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BOJ

Economy minister Yoshitaka Shindo said the government was currently not thinking about calling an end to deflation.
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.
A retail shopping area in Tokyo in February. A recent bout of inflation appears to have cleared the way for Japan to officially end its war on deflation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 2, 2024
Japanese government may declare official end to deflation
A recent bout of inflation appears to have cleared the way for Japan to officially end its war on deflation.
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.
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.
Masato Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs (right), and Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (center) attend a G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in Sao Paulo on Wednesday.
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.
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.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the yen weakening past ¥150 per dollar late Tuesday night.
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.
The International Monetary Fund headquarters in Washington. The IMF has underscored the need for Japan to tighten fiscal policy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 9, 2024
IMF urges BOJ to wind down monetary easing and gradually raise rates
In normalizing monetary policy, the BOJ should take a "gradual and well-communicated" approach to anchor market expectations, the IMF said.
Bank of Japan Deputy Gov. Shinichi Uchida says after the bank ends its negative rate policy, financial conditions will remain easy and any policy moves thereafter will occur at a gradual pace.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 8, 2024
BOJ's Uchida says sharp hikes unlikely after rates policy shift
Uchida was one of the architects of the bank's current policies and now works closely with Gov. Ueda as an influential member of the BOJ policy board.
The Bank of Japan signed a joint statement with the government in 2013 committing itself to achieve its 2% inflation target "at the earliest date possible."
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 6, 2024
Japan's inflation goal still needed even if negative rates end: official
Chief government economist Tomoko Hayashi says any shift in BOJ policy would not alter the importance of the 2% inflation target.

Longform

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