author

 
Menu
Search
 
May 04, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Masaki Kondo
For Masaki Kondo's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 19, 2023
Netflix and Amazon addiction turns into ‘digital deficit’ and hassle for the yen
The deficit from spending on such services reached ¥4.8 trillion last year, almost 90% of Japan’s services account deficit.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Apr 1, 2023
A $3 trillion threat to global financial markets looms in Japan
Just over a week before a momentous leadership change at the Bank of Japan, investors are gearing up for the seemingly inevitable end to a decade of ultralow interest rates.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 13, 2023
Global bond bulls face reckoning however new BOJ chief shapes policy
Beyond the yield fireworks any hawkish policy shift may soon ignite, steady selling of overseas bonds in favor of local alternatives by Japanese investors is already a market fact.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 9, 2023
Japan investors sold record foreign debt in 2022 as hedging costs rose
Money managers in the nation cut holdings of foreign fixed-income securities by ¥23.8 trillion over the period, an all-time high in data since 1996.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2023
Traders eye chance of further BOJ tweaks with ‘Pandora’s box open’
Another increase in the key 10-year yield's permitted trading ceiling is seen as the most likely course of action, should the BOJ act.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 13, 2023
Bets grow on BOJ shift that could rattle global markets
Japan's benchmark bond yield breached the central bank's new ceiling, with traders positioning for more changes to its yield-curve control policy next week.u00a0
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 12, 2023
BOJ may end yield-curve control next quarter
The forecast mirrors growing expectations among investors that the BOJ's decision last month to double the 10-year yield ceiling to 0.5% was just the first step of more policy changes.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2022
Bank of Japan buys record amount of bonds to defend governor’s new target
The combination of additional fixed-rate and fixed-amount purchases announced Friday have boosted this month's buying to about u00a517 trillion.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 8, 2022
Japan’s life insurers are dumping foreign bonds at a record pace
While the yen has already seen a strong rebound from its October low, expectations for further gains make it unlikely Japanese investors will rush back into foreign securities.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 19, 2022
Stealth intervention talk permeates market as yen approaches ¥150
Dropping to u00a5150 is seen as an important psychological level in Japan and a break may increase pressure on authorities for further action.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 12, 2022
Yen weakens past level that triggered last intervention
The currency fell to u00a5146.23 per dollar, surpassing the u00a5145.90 level that prompted Japan's first intervention to buy the yen since 1998.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 30, 2022
Yen’s reversal toward ¥140 revives talk of currency intervention
The Japanese currency has tumbled close to 4% this month and traded around the u00a5138.50 level Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 20, 2022
Traders need to rethink tumbling yen as a carry funding favorite
Analysis shows investors may be better off considering the Swiss franc, Taiwan dollar and euro rather than the rapidly weakening yen.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Apr 1, 2022
Shifts in yen signal Japan has ‘lost its mojo’ as supreme safe haven
When measured against a basket of units of trading partners, the yen's fading allure can clearly be seen.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 27, 2022
Day traders in Japan bet the world is wrong about a weak yen
As the yen slumped to a six-year low against the dollar last week, retail investor net-long aggregate positions in the currency climbed to u00a5258 billion — an all-time high.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 22, 2022
Flood of Japanese cash ready to buy Treasurys as potential Fed rate hike looms
Treasurys are off to their worst start to a year in over four decades, but Japanese investors may soon ride to their rescue.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 14, 2022
BOJ intervenes to cap Japanese yields just as havens find favor
The Bank of Japan offered to buy an unlimited amount of five to 10-year bonds at fixed rates in a bid to cap the recent rise in yields.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 9, 2022
Persuading markets the BOJ won't pivot is getting harder for its governor
Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda remains the last staunch dove at the world's biggest central banks outside of China as inflation gathers pace.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 25, 2022
Wall of money stays put in Japan’s bonds during global turbulence
Japanese bonds have largely escaped the rout that has jolted other debt markets as the central bank's ultraloose monetary policy keeps yields locked in a narrow range.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2021
World’s biggest pension fund makes record cut to U.S. bond weighting
The Government Pension Investment Fund made a record cut to its weighting of U.S. government bonds last fiscal year as it increased investments into European sovereign debt.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
Yen swings stir talk that Japan is in the FX market once again
An electronic screen in Tokyo displays the yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar and the graph showing its recent swings, on Thursday.
Harajuku strives to reclaim its former glory — and surpass it
Laforet Harajuku, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last year, has been a witness to the district's evolution over the years.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Japan's May 1 intervention may have cost ¥3.66 trillion, BOJ data suggests
An electronic screen displays a graph showing Japanese yen exchange rates surging against the dollar amid signs of intervention by authorities, in Tokyo on Thursday.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
By Stephen Mansfield

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass
Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER