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Emi Urabe
For Emi Urabe's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 12, 2022
Now is not the time to intervene over yen, Japan's former forex chief says
The recent moves in the yen don't reach the level of excessive and disorderly moves that are warned against in existing G7 currency agreements, Mitsuhiro Furusawa said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2022
Yen strengthens after ex-forex czar’s intervention remark
'Unilateral intervention shouldn't be eliminated as a possibility,” said Takehiko Nakao, while flagging that the hurdle for gaining support from abroad was high.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 21, 2022
Tax reform key for Japan’s ¥10 trillion startup push, says head of ruling party group
The government is set to put together a five-year plan by the end of 2022 that will seek to increase money going to startups tenfold.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 29, 2021
Government may start process to sell ¥950 billion stake in Japan Post this week
The sale was expected in 2019 but became difficult after the value of Japan Post shares fell sharply following a scandal over improper sales practice at its insurance unit.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 29, 2021
Japan's GPIF, world’s top pension fund, won’t invest in China’s sovereign debt
As Chinese debt is being added to the FTSE Russell global bond index, the Japanese fund will instead use a version of the World Government Bond Index that excludes Chinese government bonds.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2021
GPIF copycat fund bucks the trend to invest in Chinese debt
The move involves the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan, or PMAC, which provides pension services to private school workers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 16, 2021
Japan gives nod to future IPO of massive Tokyo subway operator
A privatization of the subway, which carries an average of 7.56 million riders per day, has been keenly awaited for years, especially among retail investors.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2021
Suga adviser says Japan needs extra budget as big as ¥30 trillion
Economist Heizo Takenaka has joined ruling party members calling for more spending as Japan muddles through a fourth virus emergency and voters prepare to head to the polls by fall.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 29, 2021
Beware of ‘ESG bubble,’ says ex-chair of world’s biggest pension fund
Eiji Hirano says the Government Pension Investment Fund needs to 'think about how to analyze if ESG is really profitable, as well as how to evaluate and standardize ESG.'
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 11, 2021
Japan’s Finance Ministry ignores climate risk, ex-official says
Rintaro Tamaki, a former top bureaucrat at the ministry, says it should raise Japan's already high gasoline tax and hike tariffs on imported fossil fuels.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2021
Japan should consider scrapping Olympics, former finance chief says
Ex-Finance Minister Jun Azumi highlighted that recent polls showed 70% of the public are against holding the Tokyo Games.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2021
Japan's GPIF, forerunner on ESG investing, pulls back as trend catches on
Constrained by stricter legal restraints, the world's top pension fund has largely been quiet on impact investing since appointing a new chief investment officer in April 2020.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 29, 2021
Japan’s ¥106 trillion record budget could just be the start in election year
Some ruling party lawmakers are calling for more stimulus along the lines of the massive aid package adopted this month in the United States.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 4, 2021
Tokyo emergency extension worth the extra financial hit, economists say
Experts say that suppressing activity for a little longer won't add too much extra damage to an economy that is already showing some signs of recovery even under existing restrictions.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 10, 2020
Japan’s latest stimulus boost may fall short of official forecast
Many economists expect the dollar-for-dollar impacts of stimulus measures to typically decrease as time passes from a crisis or recession.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2020
Key Japanese lawmaker says third extra budget may not be last
A key ruling party lawmaker said an extra budget being drafted now may not be the end of Japan’s stimulus spending this fiscal year given the uncertainty surrounding the spread of the coronavirus.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2020
Suga adviser says Japan needs another ¥40 trillion in stimulus
One of Suga's economic advisers says the government needs to spend u00a540 trillion in its third extra budget to stop a surge in unemployment and prevent the suffering that would come with it.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 19, 2020
¥10 trillion needed to set Japan on green path, says Suga adviser
'What's key for the Japanese economy now is whether we can strengthen our growth strategy and conduct reforms,' said Mitsumaru Kumagai, chief economist at Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 16, 2020
Japanese economy rebounds from record slump as pandemic pain eases
Gross domestic product grew an annualized 21.4% in the three months through September from the previous quarter, expanding at the fastest clip since 1968.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 21, 2020
Japan plans hub for foreign brokers to file paperwork in English
The one-stop venue could start operating as soon as next spring, with English-language filing to begin before that in early 2021 via the Financial Services Agency.

Longform

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