U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to deliver a speech marking his 100th day in office at Macomb County Community College Sports Expo Center in Warren, Michigan, on April 29.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
May 18, 2025
Trump’s deals cast China both as foe and prize, blurring signals
Pick through the details of recent U.S. trade negotiations and an outline of Donald Trump’s vision for the global economy starts to come into focus. As do its contradictions.
Moody's first gave the United States its pristine "Aaa" rating in 1919 and is the last of the three major credit agencies to downgrade it.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 17, 2025
Moody's cuts America's pristine credit rating, citing rising debt
The move that could complicate U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to cut taxes and send ripples through global markets.
Yields in Japan’s $7.8 trillion government debt market are now rising rapidly after years of moving at a glacial pace.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 16, 2025
Japan’s steep bond curve divides investors and challenges economy
Yields in the country’s $7.8 trillion government debt market are shifting higher at breakneck speed after years of moving at a glacial pace.
Chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa and his delegation in the Oval Office of the White House in April. Since then, Japan's trade negotiations with the U.S. have produced no tangible results.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
May 16, 2025
Akazawa's dilemma: no tariff deal or a half-baked deal
Japan has realized the U.S. has no intention of seriously talking about duties on automobiles now.
"Given the extremely high uncertainties in play, my view is that it is appropriate for the bank to conduct monetary policy deliberately to reflect the actual state of economic recovery,” Toyoaki Nakamura, the Bank of Japan’s most dovish board member, said in a speech Friday in Fukuoka Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 16, 2025
BOJ’s most dovish member warns against rushing to raising rates
Toyoaki Nakamura’s speech comes shortly after government data showed that Japan’s economy shrank more than expected in the first quarter.
The Japanese economy flipped back into reverse in the first three months of the year, with consumption staying below its pre-pandemic level as inflation saps purchasing power.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 16, 2025
Japan’s economy shrank for the first time in a year before tariff jolt
The first contraction under Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba adds to concerns about the resilience of the economy before tariffs came into effect.
The yen slumped more than 2% on Monday alone, nearing ¥150 to the dollar, after the U.S. and China temporarily lowered tariffs, triggering a reversal of bearish dollar bets.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 15, 2025
Rich Japanese still fear yen crash, wealth manager says
Japan's most prosperous households are still scarred by the market’s collapse in the early 1990s.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb