The government budget for fiscal 2005 has been enacted, but the amount dependent on government bonds, although slightly lower than in fiscal 2004, is still above 40 percent. At the end of March, the amount of outstanding national government bonds stood at 499 trillion ...

More attention is being focused on Japan’s monetary policy, given the changing economic environment at home and overseas. The recovery is losing its steam, total outstanding government bonds have reached 770 trillion yen, and interest rates can’t be raised without further straining state coffers ...

It’s been a while since the word “globalization” came into widespread use. But its meaning isn’t always clear, perhaps because each person uses the term in his own way. As for me, I understand it as a condition in which cross-border movements of not ...

With the number of member countries now topping 150, trade negotiations under the World Trade Organization will take more time to conclude. This has triggered a rush by many countries to conclude regional or bilateral trade liberalization agreements. Japan has long placed priority on ...

Last week, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao met — for the first time in a year — on the sidelines of the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Chile. Ever since Tokyo and Beijing restored diplomatic ties in ...

The dollar’s exchange rate against the yen, which was fluctuating within the 108-112 yen range until early October, has begun to move downward in recent weeks despite such negative factors as the devastating typhoons and earthquakes that ravaged Japan. Since the dollar is declining ...

Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed at a conference in Vienna on Sept. 15 to increase daily crude oil production by 1 million barrels to 27 million. This is a record that exceeds even the 26.7 million barrels agreed on in ...

Amid close scrutiny both in Japan and abroad, the integration of Japan’s major banks is progressing at a rapid pace — and triggering unprecedented legal battles in the process. The latest case, involving UFJ, Tokyo-Mitsubishi and Sumitomo-Mitsui, demonstrates how realignment of the banking in- ...

The question of whether to lift the import ban on U.S. beef is being closely watched, especially in terms of how it relates to another issue of high public interest — when will people be able to eat “gyudon (beef bowls)” again? A report ...

As Japan continues to maintain a current account surplus, it will remain subject to overseas criticism that its people should spend more and save less. However, the truth is that Japan’s savings ratio has rapidly declined over the past decade. Let us look at ...