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May 13, 2024
 

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DEBT

Hiroshi Mikitani, chairman and CEO of Rakuten Group, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in May.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 17, 2023
Rakuten rally from record lows clouded by looming bond deadlines
The most pressing task now for Rakuten is to raise funds for a wall of more than $5 billion of bonds due in the next two years.
Vitor Gaspar, director of the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department
BUSINESS
Oct 13, 2023
IMF official says fiscal reform will only grow more difficult
According to data from the IMF, Japan's national debt-to-GDP ratio topped 260% in 2022.
Farmers harvest rice in a field in Chai Nat province, Thailand.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 18, 2023
Soaring rice prices sow hope and trouble for Thai farmers
Thailand's centuries-old rice cultivation system is under severe stress from climate change and unsustainable farm debts.
Increased spending on defense and social security pushed up total budget requests for fiscal 2024 to a new record.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2023
Japan's budget requests for fiscal '24 hit record ¥114.39 trillion
The amount surpassed the ¥111.66 trillion sought for fiscal 2022 — previously the largest on record.
Buildings in Guangzhou, China. Aside from short-term solutions, economists see three options for China to restructure its economy.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Sep 4, 2023
Part of China's economic miracle was a mirage. Reality check is next.
While many analysts see a slow drift towards Japan-style stagnation as the most likely outcome, there is also the prospect of a more severe crunch.
Anti-World Bank protestors gather outside where the International Monetary and Financial Committee’s plenary session was being held in Washington in mid-April. 
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2023
The global order’s triple policy challenge and the tasks ahead
With public and private debt at record levels, political leaders face the monumental task of allocating resources to address critical global challenges.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2023
Kishida under pressure to spend even as debt costs rise
The prime minister pivoted away from his previous stance Tuesday by scrapping September-end plans to stop subsidies that cap gasoline prices.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a government task force meeting on coronavirus response on Jan. 27.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2023
Four-year outlays on COVID and inflation relief to hit ¥68.5 trillion
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida faces the urgent task of carrying out spending reforms as the world's third-largest economy recovers from the economic slump.
A trader on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on July 26
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 15, 2023
U.S. loss of AAA badge shows shift in views on government debt
Fitch Ratings flagged not only U.S. governance but also higher rates driving up debt service costs, an aging population and rising health care spending.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Some economists see the central bank’s loosening of restraints on 10-year bond yields as a message to the government that it now will have to do financial management responsibly, because the BOJ won’t control yields as firmly as it used to.
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2023
Japan’s fiscal plight draws scrutiny after BOJ policy tweak
Tokyo seeking to expand spending on defense and child care, even as the national debt has grown to almost 260% of gross domestic product.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday called the downgrade of the United States' top-tier sovereign credit grade by Fitch Ratings "arbitrary” and "outdated.”
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 2, 2023
U.S. credit rating downgraded from AAA by Fitch 
Fitch Ratings criticized the country’s ballooning fiscal deficits and an "erosion of governance” that have led to repeated debt limit clashes.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jul 19, 2023
G20 finance chiefs fail to reach consensus on debt relief for poorer nations
Following 'very intense discussions” this week, the debt issue will remain a 'priority' for leaders set to gather at a September summit, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 10, 2023
Corporate bankruptcies in Japan highest in five years in wake of COVID
The rise in failures involving liabilities exceeding ¥10 million comes as many companies have begun repaying interest-free and unsecured loans.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 7, 2023
Rakuten’s ¥1.8 trillion debt fuels concern despite funding
The e-commerce giant has racked up four years of losses as its mobile-phone business drains cash.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 7, 2023
A year after unrest, Sri Lankans languish in poverty and hunger
A year after the toppling of former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa almost a third of the country lives below the poverty line.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 30, 2023
Pakistan gets IMF's initial approval for $3 billion loan program
The funds will support the immediate efforts to stabilize the economy from recent external shocks, preserve macroeconomic stability and provide a framework for financing from partners.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 21, 2023
Unlocking climate trillions with a global plan from a sinking island
A summit in Paris this week will bring together the heads of government from more than 100 countries to grapple with financial scarcity as the single-biggest impediment to climate action.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Jun 21, 2023
China moves to shut a lifeline for cash-strapped local governments
Beijing has been tightening rules on local government borrowing for years, driving their financing vehicles deeper into private markets to raise money.
Japan Times
EDITORIALS
Jun 16, 2023
Budgets are the real test of Kishida’s leadership
For the government to balance the budget while increasing spending on defense, child care and the elderly will require hard choices.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 14, 2023
China’s property tycoons remain in charge even as empires fall
To some observers, keeping the property magnates in charge ensures that their interests remain aligned with those of bondholders.
Three men rearrested over brokering of overseas prostitution
A woman speaks of her experience of being sent to Macau by an overseas prostitution broker during an interview in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on April 8.
How the discovery of a giant sword in Nara offers clues into ancient Japan
Archaeologists say a 1,600-year-old wooden coffin at the Tomio Maruyama tumulus in the city of Nara was kept in good condition probably because it was protected by a layer of clay and copper ions that had seeped out of the mirrors that were buried together.
Tech giants start to treat Southeast Asia like the next big thing
Attendees arrive for Microsoft's event on AI technologies in Jakarta on April 30.
First 'extreme' solar storm in 20 years brings spectacular auroras
A meteor is seen in an aurora borealis above Lausanne and the Jura from the Tour de Gourze in Riex, Switzerland, on Saturday.
In first month of operations, ride-hailing services used more than taxis in Tokyo
As of last Sunday, ride-hailing services, which use personal vehicles to offer paid rides, had been used a total of 12,628 times in five areas.
How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan
Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.
Japan's logistics firms seek partnerships to cope with driver shortage
Japan Post CEO Tetsuya Senda (right) and his Seino Transportation counterpart Satoshi Takahashi announce their companies' agreement on joint long-haul truck operations, in Tokyo on Thursday.
How the discovery of a giant sword in Nara offers clues into ancient Japan
Archaeologists say a 1,600-year-old wooden coffin at the Tomio Maruyama tumulus in the city of Nara was kept in good condition probably because it was protected by a layer of clay and copper ions that had seeped out of the mirrors that were buried together.
Unlike 10 years ago, Japan's new security bill sparks little debate
The Lower House starts discussing a security clearance bill on April 19 in Tokyo.
Japan’s tween skateboarders get head start on preparations for 2028 Olympics
Ibuki Matsumoto competes at an event in Osaka on April 21.

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