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October 16, 2025
 

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BOJ

Junko Nakagawa, a member of the policy board at the Bank of Japan (BOJ), in Tokyo in January
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 7, 2024
BOJ policymaker upbeat on stimulus exit amid encouraging wage news
"We can say that prospects for the economy to achieve a positive cycle of (rising) inflation and wages are in sight," said board member Junko Nakagawa.
The Bank of Japan in January. The BOJ is monitoring wage trends closely for signs of a virtuous cycle linking higher pay with demand-led price gains.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 7, 2024
Japan wage growth beat forecasts in January, in fastest rise since June
The data comes as annual wage negotiations between firms and unions are reaching their climax, with the first results expected next week.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks at a forum in Tokyo on Tuesday. Tackling a bloated balance sheet is set to be a challenging hurdle for the central bank.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 6, 2024
Normalizing Bank of Japan's balance sheet will take nine years, says ex-official
Failing to issue guidance on the planned normalization could lead to high market volatility in yields, former Executive Director Kenzo Yamamoto warns.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group said it is already managing to enhance its tolerance to an anticipated rise in yen interest rates.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 6, 2024
Japan’s biggest bank readies for BOJ shift on rate policy within weeks
Hiroyuki Seki, head of global markets business at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, predicts that the BOJ will raise rates not once but twice by October.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 5, 2024
Japan ministers deny report government thinking of calling end to deflation
Policymakers are focused on ensuring the economy doesn't revert to a protracted period of falling prices, they said.
The pickup in consumer prices largely reflected the fading impact of government subsidies rolled out last year to keep a lid on utility costs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 5, 2024
Tokyo prices heat up again, supporting case for BOJ rate hike
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.5% in the capital, re-accelerating after cooling in January to a revised 1.8%.
An electronic board shows the rate of the yen versus the U.S. dollar in Tokyo on Feb. 26.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 2, 2024
Yen’s carry-trade reign in flux as BOJ hints at policy shift
As speculation builds that the BOJ will change its path, so does the potential for the yen to strengthen.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference in Sao Paulo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 1, 2024
BOJ governor says price target not already in sight
Kazuo Ueda played down the significance of Japan’s slide back into a technical recession.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 29, 2024
Japan issues fresh warning against excessive yen moves
The warning by Masato Kanda, Japan's vice finance minister for international affairs, likely reflects Tokyo's desire to prevent further falls in the yen.
What is the BOJ hoping to achieve through tighter policy? The bank's governor, Kazuo Ueda, dissented in 2000, arguing then a hike was premature — and he was right. Why the change now.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 29, 2024
Selling a rate hike during recession is tough. Good luck, Ueda.
What sounded like a statement of the obvious by Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda last week — that a country where prices are rising by 2% is, in fact, experiencing inflation — has more to it than meets the eye.
The Bank of Japan is facing hardly any signs of opposition to scrapping its negative interest rate as the strongest price growth in decades weighs on households and businesses.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 28, 2024
BOJ should make straightforward policy shift, top finance professor says
Exiting policy should be like business as usual, said Hiroshi Yoshikawa, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and a friend of BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda.
Japan's consumer price index for January rose 2% from a year ago, topping estimates to support the Bank of Japan's move to end its negative interest rate policy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 27, 2024
January inflation topped forecasts, data shows, supporting BOJ policy shift
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2% from a year ago, while prices of processed food gained 5.9% and prices for lodging increased by 27%.
The International Monetary Fund headquarters in Washington. The IMF sees downside risks in the Japanese economy, which unexpectedly slipped into a recession at the end of last year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 23, 2024
IMF sees downside risks for Japan in 2024
Japan unexpectedly slipped into a recession at the end of last year, losing its title as the world's third-biggest economy to Germany.
Japan's exports rose to a record high in January, lifted by robust shipments of cars and chipmaking equipment, marking the second straight month of growth despite concerns about slowing global demand.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 21, 2024
Export growth beats forecasts, adding to momentum for BOJ policy shift
Gains in exports are a positive sign after the economy unexpectedly fell into recession in the last quarter of 2023 due to stagnant domestic spending.
The Japanese equity market is likely to benefit a lot from the Bank of Japan's exit from its ultraeasy monetary policy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 19, 2024
BlackRock sees Japan stocks as big winner from BOJ policy shift
Japan seems to be in its final stage of declaring victory over decades of deflation.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki (left) speaks with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a plenary session of the Lower House in Tokyo on Jan. 30.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 17, 2024
Japan finance chief eyes future rise in interest rates, report says
"The Bank of Japan holds jurisdiction over monetary policy. But there will be a phase when interest rates go up," Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said Friday that the BOJ will examine the possibility of easing measures when price targets are met.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 16, 2024
BOJ's Ueda maintains pledge to review stimulus when inflation goal met
Data released on Thursday showed Japan's economy unexpectedly slipped into a recession in the final quarter of last year.
Gross domestic product contracted 0.4% on an annualized basis in the October-December 2023 quarter, following a 3.3% contraction in the previous quarter.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 15, 2024
Japan loses spot as No. 3 economy after surprise GDP contraction
Analysts caution that the data is perhaps not as bad as it seems, given solid readings from other economic indicators.
No politicians, government officials, bankers or business leaders have voiced strong opposition to Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda's intention to put an end to the world’s last negative rate regime.
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2024
Lack of political opposition opens way for BOJ rate hike
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda is in a rare sweet spot for such a move, in sharp contrast to the experiences of his BOJ predecessors.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 14, 2024
Yen's slide past ¥150 per dollar prompts stern warnings from Japan
The yen has tumbled more than 6% versus the dollar so far in 2024.
Hypothermia in the land of the rising Sanae
Amid the election of Sanae Takaichi as Liberal Democratic Party president, and possibly the next prime minister, Japan's economy shows signs of recovery, but weak wages, a conservative corporate culture and currency issues raise doubts about a true economic thaw.
Number of scenarios now on the table for who might be Japan’s next prime minister
Newly-elected leader of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party Sanae Takaichi (right) celebrates with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba after winning the LDP leadership election in Tokyo on October 4.
Could an opposition candidate become Japan's next prime minister?
The lawmaker that secures a majority of votes in the Lower House will become prime minister. If no one gets a majority, the two top contenders will enter a runoff in which the person with the highest number of votes gets elected.
Coalition talks could bring Takaichi closer to being PM
Nippon Ishin no Kai leader and Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura meets with Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Wednesday.
As temperatures drop in Japan, bear attacks shoot up to historic highs
Bear warning signs at the Akita Prefectural Government building
Sumo is about to hit London and the West with a force previously unseen
Preparations advance on Monday for the Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Number of scenarios now on the table for who might be Japan’s next prime minister
Newly-elected leader of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party Sanae Takaichi (right) celebrates with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba after winning the LDP leadership election in Tokyo on October 4.
Pace eyes great strides for Japan’s art market
Pace Japan Vice President Kyoko Hattori, the de facto head of the nation’s business, believes a larger, more lucrative art market will allow Japan to be more attractive for collectors.
A frenetic diplomatic schedule looms for Japan’s next leader — whomever that may be
As horse-trading and speculation surge over who will be elected the next prime minister in parliament — the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Sanae Takaichi or a possible candidate put forward by a unified opposition — Japan’s next leader will be confronted with a quick succession of key diplomatic events.
Ghost of Yotei’s bloodstained fun sidesteps Ainu identity
Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to 2020's smash hit Ghost of Tsushima, is a violent, vengeful and engaging romp through 17th-century Hokkaido that fails to stick the landing on its most sensitive cultural material.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building
By Patrick St. Michel

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

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