For Takahiko Wada's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
An increase in Japan's potential growth would encourage firms to raise wages on prospects of stronger profits, and give households more purchasing power, Hiroshi Nakaso said.
Ending a pandemic-relief loan program could raise eyebrows among politicians when the government continues to focus on dealing with the hit from the health crisis.
Japan's second-largest nonlife insurer, MS&AD, foresees the potential rise in claim payments in 2050 from current levels to be anywhere between 5% and 50%.
Japan has been cautious about moving too quickly on digital currencies given the social disruptions it could cause.
Some in Nagasaki fret the merged bank, which would belong to a financial group based in Fukuoka Prefecture, may shift its focus away from local borrowers.
Suga has pledged to strengthen local economies and encourage regional banks to consolidate, a shake-up that many say is long overdue.
The plight of Kyoto and other cities in the western Kansai region has exposed a vulnerability of the prime minister's "Abenomics" stimulus policy.
As years of near-zero interest rates in Japan make traditional lending barely profitable, one regional bank is seeking to drum up business through less conventional enterprises, from opening wine bars to helping fishermen farm sea urchins. The new approach comes as regulators cautiously loosen the ...
The nation's top financial regulator said regional banks "should not blame the Bank of Japan" for their woes, urging them to explore ways to survive ultralow interest rates. "They should not just sit and wait for the BOJ to change its policy. Will everything be ...
