The governor and mayor of Osaka tendered their resignations Friday to seek election in each other's current position with the aim of reorganizing the major city into a metropolitan government system similar to Tokyo's.

Japan has submitted to the United Nations a draft resolution to establish a working group for coordinating efforts toward combating ocean microplastics pollution, people close to the matter said Saturday.

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) The United States may remove most, if not all, sanctions levied against Chinese products since last year, with leaders of the two countries to possibly complete a trade deal in a March 27 meeting, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

Residents of Japan's Okinawa cast ballots Sunday in a closely watched referendum on the controversial relocation of a U.S. military base to a remote part of the island.

Japan wants Britain to have frictionless trade with the European Union after Brexit, its ambassador said Thursday, insisting a damaging no-deal scenario should be avoided.

Japanese share buybacks have hit a record this fiscal year and are set to maintain the booming growth as cash-rich companies bow to pressure from investors and the government to boost returns and improve governance.

Former Renault and Nissan head Carlos Ghosn and his wife invited friends to a $260,000 Carnival party in Brazil last year and charged it to his employers, documents seen by AFP show, a move Ghosn's lawyer defended as a routine corporate function for a multinational CEO.

The financial services sector has yet to become a main engine for economic growth, but it has the potential to do so, according to joint research from the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) and Parahyangan University. While Indonesia has seen its credit productivity increase, stakeholders lack a comprehensive understanding of the sector, hence the sluggish loan disbursement in recent years, the study says.

Speaking to investors at a seminar in Jakarta recently, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati felt compelled to mention each of the business sectors eligible to apply for a tax holiday. “I need to read this one [list of sectors eligible to apply for a tax holiday] because I heard [businesspeople say] we are not explaining […] this tax holiday effectively,” said Sri Mulyani. “I talked to some of the business [players], and they said they never heard of it.”

The rupiah may have overcome its toughest period last year, but a problem still persisted in the current account deficit, which could haunt the exchange rate if it were not managed this year, an analyst has said. The country’s current account deficit has swelled to US$8.85 billion or 3.37 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2018, its highest in four years.

The National Economic and Industry Committee (KEIN) has called for the immediate use of 50 percent blended biodiesel, which would help reduce gas and oil imports and increase the use of local palm oil. KEIN vice chairman Arif Budimanta said the wide use of B50 would help the country save foreign exchange earnings to narrow both the trade and current account deficits and was in line with the General Planning for National Energy (RUEN).

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani urged people to look into the complete performance of Indonesia’s State Budget (APBN) and not think that the government solely funds the country through tax collection and debts. Don’t think as if you completely understand the State Budget (APBN), as if the government only collects tax or debts that burden the population. It’s not as simple as that. It is much more complex than that,” said Sri Mulyani as a speaker in the DBS Asian Insights Conference held at Hotel Mulia today, Jan. 31.