Commentary / Japan Nov 6, 2018
Japan can trim stimulus without repeating mistakes
by Daniel Moss
A misstep 18 years ago should not prevent a careful step today.
NEWSWORTHY
Business / Economy Oct 26, 2018
Tokyo inflation holds steady, offering little cheer for Bank of Japan
Tokyo's core consumer price inflation was unchanged in October from the previous month, government data showed Friday, offering little encouragement for Japan's central bank as it struggles to reach its ambitious 2 percent inflation target. The data comes ahead of the Bank of Japan's rate ...
Business Sep 25, 2018
Some Bank of Japan policymakers feared at July meeting that policy tweaks might lift rates
Some members of the Bank of Japan's board voiced concern that tweaking its ultraeasy monetary policy could spark an unintended rise in interest rates, according to minutes of their July meeting released Tuesday. The Policy Board voted at the meeting to keep its benchmark for ...
Business / Financial Markets Sep 5, 2018
BlackRock sees 'silver lining' when Bank of Japan tapers funds for ETFs
Some investors are worried about the market impact when the Bank of Japan decides to wind back an extraordinary yearslong program of support for the country's stock market, but the world's largest money manager sees less reason for concern. There will probably be some initial ...
Business / Economy Aug 24, 2018
Core inflation stayed flat at 0.8% in July, backed by higher lodging, energy costs
Inflation stayed steady in July amid rising energy costs but remained far below the Bank of Japan's elusive target rate of 2 percent, government data showed Friday. Japan's core consumer price index, which excludes the volatile prices of fresh food but not energy, rose 0.8 ...
Business / Financial Markets | FOCUS Aug 22, 2018
Bank of Japan's threat to global bonds fizzles as Japanese insurers stay put
by Chikafumi Hodo and Komaki Ito
For all the frenzy over the Bank of Japan's first policy tweak in almost two years, little seems to have changed for the nation's insurers. That's because the rise in long-end government bond yields seen after the central bank's July 31 decision has proved to ...
Commentary / Japan Aug 7, 2018
How to end Japan's deflation? Abolish cash
by Andy Mukherjee
Business / Economy Aug 7, 2018
Wage growth in Japan hits 21-year high, possibly signaling a pickup in household spending
Household spending slid in June, but real wages rose at their fastest pace in more than 21 years thanks to higher summer bonuses, a sign that benefits of a prolonged economic recovery are broadening. Household income also marked the fastest gain in three years on ...
Business / Financial Markets Aug 3, 2018
Bank of Japan policymakers fretted over stimulus side effects at June meeting
Bank of Japan policymakers said it was necessary to monitor the negative economic impact of continuing monetary stimulus amid stubbornly weak inflation, minutes of their June meeting showed Friday. The minutes suggest members of the central bank's Policy Board recognized a need to make policy ...
Business / Economy Jul 20, 2018
Japan’s core inflation rate hit 0.8% in June on higher energy costs
The country's underlying inflation rate edged up in June amid rising energy costs, government data showed Friday, though it continued to fall short of the Bank of Japan's 2 percent target. The nationwide core consumer price index, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, rose 0.8 ...
Business Jul 4, 2018
Lower unemployment rate needed to hit inflation goal: Bank of Japan board member
Bank of Japan board member Yutaka Harada said Wednesday that unemployment needs to fall further if the country's stubbornly stagnant inflation rate is to pick up, while also advocating for continued monetary easing. His comments, made in a speech to business leaders in Kanazawa, Ishikawa ...
Commentary / Japan Jun 26, 2018
Time for the BOJ to reconsider the 2 percent inflation target
by Sayuri Shirai
The Bank of Japan's ambitious inflation target increasingly appears unachievable.