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May 01, 2024
 

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Toru Fujioka
For Toru Fujioka's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 3, 2014
BOJ struggling to meet inflation deadline, former vice governor says
The Bank of Japan may need more time to achieve its 2 percent inflation target and the country can't ignore harm caused by an abrupt weakening of the yen, said Toshiro Muto, a two-time contender to lead the central bank.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 22, 2014
Weak yen puts Japan at risk of recession, says ex-BOJ deputy
Japan is in danger of falling into a recession as the yen's decline reduces the purchasing power of households and squeezes corporate profits, according to a former deputy governor of the Bank of Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 13, 2014
BOJ holds course as analysts delay action calls
The Bank of Japan on Friday raised its view of overseas economies while maintaining unprecedented stimulus launched as part of BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's bid to stoke 2 percent inflation in two years.
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2014
Big BOJ balance sheet may be inflation target's legacy
Bank of Japan officials are considering maintaining a large balance sheet for the central bank even after it achieves its inflation target, reducing the risk of a surge in long-term bond yields, sources said.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 1, 2014
Assured BOJ foils analysts' predictions
The confidence that Bank of Japan officials are demonstrating in achieving their inflation target is lowering the chances of additional monetary easing this year even as the economy weakens.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 25, 2014
BOJ said worried by bond traders' ignoring of inflation
Bank of Japan officials are increasingly concerned the nation's bond market is failing to reflect emerging inflation, raising the risk of a sudden surge in yields, sources said.
BUSINESS
Apr 23, 2014
BOJ will not buy bonds indefinitely
Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda has said the BOJ will not buy bonds just to keep down the government's debt-servicing costs after it achieves its goal of stable 2 percent inflation.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Apr 14, 2014
Higher prices risk 'Abenomics' backlash
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's bid to vault Japan out of 15 years of deflation risks losing public support by spurring too much inflation too quickly as companies add extra price increases to this month's sales tax bump.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2013
Japan Inc. builds mountain of cash
Japanese companies' cash holdings rose to a record last quarter, highlighting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's struggle to spur the investment and wage increases needed to end a 15-year deflationary malaise.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 30, 2013
Abe betting this tax hike will be different
It's different this time. The four most dangerous words in markets, according to former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Apr 5, 2013
Kuroda's strategy follows in footsteps of U.S., Europe
Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda has followed the lead of his U.S. and European counterparts in swinging from incremental moves to unprecedented stimulus.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2012
Abe's return could ease yen, aid exporters
The economy has shrunk almost 10 percent in the half decade since Shinzo Abe was last prime minister, as a soaring yen hollows out manufacturing. Abe's return may be exporters' best chance yet to halt the damage.
BUSINESS
Jun 13, 2012
Stimulus advocates tapped for BOJ slots
The government has nominated two economists to the Bank of Japan's Policy Board who have previously signaled support for stimulus, underscoring forecasts for policy makers to expand asset purchases in coming months.
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2012
Output fall clouds recovery
Industrial production unexpectedly dropped in February, undercutting signs of an economic rebound in the first quarter as policymakers assess whether to apply further stimulus.
BUSINESS
Mar 26, 2011
Shirakawa snubs '30s-style JGB-buying for rebuilding
Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa is under fire for refusing to consider 1930s-style purchases of government bonds to fund reconstruction from the nation's largest earthquake on record.
BUSINESS
Jun 17, 2010
Kan may need ¥7 trillion tax hike
Prime Minister Naoto Kan may have to raise taxes by as much as ¥7 trillion to fulfill his pledge to cap bond sales in coming years, according to an independent adviser to the government.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2010
JBIC vows to help companies regain global edge
The Japan Bank for International Cooperation will take more risks to help companies win overseas projects after they lost bids in Abu Dhabi and Vietnam, the head of the state-run lender said.
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2009
Strong yen weighs on exporters
Exporters are in danger of being left behind by a global trade recovery as the nation's change in government ushers in a tolerance for exchange-rate gains that threaten to erode their profits.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Apr 14, 2009
Stimulus called costly, short-term fix
The record ¥15.4 trillion stimulus package may give the economy a short-term boost, but leave it saddled with a debt burden that will smother future growth, economists have said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2009
Hunt is on for husbands as slump deepens
When Yumiko Iwate's pay was cut last year, she and her female colleagues all agreed there was only one thing to do: Find a husband.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Yen rebounds strongly after first slide past ¥160 since 1990
The yen dropped to ¥160.245 per dollar on Monday before heading into the other direction to ¥155.01 amid speculation of an intervention by Japanese currency authorities.
Did Japan intervene to prop up the yen? Analysts think it did.
A man walks past an electronic board displaying the exchange rate for the yen against the U.S. dollar (right) in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAL cancels international flight after captain gets drunk at Dallas hotel
A Japan Airlines' flight from Dallas to Tokyo was canceled last week after its captain got drunk at a local hotel.
Golden Week crowds greeted with high temperatures as holiday period kicks off
The departure lobby for domestic flights is crowded with travelers at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Saturday, the first day of this year's Golden Week holidays.
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.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.

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[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

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Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree
By Alex K.T. Martin

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