TOKYO – Japan’s economy expanded much faster than initially estimated in the second quarter, driven by upward revisions in private consumption and inventories, giving policymakers some assurance as they navigate political and trade uncertainty.

Gross domestic product grew an annualised 2.2% from the previous quarter in the three months through June 30, revised data from the Cabinet Office showed on Monday, up from the 1.0% announced on August 15 and economists’ median forecast.

While the figures show brisk growth in the world’s fourth-largest economy, US tariffs and growing political uncertainty could complicate policymaking in the months ahead after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba resigned on Sunday.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP grew 0.5%, compared with a median forecast and the initial estimate of a 0.3% rise.

The Cabinet Office said the upgraded estimates reflected restaurant, game sales and corporate spending, which was not available at the time of the initial reading’s release.

Private consumption, which accounts for more than half of the Japanese economy, inched up 0.4%, versus a 0.2% uptick in the preliminary reading.

However, analysts warn US President Donald Trump’s tariffs could trigger a sharp slowdown in exports in the current quarter and undermine the economy’s current momentum.

“It’s difficult to expect consumer spending to be sufficiently robust in the July-September quarter to offset the decline in exports,” said Shinichiro Kobayashi, principal economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting.

While Monday’s data is unlikely to influence the Bank of Japan’s immediate policy deliberations, tariff concerns and political uncertainty could delay any imminent interest rate hikes, said economist Uichiro Nozaki at Nomura Securities.

The focus will now turn to July-September GDP figures to gauge how far U.S. tariffs have weighed on the economy.

Tokyo and Washington last week formalised a trade deal, implementing lower tariffs on Japanese automobile imports and other products that were announced in July, providing some relief for the export-heavy economy.

The capital expenditure component of GDP, a barometer of private demand, rose 0.6% in the second quarter, revised down from 1.3% in the initial estimate. Economists had estimated a 1.2% rise.

External demand, or exports minus imports, contributed 0.3 percentage point to growth, in line with the preliminary reading. Domestic demand contributed 0.2 percentage point, reversing a 0.1 percentage point drag in the initial figure. — Reuters

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s administration plans to target more businesses for immigration enforcement after a raid on a Hyundai facility in Georgia led to hundreds of arrests, a top White House official said on Sunday.

Speaking on CNN’s ‘State of the Union,’ White House border czar Tom Homan said the administration would intensify the focus on workplaces.

“We’re going to do more worksite enforcement operations,” Homan said. “No one hires an illegal alien out of the goodness of their heart. They hire them because they can work them harder, pay them less, undercut the competition that hires US citizen employees.”

Opponents of Trump’s crackdown and some business groups say major US industries – including agriculture, hospitality and meatpacking – depend on immigrants without legal status.

US immigration authorities arrested 475 people on immigration violations during the raid of the Hyundai facility on Thursday, most of whom were South Korean nationals. The South Korean government said on Sunday that the workers would be returned once administrative procedures were completed.

The US Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement official said during a press conference on Friday that some of the people arrested at the facility had crossed the border illegally and overstayed visas. A separate ICE official told Reuters that many had visas for tourists and business travelers that do not include a work permit.

The arrests in Georgia followed tougher rhetoric by Trump on illegal immigration. For weeks, Trump and his top officials have suggested the administration could send National Guard troops and federal officers to Chicago to target crime and immigration.

In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump posted a meme based on the 1979 Vietnam war movie “Apocalypse Now” that showed an image of the Chicago skyline with flames and helicopters, reminiscent of the deadly helicopter attack on a Vietnamese village in the film.

On CNN, Homan defended the meme, which has been heavily criticized by Chicago residents and others for its warlike imagery and suggestion that the city is a military target. He said it was being taken out of context and that the Trump administration was only going to war with criminals and those violating immigration laws. — Reuters

WASHINGTON – US authorities are investigating a bogus email purportedly from a Republican lawmaker that contained malware apparently aimed at giving China insights into the Trump administration’s trade talks with Beijing, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

The malware in the email that appeared to be sent by Representative John Moolenaar in July to US trade groups, law firms and government agencies was traced by cyber analysts to a hacker group – APT41 – believed to be working for Chinese intelligence, the newspaper said.

Moolenaar, a harsh critic of Beijing, is the chairman of a congressional committee focused on strategic competition between China and the United States, including threats to US national security.
The email was the latest alleged Beijing-linked hacking operation aimed at giving China insight into recommendations to the White House for contentious trade talks with China, said the Journal, quoting people familiar with the matter.

The Chinese embassy in Washington said it was not familiar with the details of the reported attack and that all countries face cyberattacks that are difficult to trace.

“China firmly opposes and combats all forms of cyber attacks and cyber crime,” it said in an emailed statement. “We also firmly oppose smearing others without solid evidence.”

The Journal said the first malware email was sent just before US-China trade talks in Sweden that led to an extension of a truce on tariffs until early November, when US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping could meet at an Asian economic summit.

“Your insights are essential,” said the email that asked recipients to review proposed legislation attached to it.

Opening the draft legislation would have allowed the malware to give the hackers extensive access to the targeted groups, the newspaper said, adding that it could not be determined if the attacks had succeeded.

The newspaper said that the FBI and the US Capitol Police were investigating the email.

It quoted an FBI spokeswoman as saying that the bureau was aware of the email and was “working with our partners to identify and pursue those responsible.” The Capitol Police declined to comment, it said.

In a statement to the Journal, Moolenaar called the attack another example of Chinese cyber operations aimed at stealing US strategy. “We will not be intimidated,” he said.

The fake email came to light when staffers of Moolenaar’s committee started receiving puzzling inquiries about it, said the Journal, quoting people familiar with the matter. — Reuters

JERUSALEM/CAIRO/NEW YORKUS – There is a “narrow window” to prevent famine from spreading further in Gaza, a top UN official said on Sunday, calling on Israel to allow unimpeded aid delivery in the territory, where it is fighting Palestinian militant group Hamas.

According to a global hunger monitor, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are already experiencing or at risk of famine in areas including Gaza City, the enclave’s largest urban centre, where Israel has launched a new offensive against Hamas.

Israel, which stopped all aid for 11 weeks from March until mid-May, says it is doing more to let aid enter and be distributed in the enclave to prevent food shortages, though international agencies say far more is needed.

“There is a narrow window – until the end of September – to prevent famine from spreading to Deir al Balah (in central Gaza) and Khan Younis (southern Gaza). That window is now closing fast,” said United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher.

COGAT, the Israeli defence agency that deals with humanitarian issues, said on Sunday that over the past week aid from more than 1,900 trucks, most supplying food, was distributed in Gaza.

“We will continue facilitating humanitarian aid into Gaza for the civilian population – not Hamas,” COGAT said in a statement.

Israel last month launched an assault on the outskirts of Gaza City and its forces are now just a few kilometers from the city centre, where it issued warnings over the weekend to civilians to evacuate high rise buildings it says are being used by Hamas, before bombing them.

Israel did not provide evidence to show Hamas was using the buildings, an accusation the militant group denied.

Overnight, strikes killed 14 people across the city, local health officials said, including a strike on a school in southern Gaza City sheltering displaced Palestinians.

The Israeli military said it had struck a Hamas militant and that civilians had been warned before the strike was carried out.

The military on Saturday also warned Gaza City’s civilians to leave for the south, including Khan Younis, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are already sheltering in cramped tent encampments along the coast.

‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’
With hundreds of thousands of people remaining in Gaza City, pressure is growing to end the war.

“We say to Hamas, we want a ceasefire, end this war before Gaza City is turned into ruins like Rafah,” said Gaza City resident Emad, referring to a southern Gaza City that Israel destroyed earlier in the war.

“We want an end to this war. How long is this going to go on? How many lives are going to be wasted? Enough is enough,” he said by phone, asking for his surname not to be published.

The war has grown increasingly unpopular among Israelis too. On Saturday night, tens of thousands of protesters joined families of hostages at rallies, calling for an end to the war and demanding the release of the hostages.

Twenty of the 48 hostages still in Gaza are believed to still be alive.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that the war could end immediately if Hamas released the hostages and laid down its weapons.

“We will be more than happy to reach this objective with political means,” he told a press conference in Jerusalem.

In response, senior Hamas official Basem Naim said the group would not disarm but would release all hostages if Israel ended the war and withdrew all its forces from Gaza, reiterating Hamas’ long-standing position.

More than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s military assault, launched after Hamas-led militants carried out the surprise October 7, 2023 attack that killed 1,200 people and saw another 251 abducted and taken into Gaza.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, speaking to reporters in Jerusalem alongside his Israeli counterpart, called on Israel to “change course” and stop its military campaign.

“We are extremely concerned about the humanitarian (situation),” he said, also calling for the hostages to be freed. — Reuters