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September 23, 2025
 

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CURRENCIES

James Baker speaks at the funeral service for former U.S. President George Bush in Houston in December 2018. As Treasury secretary in 1985, he was the key U.S. negotiator of the Plaza Accord, the landmark deal to weaken the dollar and realign global currencies.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 22, 2025
Why the Plaza Accord is still the gold standard
Rather than grieve Plaza, salute it. The deal reflected a confluence of national interest, diplomatic nous and a sense that common interests dictated collaboration.
The Plaza Hotel in New York, where finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of Five countries met and struck the Plaza Accord on Sept. 22, 1985.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 21, 2025
40 years after Plaza Accord, Japan still at mercy of forex swings
Monday marks the 40th anniversary of the accord, struck between Japan, the U.S., the U.K., France and what was then West Germany.
Japan Post Bank plans to introduce DCJPY as a yen-backed digital currency.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 2, 2025
Japan Post Bank to issue yen deposit-backed digital currency in fiscal 2026
The currency will allow instant settlement for digital purchases and be subject to deposit insurance protection.
The U.S. dollar's dominance is threatened as digital currencies' security and data integrity become key factors in the global monetary system, challenging America's economic privilege.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2025
Currency dominance in the digital age
As digital technologies power money via stablecoins and CBDCs, currency networks depend on both macroeconomics and infrastructure security.
With tariffs at an 80-year high and the U.S. dollar behaving unpredictably, the Fed should hold off on cutting rates until there’s clear evidence that inflation remains under control.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 27, 2025
The Fed needs to tread carefully with this strange dollar
Given that range of possibilities, it’s prudent to wait for the data to tell the story, exactly as Fed Chair Jerome Powell is currently planning.
The yen-dollar exchange rate is displayed outside a securities firm in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 10, 2025
Japan unlikely to face U.S. pressure to strengthen yen, ex-top FX diplomat says
Masatsugu Asakawa was deeply involved in Japan's trade and currency negotiations with the U.S. when he was vice finance minister for international affairs.
China is preparing to counter the rising threat of U.S.-backed digital dollars by leveraging its powerful e-commerce firms and Hong Kong’s crypto-friendly financial system to promote stablecoins tied to local currencies.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2025
China is more than ready for U.S. stablecoins
E-commerce prowess and Hong Kong’s financial chops can ward off the threat from digital dollars.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda announces the start of the circulation of new banknotes on July 3, 2024.
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2025
Japan’s new banknotes see slow adoption one year after launch
Roughly 5 billion new banknotes were in circulation as of the end of May, accounting for just 28.8% of all notes in use.
A teller sorts U.S. banknotes inside the cashier's booth at a foreign exchange bureau in downtown Nairobi in 2024.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 24, 2025
Under shadow of Trump warning, Africa pioneers non-dollar payment systems
The move by Africa to create payments systems that do not rely on the greenback mirrors a push by China to develop financial systems independent of Western institutions.
Despite doubts and talk of alternatives in Asia and beyond, the dollar remains dominant because there are no viable rivals and it continues to serve as the world’s key safe asset.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2025
The problem with Asia's ‘sell America’ moment
The region’s currencies are enjoying a healthy rally. History warns against anti-dollar triumphalism.
The IMF and World Bank's Spring Meetings 2025 in Washington on April 25. At this year's meetings, central bankers expressed alarm over the Trump administration's push toward privatizing money through dollar-pegged stablecoins.
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2025
Trump wants big tech to own the dollar
At this year’s IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, central bankers were alarmed by the U.S. push toward privatizing money through dollar-pegged stablecoins.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato has said he will seek an opportunity for currency talks with his U.S. counterpart Scott Bessent this week.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 19, 2025
Hedge funds reload long yen trades ahead of Kato-Bessent meeting
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said he will seek an opportunity for currency talks with his U.S. counterpart, Scott Bessent, this week.
Facing a new round of U.S. tariffs, China may devalue the yuan — possibly by as much as 20% — if fiscal stimulus falls short, risking a global currency war as it fights to meet its growth target.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 16, 2025
When will China start to devalue the yuan?
One way to think about China’s currency policy is its fiscal stance. Unless Beijing brings out the stimulus bazooka, devaluing the yuan might be the most expedient option.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and Argentinian President Javier Milei talk pose for a photo during a Group of Seven summit in Borgo Egnazia, Italy, last June.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 12, 2025
Argentina lands $20 billion IMF agreement and eases FX rules
Negotiations dragged on for months as stakes remain high for a successful program after the past two went off the rails in the crisis-prone nation.
The greenback’s share of global reserves dropped to 58% last year from over 70% two decades ago, reflecting its declining dominance in international trade and finance.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2025
Why buy the dollar if the U.S. becomes an economic island?
The greenback’s share of global reserves dropped to 58% last year from over 70% two decades ago, reflecting its declining dominance in international trade and finance.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s actions are rekindling long-simmering discussions about whether overseas governments will accelerate efforts to rely less on the dollar.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 29, 2025
Trump is eroding the dollar’s dominance in world markets
The U.S. president's escalating fusillade of tariffs and bid to roll back decades of globalization is shaking confidence in the U.S. currency.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this month establishing the 'Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.'
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Mar 16, 2025
Trump's bitcoin reserve to be a 'digital Fort Knox'
The reserve is funded by about 200,000 bitcoins — worth nearly $17 billion — that have been seized in the U.S. as a result of civil and criminal cases.
China’s overnight and seven-day repo rates surged in February, while bond investors took losses from a sharp rise in yields.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 10, 2025
‘Impossible trinity’ conundrum has caused a cash crunch in Asia
Countries can’t simultaneously control their currencies, independently set interest rates and allow capital to move freely across borders — something will break or give way.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that if Japan and China try to weaken their currencies and put the United States "at a very unfair disadvantage," he could impose fresh tariffs on them.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 4, 2025
Trump, claiming Japan guiding yen lower, hints at fresh tariffs
Trump said that if Tokyo tries to weaken its currency and put the U.S. "at a very unfair disadvantage," he could unleash more measures.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato holds a virtual meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 2, 2025
Japan to closely monitor impact on yen of Trump tariffs, Kato says
Kato spoke as the world braces for first salvo in Trump's tariff war, with general levies of 25% on Canada and Mexico and 10% on China.
40 years after Plaza Accord, Japan still at mercy of forex swings
The Plaza Hotel in New York, where finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of Five countries met and struck the Plaza Accord on Sept. 22, 1985.
As Japan keeps buying gas, Aboriginal Australians pay the price
Paulina “Jedda” Puruntatameri with Antonia Burke and Tiwi fisher Clinton offshore of Melville Island, one of the Tiwi Islands, in Australia's Northern Territory. Together with other Tiwi, Jedda has been campaigning for years to stop Australian company Santos and its backers, including Japanese investors, from drilling for natural gas at the Barossa gas field.
Abuse of 'zombie cigarettes' among Okinawa youths raises alarm
A street in Naha in August. In entertainment districts in southern Okinawa, a drug known as "laughing gas vape" is being abused at nightclubs and bar. Now, some establishments have put up warning notices.
More German companies choosing Japan as Asia manufacturing hub: survey
Japan has many positive qualities for German companies, but the market does face some challenges, such as talent acquisition and retention, particularly as demand for skilled workers grows, a survey by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan showed.
Boom in business class travel from Japan fuels airlines profits
A business class suite of an Airbus SE A350-1000 aircraft operated by Japan Airlines is seen during a media preview at the company's hangar at Tokyo's Haneda Airport in January last year.
Who’s who in the LDP presidential race?
(From left) Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi; former foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi; Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi; former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi; and former minister of state for economic security Sanae Takaichi, speaking at events in Tokyo.
Twice-a-year injection could make HIV prevention easier, developer argues
Jared Baeten, Gilead Sciences' senior vice president and virology therapeutic area head, hopes regulatory approval elsewhere for lenacapavir as a preexposure prophylaxis — for reducing the risk of contracting HIV — could lead to real discussions toward ending HIV in Japan.
Behold the glory of Japan’s fruit boxes
Otherwise common sights in Japan's supermarkets, the country's fruit and veggie boxes can hide surprising symbols of local pride.
YouTuber Gigguk shifts from talking anime to making anime
The process of making “Baan” was personal and enlightening for Maneetapho, who spent years talking about anime on his YouTube channel and podcast before making the jump to becoming an anime creator himself.
How Yuki Joseph Nakajima turned failures into breakout success at Tokyo worlds
Yuki Joseph Nakajima after finishing sixth in the men's 400-meter final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Thursday.

Podcast

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

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan
By Christoph Sponsel

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