author

 
Menu
Search
 
May 01, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Toru Fujioka
For Toru Fujioka's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. BOJ officials responded in July to upside risks to inflation by essentially raising the upper limit for 10-year bond yields, in the first surprise move under Gov. Kazuo Ueda.
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2023
BOJ may review easing and guidance this month, ex-official says
The central bank faces a recent rise in yields, the yen’s slide and inflation consistently coming in stronger than expected.
Bank of Japan board members discussed progress toward their inflation target and the need to put together an exit strategy in their September policy meeting.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 2, 2023
BOJ board members see price goal progress and need to plan exit
The comments are likely to strengthen expectations among BOJ watchers that the central bank will adjust policy in early 2024.
Bank of Japan officials view Gov. Kazuo Ueda’s scholarly communication style as the most obvious difference from the previous governor.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 19, 2023
Ueda abandons ‘shock and awe’ on path toward BOJ normalization
BOJ officials view Ueda’s scholarly communication style as the most obvious difference from the previous governor.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 13, 2023
BOJ watchers bring forward rate hike forecasts on Ueda’s remarks
Economists moved forward their forecasts for an end to negative interest rates after the BOJ chief touched on that possibility in an interview.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. A board member with the central bank Naoki Tamura has hinted that officials might be able to confirm some time early next year they’ve hit the goal needed to usher in policy change.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2023
Leading BOJ hawk hints at chance of policy shift in early 2024
"The achievement is finally and clearly within sight after a decade of large-scale monetary easing aimed at attaining it,” board member Naoki Tamura said.
The Bank of Japan's inflation outlook doesn’t reflect reality, according to one of the country’s leading experts on prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 29, 2023
BOJ’s outlook doesn’t reflect reality, key price expert says
While the bank sharply raised its price outlook last month, it was still kept too low, said University of Tokyo economics professor Tsutomu Watanabe.
Christine Lagarde (left), president of the European Central Bank, Kazuo Ueda, governor of the Bank of Japan (center) and Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, at the Jackson Hole economic symposium in Moran, Wyoming, on Friday
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 27, 2023
BOJ chief says strategy backed by below-target inflation
Gov. Kazuo Ueda said price growth remains slower than the central bank’s goal, explaining why officials are continuing with their current strategy.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2023
Kishida under pressure to spend even as debt costs rise
The prime minister pivoted away from his previous stance Tuesday by scrapping September-end plans to stop subsidies that cap gasoline prices.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Some economists see the central bank’s loosening of restraints on 10-year bond yields as a message to the government that it now will have to do financial management responsibly, because the BOJ won’t control yields as firmly as it used to.
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2023
Japan’s fiscal plight draws scrutiny after BOJ policy tweak
Tokyo seeking to expand spending on defense and child care, even as the national debt has grown to almost 260% of gross domestic product.
The headquarters of Bank of Japan in Tokyo. The central bank has sharply raised its inflation forecast for this fiscal year and sees risks on the upside for this year and next.
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2023
No further BOJ policy shifts expected in 2023 after surprise tweak
A survey last week found 26% of 41 economists see next April as the most likely time for further adjustments.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda has repeatedly pushed back against the idea that a major pivot on policy is looming by emphasizing his doubts about the sustainability of price rises.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 25, 2023
BOJ set to stick with easing as markets see clock ticking on yield control
Since taking the helm in April, Gov. Kazuo Ueda has repeatedly pushed back against the idea that a major pivot on policy is looming.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 19, 2023
Tokyo traders await June inflation data ahead of BOJ policy meeting
Consumer prices excluding fresh food and energy costs have seen price gains hovering close to a high of more than four decades.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 14, 2023
BOJ to tweak yield control this month, ex-official says
Hideo Hayakawa, who is also a former BOJ chief economist, said that the central bank must raise its inflation outlook for this fiscal year to match reality.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 13, 2023
Market reflects rising speculation over BOJ policy tweak ahead of July meeting
At least some market players think the BOJ may choose to reshape its policy of holding down 10-year yields, to help boost an economy already showing signs of improved price and wage trends.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2023
Tokyo inflation speeds up again as Japan production sputters
Consumer prices excluding fresh food increased 3.2% in the capital from a year earlier, rising at a slightly faster pace than last month’s revised figures.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 29, 2023
BOJ chief says confidence in 2024 price gains could bring a policy shift
Ueda has repeatedly stressed the high cost of premature tightening as green shoots finally emerge to generate sustainable inflation.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2023
Weak yen now the key to stronger currency and BOJ pivot later
An extended period of weakness could counterintuitively lay the ground for long-run strength should it help the BOJ boost growth and finally pivot from supereasy monetary policy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 27, 2023
Official behind last year’s ¥9.33 trillion yen intervention strategy reappointed
Masato Kanda has become just the fourth official in the past three decades to serve a third year as vice finance minister for international affairs, Finance Ministry documents show.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 14, 2023
Goldman bumps up Japan price forecasts to widen gap with BOJ
Goldman cited a weaker yen and oil prices as major reasons for its revision.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2023
BOJ’s Ueda likely to hold with bond market on his side for now
Gov. Kazuo Ueda has repeatedly signaled his intention to take time before making any major changes to the central bank’s stimulus.
'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.

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

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

A young restaurant leads the way in Karuizawa
A young restaurant leads the way in Karuizawa

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER