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April 28, 2024
 

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Leika Kihara
For Leika Kihara's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda addresses business leaders in Nagoya on Monday.
BUSINESS
Nov 6, 2023
BOJ chief sees inflation progress but warns of uncertainty
Japan's economy is likely to continue recovering, but the outlook was "extremely uncertain," Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said.
The Tokyo core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food but includes fuel costs, rose 2.7% in October from a year earlier, exceeding market forecasts for a 2.5% gain.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 27, 2023
BOJ in focus as core inflation in Tokyo unexpectedly accelerates
The data reinforces expectations the BOJ will revise up its inflation forecasts when it produces fresh quarterly projections at next week's meeting.
Fruit and vegetables for sale at the entrance to a supermarket in a shopping precinct in Tokyo on Oct. 7.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 20, 2023
Japan's core inflation slows below 3% for first time in over a year
The rate has tracked above the Bank of Japan's 2% target for 18 straight months.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. The central bank is likely to discuss raising its inflation projection for fiscal year 2023 and 2024 at its policy meeting later this month.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2023
BOJ seen lifting inflation forecasts as pressure on policy grows
Central bank is also seen upgrading its forecast for 2024 from the current 1.9%, to at or above 2.0%.
Hiroshi Watanabe, former Japanese currency policy chief and onetime head of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, speaks during an interview in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Oct 15, 2023
IMF warning on China puts 'Japanization' risk in spotlight
Stalling inflation and a deepening real estate crisis were said to be among the biggest risks to global growth during a recent IMF and World Bank meeting.
An electric monitor displays the yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar and the Nikkei share average outside a brokerage in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 6, 2023
Japan's re-defined intervention trigger may slow yen bears
The new interpretation of "excessive" yen volatility is aimed at keeping investors on guard rather than lowering the threshold for intervention.
Japan bought yen in September 2022, its first foray in the market to boost its currency since 1998, after a Bank of Japan decision to maintain an ultraloose monetary policy drove the yen as low as ¥145 per dollar.
BUSINESS / Markets / EXPLAINER
Oct 2, 2023
What intervention by Japan to stem yen weakness could look like
Aside from verbal intervention, the government has several options to stem what it considers excessive yen falls.
A rebound in auto output and falling raw material costs helped lift Japan's business sentiment in the third quarter.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 2, 2023
Japan's business mood improves as economic revival continues
The tankan survey suggests conditions for the BOJ to phase out its massive stimulus could fall into place, even as policymakers remain cautious.
Kazuo Ueda, governor of the Bank of Japan, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Sept. 22.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 30, 2023
Concern over losses won't affect monetary decision, BOJ chief says
Gov. Kazuo Ueda also said there was "still a distance to go" before the BOJ exits ultraloose monetary policy.
People make their way through Tokyo's Ameyoko shopping district. In a sign rising inflation is already taking a toll on consumption, Japan's household spending suffered its biggest drop in nearly 2½ years in July.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Sep 7, 2023
China's economic gloom hangs over Japan's long-awaited recovery
If Beijing fails to shore up demand with meaningful stimulus, that could potentially delay an exit from the Bank of Japan's ultraloose monetary policy.
Hajime Takata, a member of the policy board at the Bank of Japan
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2023
BOJ policymaker sees signs of change in deflationary mindset
Conditions for phasing out the bank's massive stimulus seem to be falling into place, central bank policymaker Hajime Takata said.
Bank of Japan board member Toyoaki Nakamura says it is uncertain whether smaller companies can earn enough profits to keep hiking wages next year and beyond.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 31, 2023
BOJ policymaker warns against premature monetary tightening
Tightening monetary policy before rising prices are accompanied by higher wages would hurt domestic demand and corporate profits, Toyoaki Nakamura said.
The Tokyo core consumer price index rose 2.8% in August from a year earlier, slowing for the second straight month but remaining well above the central bank's 2% target.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 25, 2023
Inflation in Tokyo slowed in August but stayed above BOJ target
The Tokyo core consumer price index, which excludes volatile fresh food but includes fuel costs, rose 2.8% in August from a year earlier.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks to reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 22, 2023
BOJ's Ueda meets Kishida but says yen volatility wasn't discussed
The talks took place after the dollar's recent ascent above ¥145, a level that last September triggered Japan's first yen-buying operation since 1998.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference, following the central bank's policy meeting, on July 28.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2023
BOJ debated chance of sustained inflation at July meeting
The central bank's upbeat view on the inflation outlook suggests they are now more convinced that conditions for phasing out stimulus could fall in place.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. BOJ Deputy Gov. Shinichi Uchida has said there is still a long way to go before conditions fall into place for the bank to raise its short-term interest rate target.
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2023
BOJ tweak not prelude to ultralow rates exit: deputy governor
Shinichi Uchida said there is still a long way to go before the BOJ can raise its short-term interest rate target from the current minus 0.1%.
International Monetary Fund chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 26, 2023
IMF urges BOJ to move away from yield control and prepare for future tightening
The remarks came ahead of the BOJ's meeting on Friday, where the board will release price forecasts and debate whether to adjust policy.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a meeting of the government's top economic council on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 20, 2023
Japan cuts growth forecast and projects inflation over 2% BOJ target
The estimates come ahead of a Bank of Japan policy meeting next week, set to be closely watched amid market expectations the bank will soon phase out its massive stimulus program.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 12, 2023
Japan households' inflation expectations rise, keeping pressure on BOJ
The ratio of Japanese households expecting prices to rise a year from now stood at 86.3% in June, up from 85.7% in March to hit the highest level since June 2022, the BOJ survey showed.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2023
BOJ highlights broadening wage and price hikes in report on regional Japan
In a quarterly report, the central bank also said some firms were considering raising the prices of their goods and services to guard against the prospect of rising labor costs.
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.
Number of homeless in Japan hits record low
Homeless people sleep on the street in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in August 2021.
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.
'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.
Air China to buy 100 locally made C919 jets in $11 billion deal
A Comac C919 during an aerial display at the Singapore Airshow at Changi Exhibition Centre in Singapore in February
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.
Tokyo's Koto Ward by-election a race unlike any other
Natsumi Sakai, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s candidate and one of four female candidates running in the by-election, touts her experience as a cancer survivor and midwife as having prepared her to tackle issues that women currently face.
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.
Top U.S. and China diplomats talk tough amid warnings of new ‘downward spiral’
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Friday
Kyotographie's strong 12th edition shines light into the margins
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, who goes by Yoriyas, turned to photography, shooting motion while in motion himself, after an injury forced him to give up his career as a professional breakdancer.

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

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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

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