Japan

The near-empty Singapore stadium in which Japan's Sunwolves played out their latest Super Rugby defeat on Saturday was a stark reminder that developing the sport of rugby union across Asia was always going to be a tough task.

Japan's SESC market watchdog said on Tuesday it had recommended a $1.2 million fine against the British unit of Citigroup Inc for alleged manipulation of Japanese government bond (JGB) futures prices.

The near-empty Singapore stadium in which Japan's Sunwolves played out their latest Super Rugby defeat on Saturday was a stark reminder that developing the sport of rugby union across Asia was always going to be a tough task.

Japan's SESC market watchdog said on Tuesday it had recommended a $1.2 million fine against the British unit of Citigroup Inc for alleged manipulation of Japanese government bond (JGB) futures prices.

Japanese government bond yields rose from two-year lows on Tuesday after soft results of a 40-year JGB auction and as domestic shares rebounded after precipitous falls the previous session.

* Nintendo soars on report it plans 2 Switch console versions

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will likely proceed with a scheduled sales tax hike in October even though slowing global demand and soft wage growth could weigh on the economy, one of the architects of the premier's stimulus policies said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will likely proceed with a scheduled sales tax hike in October even though slowing global demand and soft wage growth could weigh on the economy, one of the architects of the premier's stimulus policies said.

* Nintendo soars on report it plans to release 2 versions of Switch console