Former Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Masazumi Wakatabe said the priority is assessing whether the economy is sufficiently strong to withstand a BOJ rate increase; whether to raise rates in June is not the central issue.

China markets — May 28 (Thursday) close: CHINA'S SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX rose 4.91 pts, +0.12%, to 4,098.64; Shenzhen Composite Index rose 125.42 pts, +0.80%, to 15,861.89; CSI 300 INDEX rose 6.04 pts, +0.12%, to 4,914.21; China ChiNext Index rose 79.30 pts, +1.96%, to 4,125.07; China Sci‑Tech Innovation Board 50 Index rose 28.80 pts, +1.59%, to 1,844.25.

At a May 28 briefing, China's Ministry of National Defense spokesman said Japan has stepped up militarization of space, citing the JAPAN DEFENCE MINISTRY's release of measures to bolster space defenses and its claim to have activated a low‑Earth‑orbit military reconnaissance satellite constellation. Beijing said Tokyo has increased defense spending, coordinated foreign partners for joint space exercises, built a space military-intelligence architecture and is seeking to develop and deploy space weapons—moves that raise the risk of space weaponization and an arms race and undermine global strategic stability, the ministry said.