Prime Minister Hatoyama Resigns

Mayank Mehta, Chandrasekhar Atreya and Darlington Musarurwa
02 Jun, 2010
New York City

Stocks in Japan fell after Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said he will resign after his popularity plunged on wavering stance on campaign pledges and backtracking on the removal of U.S military base in Okinawa.

[R]5:00 PM Tokyo, Japan –Stocks in Japan fell after Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said he will resign after his popularity plunged on wavering stance on campaign pledges and backtracking on the removal of U.S military base in Okinawa.[/R]

Yukio Hatoyama resigned as Prime Minister less than nine months after forming the government, after his popularity plunged as much as 80%. His stance on campaign pledges has been wavering and recently he compounded his woes by backtracking on the removal of the U.S. military base in Okinawa.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 1.1% to 9603.24 at the close of Tokyo market today. The broader Topix also lost 1.1% to 870.05 at the close.

Of the stocks in Nikkei 225 Stock Average, 30 increased, 187 declined and 8 were unchanged.

Operations at a parts facility in China were resumed by Honda Motor Co as most workers ended a walkout that led to the shut down of all of the company’s production units in China last week.

The factory resumed operations even as the company continues to negotiate with some workers, said Takayuki Fujii, a Beijing-based spokesman of the company. The other four plants that were shut down will remain shut at least till tomorrow, he said.

Japan could face fiscal collapse in 10 to 15 years if the ruling Democratic Party of Japan maintains its expansionary spending policy, said Takao Komine, a former bureaucrat and a professor at Hosei University, in an interview in Tokyo yesterday.

Komine who spent more than 30 years as a bureaucrat overseeing transport and economic policies for Japan, said the government should try to set specific fiscal targets and then deadlines to achieve those goals.

Eisai Co, maker of Aricept, the best-selling drug for Alzheimer’s, expects to get a priority review from the FDA for its new treatment for advanced breast cancer. The FDA will decide whether to approve the new drug eribulin by September 30, the Tokyo-based Eisai said in a statement.

The FDA grants priority review for drugs intended to treat conditions where no alternative treatment exists or when the new treatment offers significant improvement compared to existing and marketed products, the company said.

Nikkei Movers

Taiheiyo Cement Corp led gainers in the Nikkei 225 Stock Average with a rise of 4.8% followed by Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co., Ltd 3.3%, MEIJI Holdings Co., Ltd 2.2% and Secom Co Ltd 1.9%.

Mitsui & Co Ltd led the decliners in the Nikkei 225 Stock Average with a loss of 7.8% followed by CSK Holdings Corporation 4.6%, Mazda Motor Corporation 4.2%, Toyo Seikan Kaisha Ltd 4.1% and NEC Corporation 3.9%.

Other Movers

Japan Drilling Co., Ltd decreased 7.2% to 3,270.00 yen.

Mitsui & Co Ltd decreased 8.4% to 1,165.00 yen since the company owns a stake in a BP Plc oil field in the Gulf of Mexico where the oil spill disaster is unfolding.

Mitsubishi Corporation, the commodities trader, dropped 3.5% to 1,959.00 yen.

Nintendo Co., Ltd dropped 2.0% to 26,460.00 yen after the maker of video-game machines plans to cut the price of its DS handheld device for the first time in Japan on June 19 to bolster stagnating domestic sales, according to Bloomberg report.

Sumitomo Corporation decreased 2.6% to 955.00 yen.