Japan’s unpopular minority government approved on Friday an extra budget to help pay for a massive stimulus package after the ruling coalition’s worst election result in 15 years.The hoped-for lift to the economy is also aimed at boosting Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s popularity after a gaffe-riddled start including an embarrassing video of him eating.The extra budget approved by the cabinet is worth 13.9 trillion yen ($92 billion) and is expected to be approved in parliament by the end of the year.It will be partly funded by issuing bonds worth over 6.6 trillion yen.It includes 1.5 trillion yen to boost Japan’s chip and AI sectors, part of a 10-trillion-yen push over the coming years previously announced.Last week Ishiba’s cabinet approved a 21.9-trillion-yen stimulus drive, with the overall impact expected to be worth 39 trillion yen.It includes handouts of around 30,000 yen for low-income households, fuel and energy subsidies, and assistance to small businesses.Ishiba, 67, took office on October 1 following the resignation of unpopular predecessor Fumio Kishida, and called snap elections soon afterwards.But the move backfired, with voters angry over corruption within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) — which has governed almost non-stop for decades — and price rises.The ruling coalition of the LDP and the smaller Komeito party were deprived of a majority in the lower house of parliament for the first time since 2009.Ishiba has promised to revitalise depressed rural regions and to address the “quiet emergency” of Japan’s shrinking population, the world’s second-oldest.A poll in the Mainichi Shimbun daily on Sunday put the cabinet’s approval rating at 31 percent, down 15 points from early October. The disapproval score was 50 percent.Ishiba drew ridicule after being snapped apparently napping in parliament this month, and for failing to stand up to greet other world leaders at a gathering in South America.Worse was a video that emerged of Ishiba eating an onigiri rice ball — a popular snack — whole and munching on it without closing his mouth.”He eats like a three-year-old,” one user said on X. “How could he have risen to the top with these manners?” asked another.

The yen rallied Friday after forecast-busting inflation data out of Tokyo boosted talk of another Japanese interest rate cut next month, while equity markets were mixed as traders weigh the economic outlook during a second Trump administration.With Wall Street closed for the Thanksgiving break, there were few catalysts to drive business heading into the weekend and at the end of a rollercoaster month dominated by uncertainty in the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory.Traders are tracking developments surrounding the tycoon as he builds a hawkish cabinet and outlines his plans, including a threat to hammer China, Canada and Mexico with hefty tariffs on his first day.Eyes were also on Japan, where figures showed consumer prices in Tokyo — seen as a bellwether for the country — jumped to 2.6 percent in November, well up from October and much more than expected.The news ignited speculation the central bank will hike rates for a third time this year.Expectations for an increase in borrowing costs have picked up pace in recent weeks after Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda said officials would have to tighten policy if the economy continued to perform in line with forecasts.Friday’s price data came as separate figures showed the jobs market remained tight. Bets on a rate increase have risen to more than 60 percent, according to Bloomberg News.The yen rallied Friday, hitting less than 150 per dollar for the first time in a month.The currency was also supported by forecasts that the Federal Reserve will lower US rates at its December meeting — narrowing the yield differential and making the Japanese unit more attractive to investors.The report “will probably strengthen the BoJ’s conviction that inflation momentum is building, with its two percent target looking (increasingly) secure”, said Taro Kimura, an economist with Bloomberg Economics.The BoJ hiked rates in March for the first time in 17 years as it looked to move away from a long-running ultra-loose monetary policy.However, a second surprise lift at the end of July sparked turmoil on markets and led to a major unwind of the so-called “yen carry trade” in which investors used the cheaper currency to purchase higher-yielding assets.The stronger yen weighed Japanese exporters and pushed Tokyo stocks lower on Friday.Other Asian markets fluctuated, with Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Manila, Jakarta and Taipei in the red, while Wellington, Mumbai and Bangkok were slightly higher.Hong Kong and Shanghai gained after Chinese authorities held a meeting to discuss plans to boost stunted consumption, a key goal for Beijing as they look to kickstart the world’s number two economy.London was barely moved at the open while Frankfurt and Paris retreated.The euro edged up but remained under pressure owing to uncertainty over budget cuts to reduce France’s huge deficit, and as Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government struggles amid tough opposition from the right and left.Economic weakness in Germany in particular has also dampened enthusiasm in Europe. Oil prices slipped after the OPEC+ alliance postponed a weekend meeting to December 5, with analysts saying there were signs of disagreement among the group over plans to increase output.Bitcoin was sitting at about $96,500, having suffered a big drop at the start of the week following its worst run since Trump’s electoral success.Still, it is widely tipped to top $100,000 on expectations the new president will ease restrictions on the digital currency market.- Key figures around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 38,208.03 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 19,423.61 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.9 percent at 3,326.46 (close)London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 8,280.84Dollar/yen: DOWN at 159.99 yen from 151.51 yen on ThursdayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.0577 from $1.0552 Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2724 from $1.2687Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.13 pence from 83.18 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $68.52 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $72.75 per barrel

World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is expected to be reappointed Friday for a second term, in the shadow of the coming return of Donald Trump and his disdain for international trade rules.Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman and the first African to head the WTO, is the only candidate in the race, paving the way for the body’s 166 members to re-elect the 70-year-old Nigerian at a closed-door meeting.”It’s not so much that everyone loves Ngozi,” a source close to the discussions told AFP.Rather, members were “worried that if she doesn’t get reinstated, then it’s possible that the administration in Washington would slow things (or) block other contenders”, leaving a void at the top, the source said.”The alternative of no one leading the organisation is unacceptable to them.”Directors-general are typically chosen by consensus.This made it possible in 2020 for Trump to block Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment for months, forcing her to wait to take the reins until after President Joe Biden entered the White House in early 2021. Her term ends in August 2025, and the appointment process expected to lead to her next term had initially been scheduled to take months.But once it became clear that Okonjo-Iweala was the sole candidate, the discussions chair determined there was backing for a proposal by African states to bring forward the appointment.- Tensions – The unstated objective is to “accelerate the process, because they did not want Trump’s team to come in and veto her as they did four years ago”, said Keith Rockwell, a senior research fellow at the Hinrich Foundation.Rockwell, a former WTO spokesman, said that speeding up Okonjo-Iweala’s reappointment “creates tensions in the relationship with the United States, for sure — tensions which would probably have been there under any circumstances, but now this raises the stakes”. During Trump’s first term, the WTO also faced relentless attacks from his administration, which crippled the organisation’s dispute settlement appeal system, and threatened to pull the United States out of the organisation altogether.Trump has already signalled he is preparing to launch all-out trade wars, threatening to unleash a flurry of tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico on his first day in office on January 20.”The festival of tariffs announced to date shows that he has no intention of following any rules,” said Elvire Fabry, a researcher at the Institut Jacques Delors think-tank.”The United States would not even need to withdraw from the WTO,” she told AFP. “They are freeing themselves from the WTO rules”. In this context, the WTO chief will have “a firefighter role”, she said. – ‘Very difficult’ -It will be a question of “saving what can be saved, and making the case that there is no real alternative to the WTO rules”, said another source close to the discussions on speeding up Okonjo-Iweala’s reappointment.”It will be a very difficult mandate, with little certainty about what will happen.” Rockwell noted that the WTO’s problems were not solely linked to Washington.”It is a time right now in which application of the WTO rules has deteriorated,” he said.”You can’t blame all of this on the United States. That’s true of many other members as well.”Dmitry Grozoubinski, author of the book “Why Politicians Lie about Trade”, agreed.”Governments are increasingly turning to trade measures to address issues like national security, environmental competition, and re-industrialisation, and policymakers aren’t as moved as they once were by arguments that their ideas violate the letter or spirit of WTO commitments,” he told AFP. “If president-elect Trump makes destroying the WTO a priority,” he said, the organisation’s “options will be limited as the institution is not built to withstand overt demolition from within its membership”.Since taking the WTO reins, Okonjo-Iweala has tried to breathe new life into the fragile organisation, pushing for fresh focus on areas like climate change and health. But pressure is growing for WTO reform, in particular of the moribund appeals portion of its dispute settlement system, which collapsed during the first Trump presidency as Washington blocked the appointment of judges.