Cipriano D’Aversa, Italy

Name: Zagaria, Antonio
DOB: 29 June 1962
POB: San Cipriano D’Aversa, Italy

Name: Zagaria, Pasquale
DOB: 5 January 1960
POB: San Cipriano D’Aversa, Italy

Name: Zagaria, Nicola
DOB: 10 October 1927
POB: San Cipriano D’Aversa, Italy

Entity: Inagawa-kai
Address: 7-8-4 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan          
Name: Kiyota, Jiro

AKA: Sin, Byon-Gyu
DOB: 1940              
POB: Japan

Name: Uchibori, Kazuo
AKA: Uchibori, Kazuya
DOB: 1952  
POB: Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

Name: Goldberg, Marina Samuilovna
AKA: Kalashov, Marina
AKA: Kalashova, Marina
Address: Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
DOB: 15 September 1979
ID: Passport 514763020 (Russia)

http://www.businessinsider.com/treasury-identifies-eight-gangsters-2013-1#ixzz2Ix0G6dSq

Yakuza arrested in Nagoya for Threatening Police

Aichi prefectural police on Saturday arrested the manager of a chain of Nagoya sex clubs and two others for threatening an investigator of the Kodo-kai organized crime group, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Jan. 5).

Between July and August of 2010, the president of the Blue chain of sex clubs, Yoshinori Sato, 55, former employee Osamu Yamaguchi, 37, and investigative company president Koji Aoki, 42, are alleged to have participated in making threatening phone calls to the home of the investigator on five occasions.

The threats included violence and a mention of the name of the officer’s second daughter. “Your daughter is cute,” the caller reportedly said. “I don’t know what is going to happen to her.”

Sato and his former co-worker have denied the allegations, while the third has admitted involvement.

According to the Nikkei Shimbun (Jan. 5), the officer was investigating whether the Kodo-kai, an affiliate of the Yamaguchi-gumi, was utilizing the Blue group as a source of funds.

Sato was previously arrested in 2011 for assisting in concealing the identity of the number-two boss of the Kodo-kai during a round of golf. Sato received a prison term of two years and six months, which was suspended for four years.

On Sunday, according to the Sankei Shimbun (Jan. 6), prefectural police raided the offices of an affiliate company of the Blue group in Nagoya’s Higashi Ward.


http://www.tokyoreporter.com/2013/01/05/former-sex-club-manager-busted-for-threatening-aichi-organized-crime-cop/

Ex-Aichi ShoGin chairman Kiriichi Gonda arrested over illegal Yoshiwara soaplands

The peace preservation division of the Tokyo Metropolitan police on Friday announced the arrest of a former chairman of the credit association Aichi Shogin for receiving funds from illegally operating soapland brothels in the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Jan. 11).

Kiriichi Gonda, a 76-year-old of Korean ancestry, his daughter, Kyoko Noguchi, 54, and one other suspect were arrested for receiving 21.84 million yen over a three-month period starting in August last year from eight bathhouses busted for offering prostitution services in violation of the law. The three suspects are charged with receiving illegally obtained funds.

Gonda has reportedly admitted to the allegations.

Gonda established a company in the name of his wife and Noguchi through a one billion yen loan obtained from Aichi Shogin. The firm then purchased the illegally operating soaplands in 2005. The money allegedly obtained by the suspects was said to be “rent” payments.

According to TBS News, officers are investigating another 500 million yen in funds believed to have been accrued since 2009.

Until September of last year, Gonda, whose Korean name is Kwon Dong-hyun, was the chairman of Aichi Shogin and president of another credit association for Koreans living in Japan.


http://www.tokyoreporter.com/2013/01/14/ex-aichi-credit-board-chairman-busted-over-illegally-operated-yoshiwara-soapland/

Pachinko Tycoon Kazuo Okada's Casino Project in lawsuits

Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada was facing a crisis: Work on his dream casino by the bay in Manila was going nowhere.

Instead of a world-class resort packed with Chinese high-rollers, Mr. Okada, 70, was sitting on a $300-million patchwork of reclaimed and undeveloped land next to the Manila airport that by the middle of 2009 was threatening to become a money pit, according to company records and people involved.

Crucial regulatory approvals were tied up in red tape. The provisional gaming licence was flawed. No one could tell the architect how high he could build the gold-toned towers without endangering incoming aircraft.

To realize Mr. Okada’s goal of making the Manila casino more profitable than rival operations in Macau or Las Vegas, the project needed to win an exemption from corporate taxes in the Philippines. It also needed a presidential order giving Mr. Okada’s company, Universal Entertainment Corp., the ability to own the resort outright as a foreign investor.

Universal executives believed Philippine officials had promised those concessions by the end of 2008 for a project expected to create more than 6,000 jobs. The Philippine gaming authority had given Mr. Okada a side letter to Universal’s provisional licence in August 2008 saying it would make its “best effort” to get those approvals from then-Philippines President Gloria Arroyo.

It would mean hundreds of millions of dollars in additional profit each year if the approvals came through, according to an analysis of Universal’s presentations to regulators and investors.

By June 2009, however, the project was more than six months behind schedule and Mr. Okada’s patience was wearing thin. When Ms. Arroyo came to visit Tokyo, Mr. Okada saw her in a meeting arranged by the head of Philippine gaming regulator, Efraim Genuino.

“Get clarity on how long it will take to solve these problems on the spot and extract a promise,” a note prepared for Mr. Okada in Japanese by Universal executives said.

Reuters examined hundreds of pages of documents from Universal and Philippine regulators and interviewed nearly two dozen people involved in the project in Japan and the Philippines in reconstructing how Universal tried to push through its casino deal in the Philippines in the final months of the Arroyo administration. That deal is now the subject of investigations there and in the United States.

The record shows Universal won concessions on three critical issues that had threatened the $2-billion project in late 2009 and early 2010.

First, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the gaming regulator under Mr. Genuino, brokered a land swap in November 2009 that Universal needed to move ahead with construction.

Then in February 2010, Ms. Arroyo signed a presidential order making it possible for foreign investors such as Mr. Okada to have 100-per-cent ownership of casinos. Around the same time, Ms. Arroyo’s office approved an application for corporate tax relief from Universal’s land-holding company. Both measures were expected but the delays had frustrated Universal executives, records show.

Universal pushed hard to get its final gaming licence from Mr. Genuino – right up until June 29, 2010, a day before he left his post – but failed to get it.

As it raced to win final approval for its casino, Universal also funnelled a total of $40-million in payments to Rodolfo Soriano, an aide to Mr. Genuino and a former consultant to PAGCOR who had become central to Universal’s operations in the Philippines by late 2009.

Of the total $40-million in transfers to Mr. Soriano, $10-million was immediately returned to the Japanese company in May 2010 to avoid writing off a bad loan extended to another company not involved in the casino project, as Universal closed the books on its fiscal year, records show.

The payments to Mr. Soriano, now under investigation as potential bribery, were first reported by Reuters.

It is unclear what happened with the $30-million paid to Mr. Soriano that remained with him. Mr. Soriano, who came to be known to Universal executives by his nickname “Boysie,” has not commented on the payments and could not be reached. There is no evidence the money was transferred to officials in the Ms. Arroyo administration or to others.

Universal booked $7-million of the payments to Mr. Soriano as a “consulting fee,” citing his help in winning the order signed by Ms. Arroyo allowing foreign casino ownership as partial justification for the payment, according to company documents seen by Reuters.

Mr. Okada broke ground on construction of the casino in January 2012, but PAGCOR under its new chairman has threatened to strip Universal of its licence if evidence of bribery is found.

Universal said it conducted its business in the Philippines lawfully. Its lawyer, Yuki Arai, declined to comment further.

Mr. Genuino has been charged with misuse of public funds during his time at PAGCOR for allegations unrelated to the Universal payments to Mr. Soriano. He could not be reached for comment.

Ms. Arroyo has been under hospital arrest for charges related to alleged electoral fraud and misuse of public funds during her presidency. Her spokeswoman, Elena Bautista-Horn, did not return calls seeking comment.

Universal has sued three former employees claiming that $15-million transferred to Mr. Soriano – including the $10-million that was immediately returned – was unauthorized.

In early December, Mr. Okada and Universal announced they had filed a libel action against Reuters in Tokyo for reporting on the payments to Mr. Soriano in November.

Mr. Okada, one of Japan’s most successful entrepreneurs, had risen through hardship and trusted his gut when it came to the biggest decisions.

His father died when he was in elementary school, a loss he said helped make him self-reliant. He made his first fortune fixing and selling American jukeboxes in the 1960s. He became a billionaire selling pachinko machines, a Japanese form of legal gambling.

By the late 1990s, the pachinko market had peaked and Universal began to look for ways to diversify.

Mr. Okada met casino impresario Steve Wynn in 2000. The two had to rely on a translator – Mr. Okada speaks little English – but both said they began a strong friendship. On a handshake, Mr. Okada became Mr. Wynn’s major investor.

“I got lucky,” Mr. Wynn, 70, told Nevada gaming regulators in 2004. “At first I could hardly believe it, but then $250-million came ‘zwinging’ in.”

Mr. Okada staked Mr. Wynn for a total of $380-million. That jump-started construction of the Wynn Las Vegas resort that opened on the site of the old Desert Inn in 2005, and the even more profitable Wynn Macau in 2006. By 2010, Mr. Okada’s investment had increased in value almost eight times and returned just over $600-million in dividends.

Macau in particular has produced stunning results. By 2011, the Macau market was bringing in almost $34-billion a year, making it more than five times larger than Las Vegas.

When Mr. Genuino visited Tokyo in 2007 to drum up interest in a $15-billion resort and casino complex PAGCOR wanted to develop, Mr. Okada jumped at the chance to invest, people involved said.

A year later, on the cusp of global recession, Universal paid just over $300-million for 30 hectares on Manila Bay. In August 2008, PAGCOR granted a provisional licence to its casino operating company, Tiger Resorts, Leisure and Entertainment.

But Mr. Okada later realized the initial licence fell short of what the company had sought, records show. Universal did not want to have to hire employees, including dealers, through PAGCOR and pay fees to the regulator as a placement service, according to letters sent from Universal to PAGCOR.

Universal also pressed PAGCOR to allow high-rollers coming on trips organized by junket operators to come into the casino without reporting their names to the regulator. Junket operators combine concierge and credit services for rich Chinese and have been central to the growth of gambling in Macau.

By early 2012, Mr. Wynn and Mr. Okada had split and begun a legal fight over Mr. Okada’s continued investment in Mr. Wynn’s company that is playing out in courthouses in the United States, Japan and the Philippines.

A Wynn investigation found Universal had paid $110,000 to entertain gaming regulators from Korea and the Philippines. The Wynn camp alleges that showed Mr. Okada was an unfit partner. Mr. Okada has said Universal entertains officials in line with its internal policy and denies any wrongdoing. The guest list included Mr. Soriano, Mr. Genuino and Mike Arroyo, the husband of then-President Gloria Arroyo.

Mr. Wynn told Okada and other directors in 2011 that he did not think it would be possible to operate in the Philippines, consistently ranked as one of the most corrupt economies in Asia, according to a legal claim filed by Universal in Nevada.

“All of us are of one mind,” Mr. Wynn told Reuters. “We cannot be related to activities in the Philippines.”

When Mr. Okada and the Universal board approved the Manila project in August 2008, they projected it would be a cornerstone of a string of resorts around the rapidly growing Asian market. They expected Universal would become a $9-billion company by 2014 with a listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange, according to notes from the board meeting.

Casino gambling revenues in the Asia-Pacific region have more than tripled since 2007, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. The region is set to overtake the U.S. market as largest in the world next year when gambling revenues reach $67-billion from $58-billion in 2012.

Universal’s first designs were based on the Wynn casinos, featuring two wings in reflective gold glass. Plans included $150-million to build one of Asia’s largest aquariums and a “Kidzania” playland, with another $70-million for the “Manila Eye,” a massive Ferris Wheel.

But Mr. Okada’s plans for a “six-star” resort were immediately tested by a litany of problems. Engineers discovered 10 hectares of its site was reserved for road use and held by another developer, making building impossible.

After months of delays, Universal called in Mr. Genuino to negotiate a land swap between Universal, the local city of Paranaque and developer Asiaworld Properties Philippine Corporation.

Around that time, Universal also rebuilt its legal strategy around Mr. Soriano in what was described in an internal memo as a “shift to Boysie.”

That meant reworking a structure that allowed it to circumvent the requirement that the landholding company behind the casino be at least 60-per-cent owned by Filipinos.

Records reviewed by Reuters show Universal had bankrolled the original investment meant to satisfy that foreign ownership requirement. This was done by depositing $4.4-million in a Banco De Oro account in 2008. That money secured a loan to a firm called Lex Development Corp., a shell company established by SyCip. Lex used the money to make its investment in the project. Universal covered interest on the loan, records show.

The holding was transferred in 2009 to Platinum Gaming and Entertainment, a Soriano-affiliated firm, records show.

Mr. Okada remained in charge of key decisions involving Universal and the Manila project, current and former employees said. A transition began that put greater focus on a quicker return from a downsized project. Plans for the Ferris Wheel and other attractions that had promised to turn the casino into a tourist magnet were dropped or scaled back, people involved said.

The $40-million in payments from Universal began moving to Mr. Soriano on Jan. 14, 2010 with an initial instalment of $10-million transferred to the bank account of Subic Leisure and Management, a Soriano-controlled company registered in the British Virgin Islands. Another $15-million was transferred to Subic Leisure on March 3, 2010, internal records show.

Then in late April and early May 2010 Universal recycled another $10-million payment through the same Subic Leisure route.

The final $5-million was paid to a Hong Kong shell company of which Mr. Soriano was the sole shareholder.

Universal has filed two lawsuits against three former employees claiming the final $5-million and the $10-million that came back to Universal were not authorized. In rebuttals to the Universal lawsuits, two former executives said they had been following orders in making the payments.

At the end of June 2010, Mr. Genuino stepped down after a controversy erupted over his “midnight” reappointment by Ms. Arroyo. The election of President Benigno Aquino the month before posed potential complications for Universal.

Mr. Okada went to Manila to meet the new PAGCOR chief, Christino Naguiat, in August 2010. A month later, he hosted Mr. Naguiat at the Wynn Macau casino and covered $50,523 of expenses during a four-day stay. Mr. Naguiat has said there was nothing inappropriate about his stay.

Mr. Okada’s ambition to build casinos around Asia hinges in part on how the investigation of the Manila payments is resolved. The payments to Mr. Soriano are the subject of a Philippine Department of Justice investigation and two separate congressional hearings in the Philippines.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board said last month its investigation was progressing. Possible sanctions include a suspension of Universal’s gaming licence.

Earlier this month, Universal signed a deal giving Philippine property firm Robinsons Land Corp. a minority stake in its casino operating company and a majority stake in its Manila landholding company.

The Manila project – now known as Manila Bay Resorts after initially being dubbed “Okada Resort Manila Bay” – is scheduled to open in 2014, four years behind initial projections.





http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/asian-pacific-business/japanese-tycoons-dream-casino-mired-in-lawsuits-and-bribery-probe/article6960202/

Japanese Execs Confident on Economy in 2013

Sixty percent of leaders from the nation's top 30 corporations believe the economy will moderately recover in the first half of this year, while nearly 70 percent think the economy is in a mild decline, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey for the New Year.


All survey respondents said the economy was either in a mild decline or at a standstill. Twenty respondents said the economy was "moderately declining," while nine said it was "in a temporary lull."

When asked the cause of the current economic situation, 21 selected "the worsening economy of China and other newly emerging nations" while 18 picked "the continuing European fiscal and financial crises" from a multiple-choice list.

But many of the 30 leaders predicted a recovery.

Eighteen respondents said they expected the economy to show a "moderate recovery" while nine said they expected it to "remain at a standstill" and three said they expected it to show a "moderate aggravation."

In their predictions of price-adjusted real economic growth for 2013, 12 respondents chose "from 1 percent to less than 1.5 percent" and 10 respondents selected "from 0.5 percent to less than 1 percent." None of the 30 expected negative growth.



http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T130103003610.htm

Toyota see sales down 20% in 2013

Toyota Motor Corp expects Japan vehicle sales to fall by a fifth next year, in part due to the end of government tax incentives for fuel-efficient automobiles, domestic media reported, adding to the pain from a decline in China sales.

Japanese vehicle sales account for 30 percent of Toyota's total sales volumes, and industry data shows that since the end of government tax incentives for purchases of fuel-efficient cars in mid-September, domestic new vehicle sales have fallen each of the past three months.

Toyota has decided to set its 2013 domestic sales target for Toyota-brand cars at 1.36 million vehicles, down from its 1.67 million target for this year, the Mid-Japan Economist, a regional newspaper, said on its website without citing sources.

It noted that a backlog of orders following supply-chain disruptions from last year's earthquake and tsunami had inflated sales this year.

A Toyota spokesman said nothing has been decided about its 2013 domestic sales target.

Last month, Toyota cut its group-wide global 2012 sales forecast, which includes Daihatsu Motor Co Ltd (7262.T) and Hino Motors Ltd (7205.T), to 9.66 million vehicles from a previous outlook of 9.76 million vehicles, following declines in China sales on a bilateral territorial dispute over islands in the East China Sea.

This week, it said sales in China, the world's biggest auto market, fell 22 percent in November from a year earlier which follows drops of 44 percent in October and nearly 50 percent in September.


http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/07/us-toyota-sales-japan-idUSBRE8B604P20121207

Top Income to rise from 40% to 45% and Inheritance Tax up from 50% to 55%

 The Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito are near agreement on raising the maximum income tax rate to 45 percent from 40 percent, as well as increasing the top inheritance tax rate to 55 percent from 50 percent, according to party sources.

The parties have entered the final stage of discussions on the issues.

The maximum rates for income and inheritance taxes are expected to increase as early as 2015.

Currently, the top income tax rate of 40 percent is applied to people who earn more than 18 million yen in taxable income.

The two parties have been discussing whether the envisaged 45 percent rate should be applied to earners with taxable incomes higher than 30 million yen, or higher than 50 million yen, according to the sources.

The maximum inheritance rate of 50 percent is currently applied to taxable assets worth more than 300 million yen.

The LDP and Komeito have been working out a detailed proposal by taking into account the one proposed by the DPJ-led government that would see a top inheritance tax of 55 percent for taxable assets worth more than 600 million yen, the sources said.

The two parties also have been discussing increasing the number of people subject to an inheritance tax by reducing tax deductions allowed for inherited assets, the sources added.

The envisaged lighter gift tax rates would apply to assets given by people before their death to their direct descendants.

Currently, a tax rate of 40 percent is applied to taxable gifts worth between 6 million yen and 10 million yen. A 50 percent rate applies to gifts worth more than 10 million yen, regardless of the recipient.

The tax system revisions for next fiscal year are expected to include lower gift tax rates, with 30 percent eyed for taxable assets worth between 6 million yen and 10 million yen, and 40 percent for those between 10 million yen and 15 million yen, the sources said.


http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T130113003311.htm

BOJ says Japanese Property Prices Have Fallen too far

Bank of Japan (8301) Deputy Governor Kiyohiko Nishimura said property prices in Japan may have fallen too much in the aftermath of a real estate bubble that collapsed in the 1990s.

“In the case of Japan, property prices are too low compared to fundamentals,” Nishimura said in response to a question from the audience after delivering a paper in San Diego yesterday. Demographic changes in the country may have created too much pessimism in the housing market, he said.


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-04/boj-nishimura-says-japan-property-prices-may-have-fallen-too-far.html

November - Unemployment Rate down to 4.1%; consumer price down 0.1%

JAPAN'S jobless rate stood at 4.1 per cent in November, down from 4.2 per cent the previous month, the internal affairs ministry says.

A separate report from the ministry showed November consumer prices in Japan slipped 0.1 per cent from a year earlier.


http://www.news.com.au/business/breaking-news/japans-jobless-rate-down-to-41-data/story-e6frfkur-1226544529205