AGP Executive Report
Last update: 8 hours agoCompetition: Japan’s Fair Trade Commission raided Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo and Suntory over suspected wholesale beer price-fixing. The four brewers account for about 90% of the market and say they will cooperate. Research: Japan’s Kenso Soai shared the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with France’s Henri Kagan for work on producing molecules in a single mirror-image form, with applications in drug manufacturing. Hydrogen: Cosmo Energy and Iwatani approved investment at Chiba refinery, including restoring an 80-tonne-a-day hydrogen unit and building a plant to liquefy hydrogen for domestic customers. Semiconductors: Tokyo Electron expects operating profit to reach ¥1 trillion as AI-driven spending by Samsung and SK Hynix lifts demand. Consumer businesses: Izakaya bankruptcies reached 167 in January–September, a record for the period, as higher costs and competition squeeze small operators. Japan’s real wages, meanwhile, rose 1.5% in August for an eighth straight month.
Note: AI summary from news headlines; neutral sources weighted more to help reduce bias in the result. Feedback is welcome. Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions about the AGP Executive Report.
Perspectify News
