Japan’s Katayama says will act flexibly to safeguard people’s livelihood

The post Binance Charity Flood Relief in Japan: A Model for Impact appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Alvin Lang May 14, 2026 10:40 Binance Charity’s 2018 Japan flood relief efforts raised $1.41M in crypto, setting a standard for disaster response via blockchain donations. Binance Charity’s 2018 flood relief efforts in Japan remain a standout example of how cryptocurrency can support disaster response, raising $1.41 million in ERC-20 tokens to aid communities devastated by historic floods. This initiative, which distributed 63.03 BTC and 169.85 ETH (then valued at approximately $505,545) to local NGOs, not only provided immediate relief but also showcased the efficiency and transparency of blockchain-based philanthropy. The West Japan floods of late June to mid-July 2018 left 225 dead and displaced millions, marking one of the most severe natural disasters in modern Japanese history. Binance Charity’s response was swift, utilizing crypto to bypass traditional donati

The post Japan wholesale inflation jumps to 4.9% as import costs surge appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. According to a Bank of Japan (BOJ) report issued Friday May 15, Japan’s wholesale prices jumped 4.9% year-on-year in April. This number exceeds the 3.0% gain economists had forecast and nearly doubled March’s revised 2.9%, as the Iran conflict drove a sharp rise in oil and petrochemical import costs, Reuters reported. The corporate goods price index (CGPI), which tracks what companies charge each other for goods, caught markets off guard. But beyond the headlines, yen-denominated import prices were even more revealing. Import prices rose 17.5% in April from a year earlier, nearly double its pace in March at 8.0%. The cause: The war in Iran and the closed Strait of Hormuz. The resulting effect has seen crude prices spike, the dollar trading higher against the yen, driving up costs for Japan’s fuel-dependent economy. Japanese manufacturers and retailers are passing cost increases t

The post Scott Bessent says China will quietly pressure Iran to reopen Strait of Hormuz appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China is expected to press Iran privately to get the Strait of Hormuz open again, because Beijing is sitting right in the middle of the oil problem. Scott said on Thursday that China has more at stake than the United States because it buys a huge amount of crude from the Middle East and gets nearly all of Iran’s exported oil. He told Joe Kernen, “It’s very much in their interest to get the strait reopened.” Scott then added, “I think they will be working behind the scenes to the extent anyone has any say over the Iranian leadership.” China is the world’s biggest crude oil importer. In the year 2024, roughly 10% of its crude oil imports were from Iran, while over 50% of all imports were from the Middle East, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. As Scott pointed out, almost every barrel Iran exports to

The post Japanese Yen: Valuation risks and policy coordination – BNY appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. BNY’s Geoff Yu highlights that the Japanese Yen (JPY) remains significantly undervalued on a Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) basis even as Euro (EUR) and US Dollar (USD) valuations have converged. He notes United States (US) –Japan coordination on exchange rates is already underway and argues Europe should be more proactive, as sustained JPY weakness poses greater competitive risks for Eurozone exporters than for the United States. JPY undervaluation and European risks “Based on the Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) indices, measured by their change over the last five years, the dollar and euro have fully converged in valuation over the past six months. A range breakout would require a significant structural catalyst – the technology drivers behind “U.S. exceptionalism” or the “European strategic autonomy” theme on defense.” “Japan ha

The sharp move highlights ongoing instability in global currency markets as traders adjust positions amid shifting expectations around monetary policy divergence between the United States and Japan. The U.S. dollar briefly weakened against the Japanese yen on Wednesday, with USD/JPY…

The peace talks could reshape regional stability and influence broader Middle East diplomacy, impacting future U.S.-Iran negotiations. The post Israel and Lebanon begin peace talks in Washington amid ceasefire uncertainty appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The post BoJ’s Masu warns Iran war energy shock could hit Japan harder than 1973 oil crisis appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Bank of Japan (BoJ) policy board member Kazuyuki Masu said on Thursday that the impact of Iran war-driven energy shock on Japan’s economy may be more severe than 1973 oil crisis, risk requires attention. Key quotes Impact of Iran war-driven energy shock on Japan’s economy could be more serious than the first oil sock in 1973, a risk that warrants attention. Rising personnel expenses, distribution costs and impact of weak yen are elements forming basis for Japan’s inflation. From a long-term perspective, the price of food in general is a key determinant of future inflation. Given Japan is no longer in deflationary period, negative real rates should be addressed as soon as possible. With policy rate near estimated neutral level, BOJ must more closely assess prices, employment and financial conditions for further moves. Market reaction As of writing, the USD/JPY

The post Mitsui & Co. Digital Asset Management launches Japan’s first land-backed digital security appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Japan just got its first digital security backed entirely by land rights, not a building, not a revenue stream from tenants, but the dirt itself. Mitsui & Co. Digital Asset Management has tokenized the leasehold interest beneath AEON Omiya, a large commercial facility in Saitama City, creating a new category of regulated real-world asset security in Asia’s second-largest economy. The underlying land is valued at approximately ¥8.6 billion, or roughly $55.6 million. Investors can buy in for as little as ¥100,000, which comes out to about $647, and the product carries an expected pre-tax annual yield of 3.4%. How the deal is structured The tokens are issued through the ALTERNA platform, which runs on a permissioned blockchain called “ibet for Fin.” It’s a private, regulated blockchain designed specifically for financial instruments in Japan. Legally, the