News Headlines - 03 July 2020

▽Japan ruling party seeks cancellation of state visit by China's Xi - The Mainichi

Lawmakers from Japan's ruling party said Friday they will urge the government to cancel Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit, citing concerns over Beijing's crackdown on dissidents in Hong Kong under a new national security law.
Senior members of the Liberal Democratic Party's two committees on foreign affairs drew up a draft resolution decrying the law, which took effect Tuesday and was quickly used to arrest protestors. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe leads the party.

▽Japan's GPIF posts record quarterly loss of $165 billion as virus hits stocks - Reuters

Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the world’s largest pension fund, on Friday reported a record quarterly loss of 17.71 trillion yen ($164.74 billion) in January-March after global stock markets plunged during the COVID-19 pandemic.
GPIF posted a negative return of 10.71% on its overall assets during the three months, compared with a 4.61% gain in the previous quarter, it said in a statement.
The mammoth-size fund, which managed 150.6 trillion yen of assets by end-March, is closely watched by global financial markets.

▽Japan business sentiment plunges to 11-year low: BOJ Tankan - Nikkei Asian Review

Business sentiment among Japan's large manufacturers has plunged to the lowest level in more than a decade, the Bank of Japan's latest Tankan quarterly survey showed on Wednesday, as the economy struggles to recover from the recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The headline diffusion index of sentiment among large manufacturers fell to minus 34 in June from minus 8 in March, the lowest reading since June 2009.

▽M'bishi Aircraft logs record $4.89 bil. loss in FY 2019 on jet costs - The Mainichi

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. logged a record loss of 526.9 billion yen ($4.89 billion) in the fiscal year ended March due to costs related to the long-delayed development of Japan's first passenger jet, its earnings report on the government gazette showed Wednesday.
The aircraft-making subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. incurred 464.6 billion yen in excess liabilities, falling into negative net worth for the first time in two years. In fiscal 2018, it posted a net profit of 2.3 billion yen, thanks to a capital injection of some 220 billion yen by the parent company.

▽Disney: Tokyo Disneyland, DisneySea reopen after COVID-19 closure

More Disney parks have reopened amid the coronavirus pandemic, this time in Tokyo, as U.S. Disney parks grapple with their own reopening plans.
Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea reopened after being closed for four months due to the coronavirus pandemic, with hundreds of visitors applauding as they were let in Wednesday.
The two parks have new guidelines, including limiting the number of entrants in three shifts to maintain social distancing. No handshakes, hugging or photos taken with Mickey Mouse and other characters are allowed.