By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK, July 10 (Reuters) - The yen strengthened on Friday and was poised for its biggest daily percentage gain in more than a week after Japan said it plans to encourage pension funds to increase their holdings of domestic financial assets.

Japan wants to encourage pension funds, including the Government Pension Investment Fund, to increase investment in domestic financial assets, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said.

A powerful typhoon is heading towards Taiwan, parts of Japan and south-eastern China after causing devastation in the southern Philippines. Watch this forecast to see how it will move across east Asia on Saturday.

Taiwan's government evacuated more than 14,000 people from mainly mountainous areas as the island shut down for the medium strength Typhoon Bavi, which is expected to bring a deluge of rain and strong...

In his latest faux pas, US President Donald Trump mixed up Japan, a key US ally, with Iran by mistakenly referring to the latter as the "Islamic Republic of Japan."

The United States has launched a series of strikes on Iran in response to the Iranian targeting of vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran immediately warned Washington it would “take whatever measures it deems necessary," raising the risks that an interim agreement in the war halting fighting could break down, putting the wider Mid...