January 23, Tuesday, 2024

1. The two-person race for the US Republican presidential nomination is intensifying. Both candidates are competing in New Hampshire, which is set to vote Tuesday in the latest state-by-state primary election. Former President Donald Trump faces ex-United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley in a poll that is open both to members of the Republican Party and undecided voters.
2. Policymakers at the Bank of Japan have wrapped up their two-day meeting on Tuesday. The say they are leaving the central bank’s easing program unchanged. They decided to stick with the current policy to achieve sustainable and stable price gains led by stronger wage growth. The central bank will keep its short-term benchmark interest rate in negative territory, and will continue asset purchases to keep long-term rates “around zero percent.”
3. Shinkansen bullet train services on the Tohoku Hokuriku and Joetsu lines have been partially suspended, due to a power outage that occurred on Tuesday morning. JR East says the power outage occurred at around 10 a.m. It says workers found an overhead power cable dangling in an area between the stations of Ueno and Omiya.