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July 27, 2024
 

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Yumi Teso
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 10, 2024
Investors brace for volatility as BOJ seeks to cut bond buying
The Bank of Japan bought only ¥4.5 trillion of government bonds last month, the lowest amount since March 2013.
A euro symbol sculpture at the European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. Some investors are betting on the chance that European currencies will gain further against the yen.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 29, 2024
Yen nears record low versus euro on carry and interest rate outlook
The Japanese currency has weakened 1.5% against the euro this month and is approaching its previous record low of ¥171.56 reached on April 29.
Some strategists have predicted that Japan’s 10-year sovereign yield will rise to 2% by the end of 2026.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 22, 2024
Japan yields have room to rise after 1% reached on BOJ bets
The focus turns now to how quickly the supereasy monetary policy will be dialed back and how much further yields may rise.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Markets
May 20, 2024
Japan’s 10-year bond yield hits decade high amid BOJ policy bets
The yield on 10-year government debt rose to a level last seen when the then newly appointed Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda was starting his radical monetary easing.
Currency rates at an exchange shop in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2024
Yen swoons in jittery trading in wake of BOJ standing pat
The yen’s extended slump has heightened speculation that authorities may intervene in the market.
The rate of the yen against the U.S. dollar is displayed in the trading room at foreign exchange brokerage Gaitame.com in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 25, 2024
Yen inches closer to intervention point as BOJ meeting starts
For the first time in over 30 years, the yen weakened beyond ¥155 per dollar, sending traders on the alert for possible intervention.
The possibility of a deepening conflict between Israel and Iran suggests higher energy prices for energy import-dependent Japan, meaning more downward pressure for the yen.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 19, 2024
Oil poses more risks for yen as Japan depends on energy imports
Crude oil futures jumped on Friday following reports that Israel launched a missile strike on Iran.
The Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance headquarters in Tokyo. Japan's life insurers will lay out their investment plans for the new fiscal year starting this month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 15, 2024
Investment plans for Japan’s insurers will likely favor JGBs
Companies will lay out their plans for the fiscal year starting this month.
The yen remains around the three-decade low in the ¥151 range against the dollar even after the Bank of Japan's interest rate hike.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 4, 2024
Why even the BOJ's historic rate hike has failed to revive the yen
Japan’s first interest rate hike in 17 years has failed to deliver the boost to the yen that policymakers had hoped for.
Signs of a decline in hedging demand suggest that local investors are less concerned the yen will rebound sharply.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 26, 2024
Lower hedging costs reveal Japan investors' confidence in weak yen bets
Three-month yen basis swaps, which indicate decreasing demand for hedging the more they rise, closed last week at their highest level since January 2022.
Call loan brokers at Tokyo Tanshi in Tokyo in November. After decades of setting its benchmark rate near zero, the Bank of Japan is poised to tighten, spurring new opportunities for veteran traders after decades of setting its benchmark rate near zero.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 17, 2024
Japan’s $4 trillion offshore funds will ignore first BOJ hike
Only 40% of 273 respondents said the BOJ's first interest-rate hike since 2007 will prompt investors to sell foreign assets and repatriate the proceeds.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference in Sao Paulo in February.
BUSINESS
Mar 7, 2024
BOJ bets swing toward March rate hike
Bets on the March 18-19 meeting are gaining traction.
The Japanese equity market is likely to benefit a lot from the Bank of Japan's exit from its ultraeasy monetary policy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 19, 2024
BlackRock sees Japan stocks as big winner from BOJ policy shift
Japan seems to be in its final stage of declaring victory over decades of deflation.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the yen weakening past ¥150 per dollar late Tuesday night.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 14, 2024
Yen's slide past ¥150 per dollar prompts stern warnings from Japan
The yen has tumbled more than 6% versus the dollar so far in 2024.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (center) attends a monetary policy meeting at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Jan. 23.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 31, 2024
'Golden opportunity': BOJ signals rate hike ahead with ramped-up exit talk
Central bank board members indicate that conditions allowing the termination of its negative rate policy are increasing.
The Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance headquarters in Tokyo. The insurer isn't interested in buying Japan’s superlong sovereign bonds until yields start rising.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 16, 2024
Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance to avoid Japan sovereign bonds for now
Japanese life insurers are the main buyer of bonds due in more than 10 years and typically increase purchases toward the end of the fiscal year.
The yen extended gains Tuesday after the Bank of Japan indicated it will reduce monthly buying of superlong government bonds.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 9, 2024
Yen rises after BOJ indicates cut in superlong bond buying
The BOJ bought ¥150 billion ($1.04 billion) of 10-to-25 year debt on Tuesday.
A damaged vehicle under a collapsed house following an earthquake in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Tuesday. Speculation that the Bank of Japan might shift its policy this month is receding, as the central bank has to assess the adverse impact from the Noto Peninsula disaster on the economy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 5, 2024
Yen falls as earthquake raises bar for BOJ to end negative rates
While speculation about a January tweak is receding, many still expect an end to negative rates in April, or later in 2024.
Market players see the yen rallying next year as the Bank of Japan exits the world’s last negative interest rate regime and its global peers cut borrowing costs.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 18, 2023
2023's big currency flop is top pick for year ahead, again
The BOJ's expected unwinding of its ultraeasy monetary policy and the prospects of lower borrowing costs elsewhere set the stage for the yen to rebound.
A monitor at a foreign exchange transaction firm in Tokyo shows the yen strengthening to ¥141 to the dollar early Friday. Comments from BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda on Thursday, along with remarks from one of his deputies on Wednesday, jolted financial markets in Tokyo and globally.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 8, 2023
Yen extends rally to second day as traders bet on early BOJ hike
The rally in the yen spilled over into a second day as traders wagered that the Bank of Japan will scrap the world’s last negative interest-rate regime much sooner than previously thought.
Japan's population continues to fall even as foreign resident count rises
The number of residents in Tokyo as of Jan. 1 rose by 0.03% from a year before, data shows, marking a year-on-year increase for the first time in three years, while the country's other 46 prefectures saw their populations continue to decline.
Japan’s minimum wage set for record ¥50 hike in major boost
Demonstrators rally to demand a big hike in minimum wages in Tokyo last week.
One dead, three missing as heavy rain batters Tohoku
Camera footage shows the Mogami River bursting its banks in Tozawa, Yamagata Prefecture, on Friday morning.
Yen melt-up nudges Japanese stocks into correction territory
Japanese stocks are down 10% from their July peak as the yen strengthens.
Yen rally could help end crushing wage decay in Japan
Some economists say a sticky weak yen trend would have a negative impact on Japan's real wage growth.
When did summer in Japan stop being fun?
Summer in Japan is now consistently brutal enough to drive you indoors and keep you there until autumn.
Japan’s minimum wage set for record ¥50 hike in major boost
Demonstrators rally to demand a big hike in minimum wages in Tokyo last week.
Japan loses top spot on strongest passport list to Singapore
Japan had the strongest passport for six years running from 2018, before being dethroned by Singapore on the 2024 list.
Why Japan's mysterious stash of classified funds escapes scrutiny
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (right) during a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japan eyes gold — and the future — as Olympic men's soccer campaign begins
Japan midfielder Yu Hirakawa controls the ball during a match against the United States in Kansas City, Kansas, on June 11.

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Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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JNTO promotes sustainable tourism initiatives

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