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September 19, 2025
 

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JAPANESE ECONOMY

The Bank of Japan has maintained a wait-and-see approach for most of the year.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 17, 2025
Bank of Japan set to hold rates steady even as inflation remains high
It is expected to keep the policy rate at 0.5% at its meeting this week.
Japan's exports slipped 0.1% in August from a year earlier, led by a 13.8% drop in the value of shipments to the U.S., with cars the main drag.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 17, 2025
Japan’s exports fall for fourth month as U.S. shipments tumble
Exports slipped 0.1% in August from a year earlier, led by cars and steel, the Finance Ministry reported Wednesday.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief tariff negotiator, speaks on Tuesday about the implementation of the Japan-U.S. trade deal.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 16, 2025
U.S. tariffs on Japanese autos formally cut to 15% from 27.5%
The reduction is a long-awaited implementation of the terms of a July 22 agreement.
Drawn by reforms and growing shareholder focus, activist investors are ramping up buying Japanese stocks.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 16, 2025
Activist funds ramp up Japan bets after record bids last year
The 10 largest activist investors in Japan put an estimated ¥890 billion into Japanese stocks in the first half of this year.
The average summer bonus for employees of major companies in Japan has now increased for the fourth year in a row.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 14, 2025
Summer bonuses at major Japan firms hit record
The shipbuilding, retail and finance sectors all posted significant jumps, while both the steel and service industries saw an overall decline.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato reaffirmed in a joint statement their commitment to allowing markets to determine currency exchange rates and not targeting them for competitive advantage.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 12, 2025
U.S. and Japan pledge not to manipulate forex for competitive advantage
Tokyo has spent close to $150 billion in the last three years trying to prop up the yen with the last move in July last year.
A screen displays share prices outside a securities firm in Tokyo. Some activists believe Japan’s corporate governance reforms will touch more firms, especially smaller ones.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2025
Activist AVI poised to boost holdings of Japan small-cap shares
The plan is an example of how activists are shaking up corporate Japan as they plow capital into the country given the Tokyo bourse telling firms to raise their enterprise value.
False social media stories about Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba planning mass immigration obscure Japan’s real and growing reliance on foreign labor.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 12, 2025
Japan needs an immigration debate, not social media myths
There’s no mass immigration from the Global South into Japan, though you might not know that if you primarily consume your news on social media.
Business sentiment among major Japanese companies turned positive for the first time in two quarters in July to September, according to a government survey released Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 11, 2025
Sentiment among big Japanese firms turns positive for first time in two quarters
The business sentiment index represents the proportion of firms seeing their business conditions improve from the previous quarter minus that of those feeling the opposite.
Residential buildings in the Harumi district of Tokyo. Condominium associations have started to invest in bonds to try and keep pace with inflation.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2025
Japan’s condo associations start buying bonds to fund repairs
The move by the associations is meant keep pace with inflation amid rising repair costs.
The Bank of Japan's wait-and-see approach is likely to continue given the political climate and the tariff situation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 11, 2025
Rate increase in Japan less likely following Ishiba's resignation
Political uncertainty will make a move higher in October difficult.
Traders in Tokyo celebrate an earlier record high closing of the Nikkei 225. The benchmark index has been rallying in recent days on trade optimism and political hope.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 10, 2025
Tokyo stocks achieve record close after strong performance on Wall Street
A sustained rally has followed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s announcement of his resignation.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief negotiator, says that U.S. tariffs on Japanese autos will fall soon.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 9, 2025
Akazawa heralds U.S. trade deal as he moots wrinkle in it
He notes Japan cannot finance any project that contravenes its laws.
A customer shops at a Takeya store in Tokyo in July.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 9, 2025
Hidden inflation drives Japanese consumers to price-tracking sites
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 3.1% in July from the previous year.
The Nikkei Stock Average's opening, high and low prices on Tuesday are seen on a stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 9, 2025
Nikkei 225 hits record on Ishiba resignation news, then falls back in afternoon
The benchmark reached a new all-time high in the morning of 44,185.73
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick argues that U.S. President Donald Trump has sole authority to invest Japan's promised $550 billion.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 8, 2025
Search is on for loopholes in Japan’s $550 billion investment pledge
The pledge was described over the weekend by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as essentially a blank checkbook for U.S. President Donald Trump.
Takeover offers by foreign firms are increasing in Japan, backed by government guidelines that instructed companies to give "sincere consideration” to such proposals.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2025
Japan set for record number of takeover offers from foreign firms
Foreign firms' proposals to buy or acquire majority stakes in Japanese companies are on pace to exceed last year’s record of 193.
Gross domestic product grew at an annualized pace of 2.2% last quarter, the revised report said, indicating that consumer spending is gaining momentum.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 8, 2025
Japan confirms GDP growth as spending holds up amid U.S. tariffs
The Japanese economy grew at an annualized pace of 2.2% in April-June, exceeding an initial estimate of a 1.0% expansion, the Cabinet Office said.
Minimum hourly wages in Japan's 47 prefectures are set to average ¥1,121, up by a record ¥66 from the previous year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2025
Japan to hike minimum wage by record amount, backing BOJ’s rate hikes
A record 6.3% increase takes the minimum wage to an average of ¥1,121 per hour across the country's 47 prefectures, the largest increase since 1978.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief tariff negotiator, sign trade agreements on Thursday in Washington.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2025
Japan's $550 billion investment pledge outlined in MOU
U.S. President Donald Trump will direct the investments and the projects funded by Japan will be controlled by the United States.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japan dispatches five language education 'partners' to India
Five members of the Japan Foundation's Nihongo Partners program (front) gather at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Monday.
End of U.S. de minimis exemption causes headaches for some businesses in Japan
Proxy-shopping services — companies that ship Japanese products ranging from cosmetics and snacks to limited-edition stationery on behalf of customers abroad — are already feeling the impact of the U.S. suspending de minimis exemptions.
Over 90% of low-income families in Japan struggling to feed children
Save the Children Japan domestic program chief Sonoko Kawakami speaks at a news conference in Tokyo in July. A survey conducted by the group in June has found that over 90% of low-income households with children face food insecurity.
Struggling train firm in Chiba Prefecture turns to self-deprecating humor
"Laughter is important when you're in a difficult situation," said Katsunori Takemoto, president of Choshi Electric Railway, on Aug. 5 in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture.
Japan’s front-line researchers see bright path ahead for dementia treatment
A scientist looks at scans of grains at the Memory Centre at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital (HUG) in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 6, 2023.
Still plenty to fight for, says Japan’s team leader at worlds
Race walker Hayato Katsuki earned bronze for Japan on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships on Saturday.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japanese athletes inspired by raucous home fans at World Athletics Championships
Fans cheer on the home favorites during the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.

Podcast

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Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
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