archiveEconomic policy

TOKYO -- Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday that he held telephone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and agreed to hold “productive" discussions at an upcoming tariff talks between the two sides.“Investment, not tariffs,” Ishiba told reporters after the talks. He said Japan’s position to keep pushing Washington to drop all recent tariff measures is unchanged and that he stands by plans to push for Japanese investment to create more jobs in the U.S. in exchange.The two leaders held talks just after Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's...

Asian shares and U.S. futures slipped Thursday after U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed close on Wall Street.Oil prices fell more than $1 a barrel. China moved to reverse some of its “non-tariff” measures against the U.S. as agreed with Washington in their temporary trade war cease-fire and most markets traded in a narrow range.Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.1%, however, to 37,705.74. Computer chip-related stocks were among the biggest decliners, with Disco Corp. falling 2.6% and Advantest down 1.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was the outlier, picking up 0.2%...