August 07, 2025

Today's print edition

Subscribe for more access

BUSINESS

Economy

National flags line a street to mark Swiss national day in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced he will impose a 39% tariff on imports from Switzerland, one of the steepest levies globally that threatens to leave the country’s key exports reeling.

BUSINESS / Economy

Aug 6, 2025

Switzerland’s go-it-alone approach tested by Trump tariff shock

By Hugo Miller and Levin Stamm

For the pro-EU voices in Switzerland, the chaotic back and forth with the U.S. on trade will give them fresh reason to push the benefits of ties with the bloc.

Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Taro Kono called for the Bank of Japan to tighten monetary policy to bolster the yen at a time when political leadership is under pressure after the ruling coalition lost its majority in the Upper House in an election last month.

BUSINESS / Economy

Aug 6, 2025

LDP’s Kono adds to chorus urging BOJ to tighten policy

By Yuko Takeo and Akemi Terukina

Taro Kono’s remarks come after several prominent executives made similar pleas, though no economists expect a move when the BOJ next sets policy on Sept. 19.

U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday. He told CNBC that investment pledges are like signing bonuses.

BUSINESS / Economy

Aug 6, 2025

Trump: The $550 billion pledged by Japan is 'our money'

By Francis Tang

The U.S. president told CNBC that he is free to invest the funds however he wishes.

A cargo ship at the port of Oakland, California, on Aug. 4

BUSINESS / Economy

Aug 6, 2025

U.S. trade deficit narrowed 16% in June as high tariffs cast shadow on services

By Dan Burns

Days after reporting that the goods trade deficit fell to its lowest since September 2023, the U.S. said the full deficit including services was also its narrowest since then.

Nominal wages in Japan rose 2.5% in June from a year earlier, accelerating from a revised 1.4% gain the previous month, according to the labor ministry.

BUSINESS / Economy

Aug 6, 2025

Japan’s nominal pay rises faster in June, backing case for BOJ rate hike

By Erica Yokoyama

Nominal wages increased 2.5% in June from a year earlier, accelerating from a revised 1.4% gain the previous month and marking the steepest increase since February.

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa. Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, is returning to the United States for another round of trade talks.

BUSINESS / Economy

Aug 5, 2025

Akazawa returns to U.S. for more talks as tariff deal looks shaky

By Francis Tang

Japan is urging the United States to cut the tariff on cars as soon as possible.

Amid rising prices for food and other items, a government panel has proposed a record hike in the average minimum wage.

BUSINESS / Economy

Aug 5, 2025

Amid inflation, Japanese government panel proposes record ¥63 minimum wage hike

The recommendation by the panel, which advises the labor minister, would raise the average minimum wage to ¥1,118 per hour.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

A mushroom cloud from the atomic bombing on Hiroshima taken from a U.S. military aircraft on Aug. 6, 1945. Copying the photo without permission is prohibited.

80 years on, a Japanese American hibakusha recalls the day the bomb dropped

By Elizabeth Beattie

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

international-reports