Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Business Topics
Economy Sep 19, 2013
Trade deficit widens on back of rising imports
Japan’s trade deficit swelled to a larger-than-forecast ¥960.3 billion in August, the 14th consecutive month of red ink, as imports outpaced growth in exports, customs data showed Thursday. Boosted by higher fuel costs exacerbated by the weakened yen, imports jumped 16 percent from a ...
Economy Sep 19, 2013
Commercial land prices in three metro regions rise
The Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya metropolitan areas saw commercial land prices rise for the first time in five years in the year to July 1, a government land price survey says. Commercial land rose 0.6 percent on average for the three major metropolitan areas. ...
Economy Sep 19, 2013
Top TPP negotiators thrash out hurdles ahead of talks
Chief negotiators for the Trans-Pacific Partnership opened a meeting Wednesday to thrash out thorny issues in a bid to streamline the talks for a deal by the end of the year. The negotiators from Japan, the U.S. and 10 other Pacific Rim countries have ...
Economy Sep 18, 2013
Japan offers TPP tariff cuts for nearly 90% of U.S. goods
Japan has made a bilateral proposal to scratch tariffs on nearly 90 percent of U.S. imports under the 12-member Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, an informed source said Wednesday. The percentage of tariff-free items would thus top the 88.4 percent that Japan agreed to eliminate within ...
Economy Sep 18, 2013
Vacant homes highlight hole in 'Abenomics'
by Kathleen Chu and Katsuyo Kuwako
Pieces of broken wood dangle and sway like autumn leaves from the window frames of vacant homes in the Inariyato district in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, where taped-over mailbox slots tell a story of abandonment. More than 50 houses and apartments, almost 20 percent of ...
Economy Sep 17, 2013
Japan warned U.S. of blackout risk
by Jacob Adelman
The U.S. Department of Energy was informed by Japanese officials that the world’s third-largest economy risked a catastrophic power failure as it prepared to close its last operating nuclear reactor last year. Those warnings, detailed in redacted documents released to Bloomberg by the U.S. ...
Economy Sep 17, 2013
Cabinet at odds over corporate tax
Cabinet members in charge of economic and fiscal policies remained at odds Tuesday over whether to cut the corporate tax rate to soften the negative impact of the consumption tax hike planned for next April. “Is it reasonable to cut the corporate tax rate ...
Economy Sep 17, 2013
IMF approves Cyprus bailout funds
The International Monetary Fund approved Monday the release of €84.7 million ($113.1 million) in bailout funds to Cyprus. The IMF executive board gave the go-ahead for the release after completing the first review of Cyprus’s performance under a three-year, billion-dollar loan program the IMF ...
Economy Sep 17, 2013
Greece 'back on track': Samaras
The Greek economy is “back on track” but is likely to need another six years to return to pre-crisis levels, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said Monday. “We are not out of the woods yet. There are many problems we have to deal with,” Samaras ...
Economy Sep 16, 2013
Wage gap takes spotlight in German elections
Chancellor Angela Merkel often boasts during the campaign for next Sunday’s elections that Germany has one of Europe’s lowest jobless rates at around 6.8 percent. But it comes at a price. As many as 3 million people in Europe’s top economy earn less than ...
Economy Sep 16, 2013
Improved economic signs support consumption tax hike: Hayashi
by Kazuaki Nagata
Given the improving economic climate, the 3-point consumption tax hike should go ahead as scheduled next April, agriculture minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a business conference Monday. Economic indexes for the April-June quarter say it is “not a red signal, not a yellow signal. ...
Economy Sep 15, 2013
Philippines, Japan agree to increase flights
The Philippines and Japan have agreed to increase commercial flights between their countries to boost tourism and business, a Philippine official said. Carmelo Arcilla, executive director of the Philippine Civil Aeronautics Board, said the agreement to increase “the traffic rights or total maximum flight ...