Japan Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera emphasized that “the drills and the US military stationed in South Korea play a vital role in East Asia’s security.” And he hoped to “share this recognition between Japan and the US, or among Japan, US and South Korea.”
Onodera also said there is no change in Japan’s policy after the Kim-Trump summit, of “putting pressure” on North Korea. And, Japan would stick to plans to bolster its defences against a possible ballistic missile strike from North Korea.
Separately, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that Japan could shoulder some of the costs of North Korea’s denuclearization, on the condition that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) restarts inspections.
RBA Lowe: Any increase in interest rates, they’re some time away
RBA Governor Philip Lowe delivered a speech titled “Productivity, Wages and Prosperity” today. There he pointed out that “over the past couple of years, output growth has been subdued, but employment growth has been strong.” And, it’s productivity that’s holding the economy back. Low pointed to strong employment growth in household services, but output per hour worked was only 4% higher than it was in 2010. In contrast, the output per hour worked was up 13% to 16% in other industry groups.
He urged “strong ongoing focus on training, education and the accumulation of human capital” to bring up the overall productivity. And he emphasized that “our national comparative advantage will increasingly be built on the quality of our ideas and our human capital.”
Regarding monetary policy, Lowe said the economy is “moving in the right direction” and the next move in interest rate will be “up, not down”. But, “the environment in which interest rates are increasing is also likely to be one in which people’s incomes are growing more quickly than they are now.”And, “any increase in interest rates, however, still looks to be some time away.”