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Toru Fujioka
For Toru Fujioka's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
The Bank of Japan will decide whether to end its negative interest rate policy at its policy board meeting, which ends on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2024
BOJ’s Ueda faces decision time on rate hike
With the end of Japan's negative rate being a near certainty, the only question that remains is whether it comes on Tuesday or at the end of April.
Some 38% of Bank of Japan watchers in a survey believe the central bank will end its negative rates next week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 12, 2024
Half of BOJ watchers still see April rate hike while bets on March move jump
The proportion of 50 economists forecasting an end to the world’s last negative rate in April slipped to 54% in the latest survey from 59% in January.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks at a forum in Tokyo on Tuesday. Tackling a bloated balance sheet is set to be a challenging hurdle for the central bank.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 6, 2024
Normalizing Bank of Japan's balance sheet will take nine years, says ex-official
Failing to issue guidance on the planned normalization could lead to high market volatility in yields, former Executive Director Kenzo Yamamoto warns.
The pickup in consumer prices largely reflected the fading impact of government subsidies rolled out last year to keep a lid on utility costs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 5, 2024
Tokyo prices heat up again, supporting case for BOJ rate hike
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.5% in the capital, re-accelerating after cooling in January to a revised 1.8%.
The Bank of Japan is facing hardly any signs of opposition to scrapping its negative interest rate as the strongest price growth in decades weighs on households and businesses.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 28, 2024
BOJ should make straightforward policy shift, top finance professor says
Exiting policy should be like business as usual, said Hiroshi Yoshikawa, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and a friend of BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda.
Japan's consumer price index for January rose 2% from a year ago, topping estimates to support the Bank of Japan's move to end its negative interest rate policy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 27, 2024
January inflation topped forecasts, data shows, supporting BOJ policy shift
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2% from a year ago, while prices of processed food gained 5.9% and prices for lodging increased by 27%.
No politicians, government officials, bankers or business leaders have voiced strong opposition to Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda's intention to put an end to the world’s last negative rate regime.
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2024
Lack of political opposition opens way for BOJ rate hike
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda is in a rare sweet spot for such a move, in sharp contrast to the experiences of his BOJ predecessors.
Japanese companies are paying higher starting salaries as they struggle to secure young workers.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 9, 2024
Japanese firms boosting pay for young workers is good news for Bank of Japan
If wage gain momentum carries over into this year, the BOJ is expected to end the world’s last negative interest rate regime by April.
Bank of Japan Deputy Gov. Shinichi Uchida says after the bank ends its negative rate policy, financial conditions will remain easy and any policy moves thereafter will occur at a gradual pace.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 8, 2024
BOJ's Uchida says sharp hikes unlikely after rates policy shift
Uchida was one of the architects of the bank's current policies and now works closely with Gov. Ueda as an influential member of the BOJ policy board.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (center) attends a monetary policy meeting at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Jan. 23.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 31, 2024
'Golden opportunity': BOJ signals rate hike ahead with ramped-up exit talk
Central bank board members indicate that conditions allowing the termination of its negative rate policy are increasing.
Japan's core inflation stayed above the central bank's 2% target in December but slowed for a second straight month, reinforcing expectations it will be in no hurry to phase out its massive monetary stimulus.
BUSINESS
Jan 19, 2024
Japan’s slowing inflation supports case for BOJ to wait longer
Growth in consumer prices excluding fresh food slowed to 2.3% in December from a year earlier.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. None of 51 surveyed economists expects the central bank to raise its negative interest rate this month, with two-thirds forecasting a rate hike by April.
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2024
Polled economists all see BOJ holding in January after quake
None of 51 surveyed economists expects the central bank to raise its negative interest rate this month, with two-thirds forecasting a rate hike by April.
Stronger annual wage negotiation results are likely to pave the way for the Bank of Japan to end its negative interest rate by this spring, a former BOJ official says.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 16, 2024
Wage gains of 4% would pave way for BOJ rate hike, ex-official says
Market participants are monitoring annual wage talks closely as they may be a decisive factor in prompting Japan's central bank to end the world’s last negative rate.
The Bank of Japan is fully prepared to put an end to the world’s last negative interest rate, an ex-official has said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 11, 2024
BOJ fully prepared to end negative rate, likely in April: ex-official
"They are just waiting for one last push from one or two economic data,” said former board member Makoto Sakurai.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda addresses a council meeting at business lobby Keidanren in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 27, 2023
BOJ summary suggests Ueda can wait for wage results before hike
Bank of Japan board members discussed the potential timing of ending the negative rate policy during their meeting last week.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda told lawmakers in parliament that his job was about to get even more "challenging” from the end of the year, adding to speculation of looming action by the central bank.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2023
BOJ set to stay outlier as 2024 hike seen in contrast to Fed
The Bank of Japan has become used to being a policy outlier over its decades-long quest to vanquish deflation. It’s likely to be no different in 2024.
The reading of the key index measuring confidence among major Japanese manufacturers, such as those in the auto and electronics sectors, rose for the third straight quarter, according to the Bank of Japan's tankan survey.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 13, 2023
Firms more confident ahead of BOJ policy meeting, tankan shows
Evidence of robust corporate sentiment boosts the odds of large wage hikes, paving the way for the normalization of monetary policy.
The Bank of Japan is likely to keep its monetary stimulus settings unchanged at a two-day policy meeting ending Dec. 19, despite recent market speculation that the negative rate may be scrapped as soon as the December meeting.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 11, 2023
BOJ sees little need to end negative rate in December: sources
Bank officials are yet to see enough evidence of wage growth that would support sustainable inflation.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Half of the 52 economists surveyed by Bloomberg said the central bank will scrap its negative rate in April, up from 29% in the October survey.
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2023
Most BOJ watchers predict end of negative rate regime by April
"The most beautiful scenario is the end of the negative rate in April”
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks to reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 7, 2023
BOJ’s Ueda meets Kishida and discusses monetary policy stance
The meeting is likely to make BOJ watchers nervous given that the central bank made a surprise policy tweak last December after similar talks.

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A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world