In the land that gave us Hello Kitty, it's no surprise the government employs an endearing mascot to sell its bonds. His name is Kokusai-sensei. A pint-size rendition of him welcomes visitors to the investor relations office at the Finance Ministry. Pudgy and professorial, ...

Central bankers searching for options to fight the next downturn should look to Japan, where policymakers are gathering for a regular review of the world’s most epic monetary stimulus program. The Bank of Japan's two-decade journey from zero interest rates to massive asset purchases, negative ...

Japan Inc. is pushing back after years of pressure to give bigger pay raises that has been a key part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's campaign to restore stable economic growth. While wages have never reached the level sought by Abe, the results from annual ...

Long before the U.S. and Europe embraced radical monetary policies last decade during the global financial crisis there was the Bank of Japan. Twenty years ago this month — back when the American economy was running hot under Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and the ...

The yen is likely to reach its strongest level against the dollar in more than six years if Japan enters a recession, which could come as early as the fall of this year, a former central bank official has said. "I don't think it will ...

It's been the most radical cash injection in history — nearly ¥400 trillion pumped into Japan's economy over more than five years to slay deflation and kick growth into higher gear. That's still not enough to save Tomoaki Nagai's metal parts factory near Osaka, and ...

The sharp slide in oil prices threatens to halve Japan's inflation rate over the next six months, while cheaper mobile phone bills and free nursery education could even push it below zero. This view from private sector economists is very much at odds with the ...

The Bank of Japan left monetary policy unchanged Friday and downgraded its assessment of inflation, falling further behind its global peers at the end of a busy week for central banks. The BOJ maintained the settings on its yield curve control program and asset purchases, ...

The Bank of Japan's next policy move may be to raise its bond-yield target to keep the yen from weakening too much, according to a BOJ adviser and longtime associate of Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda. While the yen has strengthened this year, Masahiro Kawai said in ...

Amid strong expectations that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may reappoint Haruhiko Kuroda to another term as governor of the Bank of Japan, at least one key voice is calling for fresh blood at the top of the BOJ to lift the nation's flagging inflation ...