According to media reports, Prime Minister Abe has decided to carry out a cabinet reshuffle in August, responding to  the result in Tokyo assembly election held on 2 July. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has lost more than half of its seats, which won a mere 23 and is the worst result in the history.

GR Japan President & CEO Jakob Edberg will moderate a panel discussion, "Boosting productivity by changing the way we work: A look at the third arrow of Abenomics", hosted by the Australian and New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Japan.  The lunch panel discussion, which will be held at Roppongi Hills Club on Monday, 19 June, is welcoming Mr Gaku Hashimoto, State Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare, as a keynote speaker.  He will be joined by the panelists,  Mr Senri Tanida, President of Tanita Corporation, Mr Taku Nishimura, President of SOW Experience, Ms Shizuka Aone,

Upon his visit to Germany for G20 foreign ministerial session, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida reconfirmed with European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom to conclude the deadlock Japan-EU EPA negotiations as early as possible.  The on-going discussion, which begun in April 2013, was originally to reach an agreement in 2016 but carried over due to obstacles in agricultural products and automobiles.

According to the Nikkei Shimbun, the Government of Japan (GoJ) plans to launch a new organization on trade negotiations. Upon the inauguration of the new US administration, President Trump officially withdrew from the TPP agreement and accused Japan for not purchasing enough American automobiles. Japan is now rather forced to change the trade strategies, for fear of the trade friction.  For more details, please visit the article on the Nikkei Shimbun from the link below (Japanese only).