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.
Editorial Sep 23, 2013
Monetary easing lifts land prices
It appears that the monetary easing pushed by the Abe administration through Bank of Japan's purchasing operations is gradually raising land prices in some urban areas.
Politics & Diplomacy Sep 4, 2013
Abe reportedly to announce tax hike decision Oct. 2
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won't announce his decision on whether to raise the consumption tax until Oct. 2, a government source says.
Business Aug 18, 2013
Japan's ¥1,000,000,000,000,000 debt no problem for BOJ chief Kuroda
by William Pesek
Haruhiko Kuroda doesn’t wear a wizard’s hat when he arrives at Bank of Japan headquarters each morning. Once inside, I do wonder if he dons a cloak, waves a magic wand and concocts mysterious potions. Kuroda has done something truly supernatural in his five ...
Editorial Jul 16, 2013
Few feeling the economic recovery
The Bank of Japan on July 11 upgraded its assessment of the Japanese economy for the seventh straight month and said that it is “starting to recover moderately” on the strength of various economic indexes turning upward, including improving business sentiment and steady consumer ...
Business Jul 16, 2013
G-20 urged to discuss structural reforms
The Group of 20 top finance officials should address structural issues such as capital control in emerging economies in order to boost medium- and long-term global economic growth, according to former Bank of Japan Executive Director Eiji Hirano. While acknowledging that a scaling back ...
Editorial Jul 3, 2013
Business sentiment mixed
Japan's quarterly "tankan" survey shows mixed business sentiments. Small and medium-size firms so far don't seem to have benefited much from "Abenomics.
Economy Jun 22, 2013
As Fed eyes QE exit, BOJ may need to up easing
While the U.S. Federal Reserve has offered a timetable for scaling back its quantitative easing regime, the Bank of Japan may face calls for additional easing, some observers say. Stock markets around the globe tumbled and U.S. Treasury yields surged after Fed Chairman Ben ...
Financial Markets Jun 14, 2013
Stocks take bearish plunge
The Nikkei stock average plunges more than 6 percent to its lowest level in over two months.
Editorial May 9, 2013
Inflation goal kills BOJ flexibility
The Bank of Japan should not stick to its 2 percent inflation goal at the expense of flexibility in its monetary policy. The goal also could cause undesirable side effects.
Japan-related Apr 11, 2013
Japan: a most interesting story in economics
by Neil Irwin
Regardless of whether the Japanese economy makes a Keynesian recovery or enters a gargantuan sovereign debt crisis, there will be lessons for all.
Business | JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES Apr 8, 2013
Team Abe's grand plan leaves ghosts in charge of a haunted house
by Noriko Hama
As I observe Team Abe in action at the helm of the Bank of Japan and elsewhere, a rather terrifying passage from a poem by William Hughes Mearns comes to mind: “Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn’t there. He wasn’t ...
Editorial Mar 20, 2013
BOJ must proceed with caution
The Bank of Japan has agreed to adopt a 2 percent inflation target, but the BOJ is asking for trouble if it makes such a price rise its ultimate goal.