August 3, Thursday, 2023 　　　

1. Data from Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency show 7, 235 heatstroke patients were taken to hospital nationwide in June. The figure is the second largest for the month of June since the statistics began in 2010, following 15,969 recorded in June of last year.　 2. A Japanese government panel has proposed that the country’s average hourly minimum wage for this fiscal year be raised above 1,000 yen, or about seven dollars and 20 cents for the first time. The labor ministry panel members, including representatives from unions and corporate management, had been discussing a minimum wage hike to match the rising cost of living.
3. Policymakers at the Bank of Japan say they are introducing greater flexibility in their yield-curve control policy, or YCC. But they are otherwise leaving their ultra-loose program unchanged.