April 12, Friday, 2024

1. The 2025 World Exposition in Osaka City, western Japan, is scheduled to open one year from Saturday. Construction of the Grand Room, also known as the Ring, is underway. More than 50 of the participating countries are considering building their own pavilions, but over ten of them have still not found contractors.
2. Japanese clothing giant Fast Retailing reported record sales and profit for the six months through February, mainly thanks to brisk sales overseas. The operator of Uniqlo outlets on Thursday said its consolidated revenue for the period rose 9 percent from a year earlier to 1.59 trillion yen. That’s more than 10 billion dollars. Net profit rose 27.7 percent to 195,9 billion yen, or nearly 1.3 billion dollars.
3.Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio joined US President Joe Biden and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr for their first-ever trilateral summit on Thursday. Biden welcomed his counterparts to the White House and said he wants to take their Indo-Pacific strategy to “new heights.” They covered everything from energy security to infrastructure projects and maritime security.