My Number Card and further delays

March 26, 2021 (Friday) Clear

・A market that caps corporate greenhouse gas emissions and trades the surplus/deficit is overheating.

In Europe, following the raising of emission reduction targets, trading prices are at a level about 30% higher than at the end of last year.

If Japan also introduces an emissions trading system, corporate burdens could reach 2.6 trillion yen a year, with projections that it will continue to grow.

There is a need to rush technological innovation to advance decarbonization.

・Central banks around the world are making climate change a priority.

BOJ <8301> [Closing price 38,500 yen] Will check banks’ responses in the fiscal year 2021 assessment.

Banks’ management and lending stance will inevitably change due to risks from global warming and other factors.

About 70% of major central banks see room to revise their monetary policy frameworks.

・Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. on the 25th,

revealed that 1,200 suppliers have expressed willingness to cooperate in its entry into the electric vehicle (EV) business.

From Japan, Nippon Densan <6594> [Closing price 13,075 yen] and others participated.

・The Tokyo Olympics' torch relay on the 25th started in Fukushima Prefecture, the site of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

　

・Sompo Holdings <8630> [Closing price 4,387 yen] To launch a medical insurance in June that pays hospital costs in as little as about 30 minutes.

Uses the know-how of non-life insurers that pay based on actual damages.

Procedures for users will be completed via smartphones. Premiums will be about 2,000 yen per month for people in their 30s, cheaper than the typical 4,000–5,000 yen.

・The倍率 of the 2020 primary school teacher recruitment exam rose to 2.7 times, a record low.

A倍率 below 3 is considered a danger zone where the quality of talent cannot be maintained.

If quality deteriorates, new initiatives such as education leveraging digital technology could be jeopardized.

・North Korea on the 25th fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan for the first time in about a year.

With the Biden administration shaping North Korea policy, it is seen as a tactic to probe U.S. reactions through repeated displays of provocation.

There may also be an intent to test security cooperation among the United States, Japan, and South Korea.

・Kintetsu Group Holdings <9041> [Closing price 4,390 yen] on the 25th will sell eight hotels in Osaka and Kyoto to Blackstone Group, a U.S. private equity firm.

Facing deteriorating earnings, the move is to secure funds and restructure the business.

Asset monetization and financial upgrades have spread to large companies with leisure-related businesses.

Kintetsu Group Holdings' consolidated net loss for the year ending March 2021 is projected at 78 billion yen (compared with a 20.5 billion yen profit in the previous year).

Subsidiaries including Kintetsu International Tourism (KNT) CT Holdings <9726> [Closing price 1,028 yen] became insolvent at the end of December 2020.

・Regarding the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, securing personnel to administer injections has become an issue.

Japan's current law only permits doctors and nurses to administer vaccines.

Compared with the U.S. and Europe, which use medical students and volunteers, vaccination could take longer in Japan.

・In the Suez Canal, blocked by a large container ship due to a grounding, efforts to move the grounded vessel with tugs continued on the 25th as well.

Operations paused during low tide at night, and a restoration timetable remains uncertain.

Both ends of the canal are congested with ships waiting to resume, raising concerns about global logistics bottlenecks.

・On the 25th, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced special measures for the Employment Adjustment Subsidy to aid companies paying leave allowances,

with distinctions based on business condition and COVID-19 infection status starting in May.

The current special measures will be uniformly applied only until the end of April.

・The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare decided to delay the full start of a system allowing My Number cards to be used instead of health insurance cards when visiting medical institutions, aiming for late March to be delayed to no later than October.

・BOJ <8301> [Closing price 38,500 yen] The nationwide December 2020 Short-Term Economic Survey of Enterprises in Japan (Tankan) results from private economists' forecasts will be released on 4/1.

The DI for large manufacturers is expected to be zero, marking improvement for three consecutive quarters.

Exports are expected to remain solid with a recovering overseas economy, and IT-related demand is expected to improve as people stay at home.

・The U.S. military is tightening its guard against possible Chinese military action against Taiwan.

John Aquilino, nominated to be commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, says the timing for potential Chinese aggression is closer than most people think.

He notes that it could be much sooner than widely anticipated.

・On the 25th, the U.S. Treasury announced sanctions on two entities deeply involved with the Myanmar military coup.

The aim is to curb the military’s finances and pressure an end to the crackdown on protesters.

・Global coronavirus case counts (daily deaths) as of 4 PM on 3/25, compiled by Johns Hopkins University: World total 1,247.93 million (9,422 deaths)

United States 30,010,932 (1,438) Brazil 12,220,011 (2,009) India 11,787,534 (251) Russia 4,433,364 (393) France 4,374,774 (19) United Kingdom 4,326,645 (98)

Italy 3,440,862 (460) Spain 3,234,319 (0) Turkey 3,091,282 (146) Germany 2,722,988 (229) Colombia 2,353,210 (229) Argentina 2,269,877 (123)