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May 16, 2025
 

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ECONOMY

The yen slumped more than 2% on Monday alone, nearing ¥150 to the dollar, after the U.S. and China temporarily lowered tariffs, triggering a reversal of bearish dollar bets.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 15, 2025
Rich Japanese still fear yen crash, wealth manager says
Japan's most prosperous households are still scarred by the market’s collapse in the early 1990s.
Over 30 years, U.S.-China trade talks have largely failed because Beijing prioritizes protecting its political system, making only symbolic concessions, while Washington struggles to win lasting changes.
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2025
The U.S. will never win a trade war with China
For sure, the 90-day truce is merely temporary relief. As long as negotiations continue as they are, the U.S. will not be able to win a trade war with China
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's tariff czar, after the first round of talks in Washington. Media reports indicate he may be headed back to the United States next week for the third round of negotiations.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 15, 2025
Third round of U.S.-Japan tariff talks may be held next week: report
Akazawa’s two previous visits to Washington yielded no tangible results.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Nihonbashi. The exchange wants companies to lower the entry cost of investing in their shares.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 14, 2025
Tokyo Stock Exchange wants stocks to be affordable for the average investor
Attracting more small investors could help reduce volatility due to the introduction of a wider range of investment strategies.
U.S. President Donald Trump's policies, including attacks on research funding, immigration and trade threaten the foundations of American economic exceptionalism, and the resulting damage may be difficult to undo.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2025
American exceptionalism meets its maker
The question is whether U.S. President Donald Trump’s destructive policies have now brought this economic exceptionalism to an end.
Japan will call for the public and private sectors to spend about ¥60 trillion in total over the five years to fiscal 2029 to improve the productivity of small and midsize companies.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 14, 2025
Japan considers five-year wage hike plan for smaller firms
The government will call on the public and private sectors to spend about ¥60 trillion in total over the five years.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 13, 2025
Consumption tax set to dominate Upper House election debate
Broaching the subject has traditionally been seen as akin to kicking a hornet's nest.
Senior officials of Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito agreed Tuesday on the need to draft a supplementary budget before a possible extraordinary session of the Diet this autumn.
JAPAN / Politics
May 13, 2025
LDP and Komeito agree to draft supplementary budget before autumn session
The extra budget is expected to fund measures to deal with inflation and the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping speaks during the opening ceremony of the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum in Beijing on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 13, 2025
China's Xi slams 'bullying' as Beijing hosts Latin American leaders
The Chinese leader also pledged $9.2 billion in credit toward "development" for the region — part of a broad set of initiatives aimed at deepening cooperation.
"The Bank of Japan’s stance to continue to raise the policy interest rate is unchanged” given low real rates and the outlook for its price goal to be met, one of the nine board members said at the central bank's April 30 to May 1 meeting, according to a summary of opinions released Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 13, 2025
BOJ still intends to raise rates while monitoring tariffs, summary shows
The written account of the BOJ gathering comes as risk appetite returns to global financial markets following the cooldown in U.S.-China tariff tensions on Monday.
A Warren Buffett Squishmallow is displayed during a Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, in May 2023. Buffett’s $25 billion bet on five Japanese trading houses reflects his belief that the country’s overlooked market rewards patient investors who embrace its unique business culture.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 13, 2025
Buffett’s little Japan handbook — and other lessons
The legendary investor recently revealed what inspired his interest in Tokyo’s trading houses — and offered a host of tips for would-be followers.
Then-Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visits a school in South Gate, California, in February 2012. Experts say Xi won big in his standoff with U.S. President Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
May 13, 2025
Xi defiance pays off as Trump meets most China trade demands
Going forward, experts say, this will make the Chinese side confident that they have leverage over the U.S. in any negotiations.
The number of business failures due to labor shortages grew to 36 from 25 a year before, while the number of bankruptcies because of inflation remained high, at 56, against 60.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2025
Japan business failures hit 11-year high for April
More failures were seen mainly among smaller companies with weak business bases as their revenue was squeezed by rising prices and higher labor costs.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House earlier this year. Ishiba said Monday that farmers won't be sacrificed for automakers in Japan's tariff negotiations with the U.S.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
May 12, 2025
Japan might be playing long game in U.S. tariff talks
Tokyo is resisting making any major concessions, possibly in the hope that mounting domestic pressure will force U.S. President Donald Trump to give it a better deal.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attend a news conference after trade talks with China, in Geneva on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 12, 2025
U.S. and China agree to lower tariffs in 90-day cooling-off period
The temporary move will give the world’s two largest economies three more months to resolve their differences.
A gauge of confidence among store managers, taxi drivers and others who interact directly with Japanese consumers dropped 2.5 points to 42.6 in April.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 12, 2025
Japan’s merchants’ mood hits worst in three years on tariff woes
A gauge of confidence among store managers, taxi drivers and others who interact directly with Japanese consumers dropped 2.5 points to 42.6 in April.
People stand in front of a big screen displaying the Nikkei share average outside a brokerage in Tokyo late last month.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 12, 2025
Japan’s Topix extends rally to 12th day as tariff worries ease
The Topix closed 0.3% higher at 2742.08, giving it its longest winning streak since 2017.
Exports in fiscal 2024 climbed 4.1% from the previous year to ¥106.24 trillion, led by shipments of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and vehicles.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 12, 2025
Japan's FY2024 current account surplus hits record ¥30 trillion
A weaker yen boosted dividend and interest flows from overseas, a Finance Ministry report showed.
A median estimate of economists shows Japan's gross domestic product likely shrank by 0.3% in the January-March quarter on an annualized basis.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 12, 2025
Japan’s sputtering economy likely stalled before Trump’s tariffs
Gross domestic product adjusted for inflation shrank by 0.3% in the first quarter on an annualized basis, according to economists.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer address the media after trade talks with China in Geneva on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 12, 2025
U.S. and China cite ‘substantial progress’ in Geneva trade talks
U.S. negotiators described "substantial progress" and also said details would be announced Monday.
Success of Chinese-made fighter jets against India raises alarm in Asia
Chinese J-10 fighter jets from the People's Liberation Army Air Force August 1st Aerobatics Team perform during a media demonstration at the Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, in November 2015.
Japan to recognize Taiwan as place of origin in family registration system
Masataka Yuhara, secretary-general of the Friends of Lee Teng Hui Association in Japan, which has been calling for "Taiwan" to be permitted as a place of origin in family registers.
Japanese retailers turn to California rice for cheaper alternative
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass eats California rice at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday along with Mitsuko Tsuchiya, vice president of retailer Aeon.
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
Two crew feared dead after ASDF training jet crashes in Aichi
Self-Defense Forces personnel collect apparent parts of an Air Self-Defense Force T-4 training jet from a reservoir in Inuyama, Aichi Prefeture, on Thursday. The jet crashed shortly after takeoff a day earlier.
Sumo title contenders already emerging in early stages of Tokyo meet
Onosato (left) battles Abi on Day 3 of the Summer Basho in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Harmfully hot days for pregnant women in Japan nearly doubled over past five years
New research by a U.S. climate scientists’ group reveals that extreme heat has increased the risks of preterm births and other pregnancy complications in Japan, nearly doubling the number of days that are harmfully hot for pregnant women over the past five years.
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
Tokyo Stock Exchange wants stocks to be affordable for the average investor
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Nihonbashi. The exchange wants companies to lower the entry cost of investing in their shares.
Consumption tax set to dominate Upper House election debate
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Tuesday.

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