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October 27, 2025
 

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Toru Fujioka
Food inflation was highlighted as one of three factors to watch in deciding the timing of the central bank’s next rate hike.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 24, 2025
Japan’s faster inflation highlights need for Takaichi response
New Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has made confronting the cost of living crunch a priority.
Most economists in a survey predict that the Bank of Japan will not raise its benchmark rate at its policy meeting this month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 23, 2025
BOJ watchers push back rate hike call after Takaichi takes helm
Some 10% of 50 economists predict the BOJ will raise its benchmark rate at the end of a two-day policy meeting on Oct. 30, plunging from 36% in the previous survey.
Bank of Japan building in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Oct 20, 2025
BOJ board hawk calls for rate hike as Japan’s price norm shifts
"I believe that now is a prime opportunity to raise the policy interest rate,” Takata said in a speech to local business leaders in Hiroshima.
Bank of Japan building in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Oct 16, 2025
BOJ’s most hawkish member calls for rate hike amid price risks
Tamura's latest remarks suggest little shift in his stance even after Japan’s political landscape turned murky in recent weeks.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivers remarks on Wednesday on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Washington.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 16, 2025
Bessent says yen will settle if BOJ keeps taking right policies
The statement follows the U.S. treasury secretary's remarks in August that Japan’s central bank was behind the curve in addressing inflation.
Nominal wages rose 1.5% in August from a year earlier, decelerating from 3.4% in the previous month, according to a report from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 8, 2025
Japan’s wage growth slows, underscoring challenge for Takaichi
Nominal wages increased 1.5% in August from a year earlier, decelerating from 3.4% in the previous month and falling below economist expectations.
Etsuro Honda, who advises the ruling party's head Sanae Takaichi on economic policies, says a rate hike by the Bank of Japan this month would be difficult.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 7, 2025
Takaichi adviser and Abenomics architect says October too soon for BOJ rate hike
Remarks by Etsuro Honda, who advises the new ruling-party leader on economic policies, suggest the BOJ may wait, despite earlier speculation of an October move.
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda left the door open to policy shifts by reiterating the bank's stance on interest rates, giving no clear signal on a possible rate hike ahead of this month's board meeting.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 3, 2025
BOJ’s Ueda keeps options open by avoiding clear hints for rates
Ueda refrained from telegraphing any policy changes after market speculation over an impending rate hike gained momentum in recent weeks.
Tokyo inflation is holding steady in September as subsidies offset price pressures, supporting Bank of Japan's cautious policy path.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 26, 2025
Tokyo consumer inflation unexpectedly holds steady, backing BOJ’s caution
The sudden steadying of the main gauge shows anew the volatility of data as government measures meant to help consumers cope with soaring costs of living swing the results.
Market expectations for a rate hike when the Bank of Japan next sets policy on Oct. 30 have been gaining momentum as inflation has held steady and the economy has showed resilience.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 25, 2025
BOJ may raise rate as soon as October, says former board member
Market expectations for a rate hike when the bank next sets policy have been gaining momentum as inflation has held steady and the economy has showed resilience.
Takatoshi Ito, professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University, speaks during an interview in Tokyo in July 2017.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 24, 2025
Takatoshi Ito, Japanese inflation target advocate, dies at 74
Ito died on Sept. 20 from an unspecified illness, according to a statement on his personal website.
A former Bank of Japan chief economist says growing market speculation about a potential rate hike in October is underestimating the uncertainty caused by U.S President's Donald Trump's tariff campaign.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2025
BOJ’s October rate stance tough to call, its ex-chief economist says
Speculation over a potential rate hike underestimates the uncertainty wrought by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff campaign, Toshitaka Sekine says.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.5% in Tokyo in August from a year earlier, versus a 2.9% clip in the previous month, according to the internal affairs ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 29, 2025
Tokyo inflation slows on subsidies as BOJ stays on hike path
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.5% year on year in the capital in August, versus a 2.9% clip in July.
Bank of Japan rate hikes may continue though trade uncertainties remain, board member Junko Nakagawa says.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 28, 2025
BOJ board member reaffirms stance on raising interest rates
Junko Nakagawa's remarks indicate there’s at most a low chance of a move coming at the board's next meeting, which concludes on Sept. 19, as of now.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (second from left) walks with Fed Chair Jerome Powell (left), European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde (second from right) and Bank of England Gov. Andrew Bailey outside the Fed’s Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 24, 2025
BOJ's Ueda expects tight labor market to keep upward pressure on wages
The remarks are likely to support growing speculation of another interest rate hike this year, although the BOJ governor didn’t directly discuss monetary policy in a presentation.
Consumer prices in Japan rose 3.1% from a year earlier in July, slowing from a 3.3% gain in the previous month but still suggesting that inflation remains relatively sticky.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 22, 2025
Japan’s inflation hovers well above BOJ’s goal even as it slows
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 3.1% from a year earlier in July, slowing from a 3.3% gain a month earlier.
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 3, 2025
BOJ watchers bring forward next rate hike call after trade deals
The view has emerged after clarity over trade increased with U.S. President Donald Trump announcing deals, including one with Japan.
The Bank of Japan kept the overnight call rate at 0.5% at the end of a two-day policy meeting in a unanimous vote, according to a statement Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 31, 2025
BOJ keeps rates unchanged and lifts price view after U.S. trade deal
While the changes in the outlook suggested Gov. Kazuo Ueda’s board is closer to its next rate hike, the central bank also avoided dropping any clear hints as to the exact timing.
Bank of Japan officials view the trade deal with the U.S. as reducing a key source of uncertainty for Japan’s economy and businesses, allowing the central bank to focus on monitoring the tariffs’ actual impact in incoming economic data, according to people familiar with the matter.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 25, 2025
BOJ is said to see potential rate hike environment this year
Assuming there’s no change to the U.S. tariff deal, the central bank will likely have enough data by the end of the year to be able to consider whether a rate hike is appropriate.
While the pace of gains in consumer prices in the capital slowed in July from a year earlier, the data send a fresh reminder that households are still coping with higher living costs overall.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 25, 2025
Tokyo inflation slows while staying well above BOJ’s target
A decline in utility costs helped slow the overall gauge, but households are still coping with higher living costs overall.
Bear kills another person in Japan in record year for fatal attacks
Police investigate the scene of a bear attack that killed one person and injured three others on Friday in the village of Higashinaruse in Akita Prefecture.
Tokyo launches English-language international school database
A screenshot of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's international schools portal site
Strong quake shakes Hokkaido as authorities urge vigilance
Kunashiri Island is seen across the Nemuro Strait, just before sunrise from Rausu, Hokkaido. A strong earthquake struck the area at a depth of about 40 kilometers early Saturday.
New tourism minister calls concentration of tourists in certain areas 'very serious'
Tourism minister Yasushi Kaneko holds a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Florian Wiltschko: ‘Shinto helps me understand and live within Japanese culture’
Florian Wiltschko’s interest in Shintoism began with a trip to Japan in his teens. He now serves as the supplicant priest at the 355-year-old Hisai Hachiman Shrine in Mie Prefecture.
Japan’s youth are apathetic toward the climate crisis. Could anime change that?
“Future Kid Takara,” a series of anime shorts to be aired on NHK Educational TV in November, attempts to educate children about climate change.
Loss to Wallabies doesn't dampen Japan’s optimism
Japan's Michael Leitch controls the ball during the match against Australia on Saturday.
Stars align for Kim-Trump meeting — but any talks will be on N.K. leader’s terms
A South Korean soldier stands next to a TV broadcasting a news report about a possible summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, at the main railway station in Seoul on Wednesday.
New ‘immigration minister’ post signals Takaichi Cabinet’s priorities
Kimi Onoda, economic security minister and minister for harmonious coexistence with foreign nationals, arrives at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Number of suicide cases among students in Japan hits record high in 2024
The health ministry's Suicide White Paper for 2024 has found that numbers for both men and women peak at age 21, with “concerns over future career paths” being identified as the most likely cause.

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