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Toru Fujioka
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 2, 2017
More economists predict inflation will peak this autumn
An increasing number of economists forecast that consumer prices will not only fail to meet the Bank of Japan's target, but that they will peak as soon as this autumn, in stark contrast with the view from Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda and his policy board.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 6, 2017
Experts say key criteria aligning in Japan's long battle to escape deflation
Japan's economy is running the hottest relative to capacity since the global financial crisis. More than four years after the Bank of Japan launched its radical monetary easing, key conditions are aligning in its long battle to truly escape from deflation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2017
Japanese husbands' pocket money seen shrinking as mothers gain more respect from kids
Salarymen have taken a pummeling in recent years — with pay stagnating and rising numbers of working women and mothers eroding their once-dominant position as the family's breadwinner.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 7, 2017
With Ginza land prices above bubble-era highs, real estate analysts expect correction
Land prices in Tokyo's central Chuo Ward, home to the famous Ginza shopping district, have jumped by 51 percent in four years. In Osaka, they are up by nearly half.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2017
Tokyo lost and found included ¥3.7 billion in cash last year
In addition to keys and eyeglasses and other commonly lost objects, millions of dollars worth of cash reaches the Tokyo police's lost and found department every year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2017
Regional underdog shows Japanese banks how to beat demographics
Critics say Kochi Shinkin Bank has lost its way and is acting more like an investment firm than a regional lender. Supporters say it shows that provincial banks can thrive in Japan even as their customer base shrinks, so long as they're prepared to adopt new business models.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2017
Rural Japan's folk traditions fading as residents age
Traditions die hard in the small mountain town of Kanegasaki, whose history includes a series of battles nearly 1,000 years ago that drove an ancestor of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to leave the area for southern Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Dec 21, 2016
Kuroda breathes easier, at least for now, as stars align for Bank of Japan
After a long year, the Bank of Japan unexpectedly finds itself in a sweet spot.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 19, 2016
Depopulating rust belt counts on 'robonomics' to run assembly lines
A withering factory town in the rust belt is looking for revival through a dose of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "robot revolution."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2016
Amamiya, aka 'Mr. BOJ,' shapes central bank policy behind the scenes
Masayoshi Amamiya is viewed as so essential to operations at the Bank of Japan that he's known inside the central bank as "Mr. BOJ."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 25, 2016
Retailers turn deaf ear to Kuroda's inflation pledge
While Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's vow to overshoot the Bank of Japan's 2 percent inflation target caused a stir among monetary policy watchers in September, it's yet to have an impact among retailers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 22, 2016
Kuroda's strategy shifts from shock and awe to bond market finesse
Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda stormed onto the global stage in 2013 with the subtlety of a Metallica concert, electrifying markets with a shock-and-awe strategy.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Sep 7, 2016
BOJ review of easing actions casts spotlight on core policy planning unit
The Bank of Japan's unprecedented review of its unprecedented monetary policy has stepped up focus on a key group of Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's allies.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 30, 2016
Kuroda leads BOJ to a policy crossroads
After more than three years of pumping out cheap money that has failed to secure its inflation target, the Bank of Japan has signaled a rethink.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 22, 2016
BOJ increasingly worried by strong yen, insiders say
Having adopted a negative interest rate on some excess reserves to penalize financial institutions for leaving money idle, the Bank of Japan may consider helping them lend by offering a negative rate on some loans, according to people familiar with talks at the BOJ.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2016
Kuroda ally says BOJ should use easing now rather than later
The Bank of Japan should expand already-record stimulus at its April meeting, as a wait-and-see stance risks further appreciation of the yen, according to Takatoshi Ito, a former colleague of BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 11, 2016
BOJ's backfire hangs over central bankers as IMF meetings start
The world's central bankers, already hitting the limits of their effectiveness on growth and inflation, are now contending with another risk: that additional stimulus could produce lackluster results and undercut investor confidence.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 7, 2016
BOJ's Kuroda says impact of next sales tax hike to be less than in 2014
Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said Monday that the impact of a sales tax increase scheduled for April 2017 would be much less than that which resulted from the hike in 2014 — sending Japan into a recession.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 13, 2016
Bank of Japan talking with global peers about turmoil in markets
The Bank of Japan has been communicating with officials around the world over turmoil in financial markets, Deputy Gov. Hiroshi Nakaso said, as stocks tumble and the yen surges.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2016
Kuroda sees limited impact of market turmoil on Japan's outlook
Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda plays down the prospect of market turmoil causing Japanese companies to pare back capital spending and wage increases, and expressed confidence in the underlying pace of inflation.

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