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November 23, 2025
 

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ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Investors are worried that Japan may be spending beyond its means.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 22, 2025
Takaichi faces market tests from yen to stocks and bonds
Markets have lost their enthusiasm for Japan’s new prime minister, with about $127 billion wiped off the value of Tokyo-listed stocks over the past week.
Japan's exports grew 3.6% to ¥9.76 trillion thanks to an increase in shipments of semiconductors and gas turbines to other Asian countries.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 21, 2025
Japan posts trade deficit for fourth straight month in October
Japan's exports to the United States declined 3.1% to ¥1.75 trillion, falling for seven months in a row, apparently because of U.S. President Donald Trump's steep tariffs.
The U.S. economy added 119,000 jobs in September — a robust uptick from August — but the unemployment rate edged up from 4.3% to 4.4%.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2025
U.S. unemployment up even as hiring beat expectations in delayed report
The figures, in the last official jobs report before the Federal Reserve's next policy meeting, paint a mixed picture of a softening labor market.
U.S. tariffs are starting to take their toll in Japan, especially on companies manufacturing products for export.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 17, 2025
Japan's GDP drops as tariffs bite and domestic demand flags
The decline in the three quarters ending in September was less than forecast.
Labor productivity per worker in fiscal 2024, which ended in March, rose 0.2% in real terms from the previous year, marking a fourth consecutive annual increase, according to Japan Productivity Center data.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 16, 2025
Japan labor productivity up 0.2% in FY 2024
Despite the good news, progress is still required to ensure that real wages keep rising by 1% as envisioned in a government target, according to the Japan Productivity Center.
The Japanese government is mulling an extra budget for the current fiscal year which will be larger than last year’s, according to local media reports.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 15, 2025
Japan plans bigger extra budget this fiscal year, reports say
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government is mulling an extra budget for the current fiscal year which will be larger than last year’s.
Producer prices in Japan rose 2.7% in October from a year earlier, driven by higher food and copper costs, the Bank of Japan has said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 13, 2025
Producer prices rose 2.7% on year in October, with agricultural goods up 31.4%
The producer price index, which measures the cost of goods traded between businesses, rose for the 56th consecutive month, Bank of Japan data shows.
The travel services trade surplus rose to ¥3.31 trillion thanks to an increase in visitors to Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 11, 2025
Japan's April-September current account surplus hits record high
The current account balance expanded mainly because the trade balance swung to a surplus following lower imports.
Outlays by households gained 1.8% in September from a year earlier, led by transportation and entertainment, but the rise was lower than expected, reflecting falling spending on housing and education.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 7, 2025
Japanese households boost spending despite inflation hit
Outlays by households adjusted for inflation gained 1.8% in September from a year earlier, led by transportation and entertainment.
While the cost of living isn’t going up nearly as fast as it did in 2022, consumer prices are still up 27% since the onset of the pandemic.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 7, 2025
‘Jenga tower’ U.S. economy teeters as middle class pulls back spending
The richest 10% of households are fueling nearly half of total U.S. spending, thanks to a stock market surge that has boosted wealth and propelled economic output this year.
Real cash earnings fell 1.4% in September, marking the ninth consecutive monthly decline in line with analyst forecasts.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 6, 2025
Japan’s wage growth stays firm, keeping rate hike bets alive
Nominal wages rose 1.9% from a year earlier, accelerating from August, the labor ministry reported Thursday, coming in line with economist expectations.
Job hunting and recruitment both may have become less active in September ahead of minimum wage hikes beginning in October.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 31, 2025
Japan's September job availability ratio stays unchanged
Job hunting and recruitment may have become less active in September ahead of minimum wage hikes in October, and some companies may have curbed hiring due to earnings drops.
Chinese leaders are signaling a sharper shift toward supporting consumption over the next five years.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Oct 31, 2025
China signals sharper pivot to consumption as imbalances worsen
As limited investment room and slowing exports have exposed vulnerabilities, Chinese leaders are signaling a sharper shift toward supporting consumption over the next five years.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food gained 2.8% in October from a year earlier in the Tokyo area, with subsidies for water having run their course.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 31, 2025
Faster Tokyo inflation supports BOJ rate hike case and boosts yen
Consumer prices excluding fresh food gained 2.8% in October from a year earlier in the capital.
A television station broadcasts Jerome Powell, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaking after a Federal Open Market Committee meeting on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 30, 2025
Fed cuts rates and Powell signals December move ‘far from’ certain
The Federal Reserve chair's remarks seemed aimed at reining in expectations in financial markets, where the probability of another cut in December was above 90% before he spoke.
Food inflation was highlighted as one of three factors to watch in deciding the timing of the central bank’s next rate hike.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 24, 2025
Japan’s faster inflation highlights need for Takaichi response
New Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has made confronting the cost of living crunch a priority.
Japan's exports gained 4.2% in September from a year earlier, with analysts noting the strong euro and China’s domestic demand-stimulating policies benefiting the country.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 22, 2025
Japan’s exports advance for first time since April on chips
Exports rose for the first time in five months as shipments of chips and electronic parts advanced, while goods destined for the U.S. continued to decline.
Students watch a video featuring Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Military Museum in Beijing on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 21, 2025
China’s lopsided growth puts spotlight on Xi’s five-year plan
Data about China's economy arrived as top officials gather in Beijing for what is known as the Communist Party’s fourth plenum to hash out development plans through 2030.
Sanae Takaichi, the newly elected leader of Japan's ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party, attends a news conference after the LDP presidential election in Tokyo on Oct. 4.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 18, 2025
Japan's fractured politics could ensnarl Takaichi's economic plans
Sanae Takaichi may have found the political support she needs to become Japan's next prime minister — but the new cross-party alliances come with risks.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announces his intention to resign on Sept. 7.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 15, 2025
Ishiba to leave office with a mixed record on the economy
The outgoing prime minister achieved a few successes and left some important business unfinished.
Japanese court orders Cloudflare to pay ¥500 million over manga piracy
Cloudflare has been ordered to pay ¥500 million after four major publishing firms accused the firm of copyright infringement for its role in hosting sites that distribute pirated copies of manga titles.
Japan plans higher visa fees for foreign residents
Along with planned higher fees for foreign residents to stay, Japan is looking to raise the ¥3,000 single-entry visa fee for inbound tourists to Western standards in the next fiscal year.
Two men suspected of smuggling 1 ton of gold into Japan from South Korea
U.K. gold bullion bars and coins are displayed at Baird & Co. in Hatton Garden in London.
Takaichi rejects China's demand to retract Taiwan remarks
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has rejected China's demands for her to retract her comments on Taiwan, saying Tokyo's stance on a major regional security crisis remains unchanged.
¥21.3 trillion stimulus package approved by Cabinet
The Cabinet is expected to submit an extra budget bill to finance the package to parliament, which is in session until Dec. 17.
First foreign president of Hosei University looks abroad for change
Hosei University President Diana Khor, who herself was an international student, aims to encourage students to look outward and cultivate a global mindset.
Japanese companies advised to change mindset about investment in Africa
Bernard Laurendeau, chief of Enkopa Lab Japan, in Tokyo last month
Munetaka Murakami headlines quartet looking to move to MLB via posting system
The Swallows' Munetaka Murakami has 246 career home runs in eight NPB seasons.
The reality of human trafficking in Japan
A view of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward at night. Last year in Japan, 66 people were put in protective custody as victims of human trafficking. Among them, 58 — including all 41 minors — were Japanese nationals. International pressure to act on human trafficking led Japan to make efforts to crack down on the crime, such as a tightening of conditions in 2005 for entertainer visas.
Why we can’t get enough of the sham of the rental family
“Rental Family,” directed and co-written by the single-named Hikari, follows out-of-work actor Phillip (Brendan Fraser), who is hired as the “token white guy” at a Tokyo agency called Rental Family.

Podcast

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

Longform

Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” was released Nov. 23, 1985, and though it wasn’t a hit at the time, it has gained a cult following in the years since.
Eat, slurp, love: 'Tampopo' turns 40
By Weiwen Lin

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