Tag - boj

 
 

BOJ

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato reaffirmed in a joint statement their commitment to allowing markets to determine currency exchange rates and not targeting them for competitive advantage.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 12, 2025
U.S. and Japan pledge not to manipulate forex for competitive advantage
Tokyo has spent close to $150 billion in the last three years trying to prop up the yen with the last move in July last year.
The Bank of Japan's wait-and-see approach is likely to continue given the political climate and the tariff situation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 11, 2025
Rate increase in Japan less likely following Ishiba's resignation
Political uncertainty will make a move higher in October difficult.
Kono Taro, Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker and former digital transformation minister, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 9, 2025
BOJ should raise rates to strengthen yen and curb inflation, says Taro Kono
The comments come days after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s decision to resign raised questions about the outlook for economic policies.
A former Bank of Japan chief economist says growing market speculation about a potential rate hike in October is underestimating the uncertainty caused by U.S President's Donald Trump's tariff campaign.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2025
BOJ’s October rate stance tough to call, its ex-chief economist says
Speculation over a potential rate hike underestimates the uncertainty wrought by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff campaign, Toshitaka Sekine says.
Japan's nominal wages increased 4.1% in July from a year earlier, marking the steepest increase since December.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2025
Japan's wages make biggest gain in seven months, backing case for rate hike
Real wages also rose for the first time this year in July, edging up by 0.5%.
Global markets are bracing for a shift as rising Japanese yields draw investors back home, says RBC Capital Markets.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 4, 2025
Japanese investors face ‘sea change’ in rising yields, RBC says
"For the first time since 2020, Japanese investors will have yields attractive enough to invest at home,” said Richard Cochinos, a currency strategist.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 3, 2025
Ishiba meets with BOJ's Ueda to discuss economy and markets
The pair’s first meeting since February suggests Ishiba is trying to show market participants that his government and the BOJ will be coordinating closely.
A building which houses the Hokuhoku Financial Group headquarters in Toyama.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 30, 2025
Best-performing Japan bank plays BOJ outlook with short debt
The president of Hokuhoku Financial Group said he expects the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates in October or December if "things go smoothly.”
The Finance Ministry is seeking input from primary dealers on the potential for further cuts to long-term government bond issuance, sources say.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 29, 2025
Japan asks primary dealers for views on cutting long bond supply
The Finance Ministry has asked primary dealers for their views on further reducing issuance of longer-maturity government bonds, according to people familiar with the matter.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.5% in Tokyo in August from a year earlier, versus a 2.9% clip in the previous month, according to the internal affairs ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 29, 2025
Tokyo inflation slows on subsidies as BOJ stays on hike path
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.5% year on year in the capital in August, versus a 2.9% clip in July.
Bank of Japan rate hikes may continue though trade uncertainties remain, board member Junko Nakagawa says.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 28, 2025
BOJ board member reaffirms stance on raising interest rates
Junko Nakagawa's remarks indicate there’s at most a low chance of a move coming at the board's next meeting, which concludes on Sept. 19, as of now.
The Bank of Japan, which owns more than half of the nation’s sovereign notes, is moving forward with its plan to trim its balance sheet and scale back bond purchases.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 27, 2025
Bank of Japan’s operations signal market is eager to sell bonds
Investor selloff of government bonds comes as the BOJ moves forward with its plan to trim its balance sheet and scale back bond purchases.
The Finance Ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. The ministry plans to seek a record 32.4 trillion yen in debt-servicing costs in its budget request for fiscal 2026.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 26, 2025
Finance Ministry seeks record budget for debt financing
The ministry’s request would be the highest amount ever budgeted for debt-servicing costs, which already account for about a quarter of Japan’s national budget.
An employee at a wholesaler puts a price tag on a package of sea urchins from Hokkaido at Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 26, 2025
Warming seas add to food inflation woes as urchin rice bowls hit ¥18,000
Policymakers have mostly blamed rising food prices on the weak yen's upward pressure on import costs, but the effects of global warming now also loom as a risk.
(Left) Bank of England Gov. Andrew Bailey, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde (second from left), Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (third from left) and U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell pose for a picture during the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium in Moran, Wyoming, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 25, 2025
Central bankers fear being caught in Federal Reserve's storm
Politically motivated attacks on the Fed could spill over to the rest of the world.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (second from left) walks with Fed Chair Jerome Powell (left), European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde (second from right) and Bank of England Gov. Andrew Bailey outside the Fed’s Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 24, 2025
BOJ's Ueda expects tight labor market to keep upward pressure on wages
The remarks are likely to support growing speculation of another interest rate hike this year, although the BOJ governor didn’t directly discuss monetary policy in a presentation.
The Finance Ministry plans to set the provisional interest rate on government bonds at 2.6% for the next fiscal year, the highest level in 17 years, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 22, 2025
Japan eyes 2.6% provisional rate for government bonds in FY2026, Yomiuri says
The rate for interest payments on such bonds will be the highest in 17 years.
Consumer prices in Japan rose 3.1% from a year earlier in July, slowing from a 3.3% gain in the previous month but still suggesting that inflation remains relatively sticky.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 22, 2025
Japan’s inflation hovers well above BOJ’s goal even as it slows
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 3.1% from a year earlier in July, slowing from a 3.3% gain a month earlier.
The Bank of Japan maintains a wait-and-see approach as calls grow for it to raise rates.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Aug 19, 2025
Bank of Japan encouraged to increase rates soon, before it’s too late
Business and political leaders argue that inflation is too high and must be brought under control soon.
Rakuten Bank CEO Tomotaka Torin is interviewed in Tokyo last week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 14, 2025
Rakuten Bank to refrain from JGB buying as more rate hikes seen
"We’re not going for any aggressive buying of JGBs until we’ve seen at least another rate hike or two,” CEO Tomotaka Torin said in an interview.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’