Business

Japan has agreed to funnel billions of pounds into British infrastructure, including wind power, in a fillip for government efforts to attract more foreign investment into big strategic projects.

The deal with the state-backed Japanese Bank for International Cooperation came during a visit to Tokyo by David Cameron, prime minister, on the first day of an Asian tour aimed at promoting trade and investment ties between the UK and east Asia.

Japanese stocks rocketed to some of the strongest gains in recent memory over the first three months of this year, but a further advance for the market will likely depend in large part on where government policy goes.

Japan’s benchmark blue-chip index, the Nikkei Stock Average JP:100000018 -2.29% , climbed 19.3% in the first quarter of 2012. That was the first quarterly gain for the Nikkei Average in three quarters and its best first-quarter performance in percentage terms since the boom-times of 1988. The advance has been attributed to valuation catch-up moves, monetary-policy easing in Japan, and economic improvement for some of Japan’s key trading partners, including the U.S.

Japan on Wednesday said China and India should reverse course and cut their Iranian oil imports as part of international efforts to press Tehran over its controversial nuclear programme. Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba’s comments come on the day resource-poor Japan said it will continue to cut its imports of crude from Teheran ‘considerably’.

They also follow a decision by the United States (US) to exempt some European Union members and Japan from tough sanctions on Iran, praising them for reducing dependency on the Islamic republic’s oil.

Japan is in final talks with Washington on an agreement on cuts in Iranian crude oil imports that could amount to more than 20 percent a year, the Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday, as Tokyo seeks to win waivers from U.S. sanctions. Japan and the United States will reach a basic agreement by the end of February, sparing Japan’s three main banks that currently handle payments to Iran from penalties, the Washington-datelined report said, without citing sources.

Japan Airlines Co. (9205) will order 10 more Boeing Co. (BA) 787s, boosting a backlog to 45, as it expands international operations following a state-backed turnaround.

The airline will also convert 10 existing 787 orders to the larger -9 version from the smaller -8, according to a statement today.

When Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao met in December, a deal by Tokyo to buy Chinese government bonds was hailed by the two as way to bring the major trading partners even closer together. More >

Japanese core machinery orders fell 3.7% in January, as demand from nonmanufacturers weakened, the government said Wednesday. But the data contained some bright spots in business spending.

Panasonic Corp. on Wednesday revealed the price for its first 3-D TV set, confirming that $3,000 is about what it takes to be among the first to watch 3-D movies in the home.

The Japanese company put its first 3-D sets on sale at an event in New York on Wednesday. Panasonic’s suggested retail price is $2,900 for a 50-inch plasma set, one pair of glasses and a 3-D Blu-ray player. An extra pair of glasses costs $150.