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November 21, 2025
 

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Francis Tang
The yen has deepened recent lows against the dollar as the 'sell Japan' trade gains steam ahead of big fiscal stimulus.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 20, 2025
Yen and Japanese bonds continue to retreat as verbal intervention lacking
Ahead of superbig fiscal stimulus, officials choose not to talk up the currency.
The yen has been weak against the U.S. dollar in recent weeks, with some analysts expecting the retreat to continue.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 19, 2025
Yen rout brings talk of ¥160 to the dollar and possible intervention
New administration hit by triple whammy of falling stocks, bonds and currency
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met for 25 minutes on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 18, 2025
Bank of Japan independence holds as governor meets with super-dovish PM
Any discussion about the movement of interest rates was kept general and vague.
U.S. tariffs are starting to take their toll in Japan, especially on companies manufacturing products for export.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 17, 2025
Japan's GDP drops as tariffs bite and domestic demand flags
The decline in the three quarters ending in September was less than forecast.
Representatives from the Japan Innovation Party hand over a proposal to designate Xue Jian, the Chinese consul-general in Osaka, as persona no grata, to a staff of the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 14, 2025
China warns of military response if Japan intervenes in Taiwan contingency
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong hauled in Japan’s top envoy to China, lodging an angry protest and issuing a direct threat.
The Nikkei 225 stock average broke 52,000 just days after breaking 51,000.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 31, 2025
Nikkei 225 breaks 52,000 as records continue to topple
The surprise rally remains strong despite significant economic uncertainty.
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 29, 2025
U.S. treasury chief Bessent signals support for Bank of Japan independence
The U.S. treasury secretary’s comments come as Abenomics is back in fashion with Japan’s leaders.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's trade minister, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick met on Sunday and Monday for lunch.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 29, 2025
No projects finalized under Japan's $550 billion investment pledge
Fact sheets issued during the recent Japan-U.S. summit offered little insight into any progress made.
An electronic quotation board in Tokyo shows the Nikkei 225 stock average topping 51,000 on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 29, 2025
Nikkei 225 breaks 51,000 for the first time ever
The stock index achieved the 50,000 mark just two days ago.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi raises her fist as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech in front of U.S. Navy personnel on board the U.S. Navy's USS George Washington aircraft carrier at the American naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 28, 2025
At first summit with Trump, Takaichi pledges 'new golden age' for alliance
The meeting was a crucial test of Takaichi’s diplomatic chops as she seeks to elevate the Japan-U.S. alliance while staving off pressure from the U.S. on defense spending.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama briefs reporters after her first in-person meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday night.
BUSINESS
Oct 27, 2025
U.S. and Japan finance chiefs hold first meet as Nikkei passes 50,000 mark
Bessent also exchanged views with Katayama on the $550 billion investment Japan pledged to the U.S.
An electronic signboard in Tokyo shows the benchmark Nikkei 225 index above 50,000.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 27, 2025
Nikkei 225 breaks 50,000 for first time ever on trade and rate optimism
The rally comes after China and the United States reached a framework trade agreement.
Industry minister Ryosei Akazawa visits the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture on Saturday.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2025
Akazawa implores Tepco to pursue 'coexistence' with Fukushima community
Tepco announced in July that the full-scale removal of nuclear fuel debris will not start before fiscal year 2037.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and trade minister Ryosei Akazawa at Sensoji Temple in Tokyo's Asakusa district on Sunday
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2025
Akazawa and Lutnick reunite to discuss trade deal ahead of Trump visit
Trade minister Ryosei Akazawa and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick visited Tokyo’s landmark Sensoji Temple before heading to Tokyo Skytree for a working lunch on Sunday.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama is scheduled to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 24, 2025
Katayama talks taxes and debt without saying too much
In comments Friday, Japan's new finance minister steered clear of controversy and commitments.
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa will help maintain a close connection with the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 22, 2025
Takaichi's economic picks reflect balancing act with party and U.S. in mind
Differences on policy have been deemphasized for the time being.
Nikkei 225 stock index breaks record and nears the 50,000 mark on Tuesday just ahead of the vote on the next prime minister.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 21, 2025
Nikkei 225 retreats as Takaichi becomes prime minister
Tokyo stocks hit a record earlier in the day only to give up most of the gains.
Pedestrians walk past an electronic quotation board displaying numbers of the Nikkei 225 stock index outside a brokerage in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 20, 2025
Nikkei 225 breaks 49,000 and hits record as political stability returns
The benchmark index rose more than 3% in strong trade throughout the day.
Steel products are the target of two anti-dumping probes Japan has begun so far this year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 15, 2025
Japan turns to anti-dumping measures as international trade gets complicated
An uptick in number of probes this year indicates an evolving strategy.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announces his intention to resign on Sept. 7.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 15, 2025
Ishiba to leave office with a mixed record on the economy
The outgoing prime minister achieved a few successes and left some important business unfinished.
Japanese court orders Cloudflare to pay ¥500 million over manga piracy
Cloudflare has been ordered to pay ¥500 million after four major publishing firms accused the firm of copyright infringement for its role in hosting sites that distribute pirated copies of manga titles.
The reality of human trafficking in Japan
A view of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward at night. Last year in Japan, 66 people were put in protective custody as victims of human trafficking. Among them, 58 — including all 41 minors — were Japanese nationals. International pressure to act on human trafficking led Japan to make efforts to crack down on the crime, such as a tightening of conditions in 2005 for entertainer visas.
Beware of China’s strategic distortion of reality
China holds a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Beijing on Sept. 3. 
Yen rout brings talk of ¥160 to the dollar and possible intervention
The yen has been weak against the U.S. dollar in recent weeks, with some analysts expecting the retreat to continue.
China to reimpose ban on Japanese seafood imports amid row over Taiwan, reports say
A sign reading, "Suspend the sales of all fish products imported from Japan" is displayed in an area home to Japanese restaurants in Beijing in August 2023. China will reimpose a ban on imports of Japanese seafood, media reports in Tokyo said Wednesday, as a diplomatic spat between the two countries deepens.
First foreign president of Hosei University looks abroad for change
Hosei University President Diana Khor, who herself was an international student, aims to encourage students to look outward and cultivate a global mindset.
Japanese companies advised to change mindset about investment in Africa
Bernard Laurendeau, chief of Enkopa Lab Japan, in Tokyo last month
Munetaka Murakami headlines quartet looking to move to MLB via posting system
The Swallows' Munetaka Murakami has 246 career home runs in eight NPB seasons.
The reality of human trafficking in Japan
A view of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward at night. Last year in Japan, 66 people were put in protective custody as victims of human trafficking. Among them, 58 — including all 41 minors — were Japanese nationals. International pressure to act on human trafficking led Japan to make efforts to crack down on the crime, such as a tightening of conditions in 2005 for entertainer visas.
Why we can’t get enough of the sham of the rental family
“Rental Family,” directed and co-written by the single-named Hikari, follows out-of-work actor Phillip (Brendan Fraser), who is hired as the “token white guy” at a Tokyo agency called Rental Family.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo
By Kathryn Wortley

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