Tokyo is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, while rural areas of Japan are suffering with ageing populations and declining birth rates.
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Asia-Pacific markets were set to mostly open lower Wednesday, tracking Wall Street losses as investors awaited the key monetary policy decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting, where it is expected to cut interest rates.
Investors are also looking to Japan’s August trade data and Singapore’s non-domestic oil exports in August, which are due out later today.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index was set for a lower open, with its futures contract in Chicago last traded at 44,635, and its counterpart in Osaka at 44,550, against the index’s last close of 44,902.27.
Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 was also poised for a lower open, with its futures contract trading at 8,832, against the index’s Tuesday close of 8,877.7.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was set to open higher, with its futures contract last traded at 26,612, against the index’s previous close of 26,438.51.
U.S. equity futures were little changed in early Asian hours ahead of the Fed meeting Wednesday stateside. The central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates for the first time since December.
Overnight stateside, U.S. stocks were lower as investors took some profits ahead of the Fed outcome.
The S&P 500 traded 0.13% lower to close at 6606.76, after hitting a fresh record earlier in the session. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.07% to finish the session at 22,333.96. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 125.55 points, or 0.27%, to close at 45,757.90.
— CNBC’s Pia Singh and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
