Tag - economic-indicators

 
 

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

China’s economy shows signs of a possible recovery despite structural challenges and imperfect GDP data, but its future growth and global impact hinge on trade relations with the U.S. and how economic progress is measured.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 10, 2025
Taking GDP out of the China equation
There are problems with looking at China’s vitality through the GDP lens — the data is widely perceived to be finessed by officials
Japan posted a current account surplus of ¥3,436.4 billion in May, the highest level for the month, according to the Finance Ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 8, 2025
Japan's current account surplus sets record for May as trade deficit shrinks
The current account balance, the broadest indicator of a country's international trade and investment flows, was in the black for the fourth consecutive month.
Maria Tyabut shows off the food stored in her new Chinese-made refrigerator while her husband Sergei Duzhikov holds their 8-month-old daughter, Yekaterina, at their apartment in the Moscow suburb of Mytishchi on June 17.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 7, 2025
Sanctions? No big deal, say middle-class Russian couple
They drive a Chinese car, vacation in Venezuela and buy "Camembert" cheese made in Russia.
Japanese households are struggling to keep up with price increases as salary growth lags.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 7, 2025
Real wages fall for fifth straight month in May
The 2.9% decline was the biggest fall in inflation-adjusted pay in Japan in almost two years.
Outlays by households in Japan, adjusted for inflation, gained 4.7% from a year ago in May, according to the internal affairs ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 4, 2025
Japan’s households boost spending by most since summer of 2022
Consumption makes up more than half of Japan’s economic output and could determine whether the economy will enter or avoid a technical recession.
The Asaichi-dori morning market street in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, was devastated by a fire following an earthquake on New Year's Day in 2024.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2025
Noto quake-hit area sees biggest roadside land price drop
The roadside land price for a plot in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, plunged 16.7%, a stark contrast to a 4.5% decline in the previous year.
A delivery driver takes a break in the shade during high temperatures in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 21, 2024.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 2, 2025
How much does a heat wave cost? Insurers and CEOs want to know.
Some believe a new market for heat insurance — driven in part by artificial intelligence and the need to cool data centers — is around the corner.
The plot of land in front of the Kyukyodo stationery shop in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district marked the nation's highest per-square-meter roadside land price for the 40th consecutive year.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2025
Japan's roadside land prices rise for fourth year in a row
The plot of land in front of the Kyukyodo stationery shop in Tokyo's Ginza district had the highest per-square-meter roadside land price in the country for the 40th year in a row.
Food price hikes in July are especially being set for confectionery items such as potato chips and chocolate.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 30, 2025
Japan to see markups for 2,105 food items in July
Higher raw material, energy and labor costs are primary factors behind the expected price hikes in July.
Japan's factory output in May fell 1.8% from a year earlier, missing expectations of a 1.6% rise.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 30, 2025
Japan’s factory output misses expectations as U.S. tariffs hit
Industrial production increased 0.5% from the previous month, the industry ministry reported Monday.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 3.1% in the capital in June from a year earlier, lower than the median economist forecast but still well above the Bank of Japan’s price goal of 2%.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 27, 2025
Tokyo inflation eases as energy costs cool ahead of election
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 3.1% in the capital in June from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
Apartment rents in the capital climbed 1.3% from a year earlier in April and May for the largest gains since 1994, government data shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 26, 2025
Tokyo rents rising at fastest pace in 30 years backs case for BOJ rate hikes
Bigger outlays for accommodation are likely to further fuel a change in inflation expectations and behavior among households of all sizes.
Bentos are popular with a wide range of people in Japan for convenience and price.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2025
Bento shop bankruptcies could hit a record in 2025
Inflation, weak economic growth and work-at-home arrangements are leading to a decline in sales, lower profits and losses.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food quickened for a third month to 3.7% from a year earlier in May.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 20, 2025
Japan’s prices climb by most in two years ahead of Upper House election
Consumer prices excluding fresh food quickened for a third month to 3.7% from a year earlier in May, according to an internal affairs ministry's release Friday.
The first five months of 2025 saw 18,140,100 visitors enter Japan, up from 14,641,780 in the same period last year.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2025
Foreign visitors to Japan at record high for May
The increase in visitors during May was driven by travelers from China, Taiwan and the United States, who visited for holidays and on cruise ship port calls.
Exports measured by value dropped 1.7% in May from a year earlier, suggesting exporters may be absorbing the tariff shock by cutting prices, as export volume rose 1.8%.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 18, 2025
Japan’s export drop raises recession risks as U.S. tariffs bite
The drop in exports and the larger trade deficit add to concerns that Japan’s economy could shrink again in the second quarter.
The Business Sentiment Index for large firms registered minus 1.9 for the April-June quarter, slipping into negative territory for the first time since the first quarter of 2024.
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2025
Japan’s firms see business climate worsen amid U.S. tariff hits
The Business Sentiment Index for large firms slipped into negative territory for the first time since the first quarter of 2024.
World Bank Deputy Chief Economist Ayhan Kose speaks during an interview on Monday in Washington.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 11, 2025
World Bank sees Japan's growth slowing in 2025
The institution has lowered its 2025 growth estimate for Japan's gross domestic product to 0.7% in inflation-adjusted real terms.
Japan's gross domestic product shrank at an annualized pace of 0.2% in the three months through March, the revised data showed, confirming the country's economy shrank even before U.S. President Donald Trump amped up tariff pressure in April.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 9, 2025
Japan confirms GDP contraction, backing BOJ’s cautious stance
GDP shrank at an annualized pace of 0.2% in the three months through March, a less severe drop than the initial estimate of a 0.7% decline.
Japan's exports in terms of value dropped 3% in the first 20 days of May from the same period a year earlier, indicating the impact of U.S. tariffs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 6, 2025
Japan’s early May exports drop as tariff woes upend commerce
Exports measured by value dropped 3% in the first 20 days of May, which compared with a 2% rise for April.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’