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May 19, 2025
 

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ECONOMY

Trade no longer generates a surplus in Japan, reflecting a surge in the cost of energy imports and an increase in offshore production.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 30, 2024
Yen's relentless slide revives Japan's interest in structural reforms
The currency's persistent weakness has alerted policymakers to more fundamental drivers behind it, such as the nation's dwindling global competitiveness.
An LDP panel's proposal on fiscal policy underscores how a weak yen and an exit from ultra-low interest rates are piling pressure on Japan to rein in its huge public debt.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2024
Japan must restore fiscal discipline to protect yen's value, LDP panel says
The views of the panel of Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers are shared by the powerful Finance Ministry, who oversees the state budget.
Seiji Adachi, member of the policy board at the Bank of Japan
BUSINESS / Economy
May 29, 2024
BOJ policymaker hints of rate hike if yen fall has big impact on inflation
While short-term currency moves alone would not trigger a policy shift, the central bank could raise interest rates if excessive yen falls persist.
Foreign private credit funds are focusing on Japanese investors as they move more money into higher-paying assets.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 29, 2024
Private credit chases Japan’s trillions as inflation spurs shift
Private credit funds are betting that inflation will prompt investors to channel more money into riskier overseas investments.
With the recent focus on the yen and individual investing, the phrase "Mrs. Watanabe" — one of the most common pieces of jargon in Japanese financial circles — has seen a resurgence.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 29, 2024
My search for the original 'Mrs. Watanabe'
Yen retail traders are back in the spotlight. But where did the phrase for the archetypal Japanese housewife investor come from?
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks at the central bank's annual international conference in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS
May 27, 2024
BOJ to 'proceed cautiously' with inflation-targeting frameworks
Gov. Kazuo Ueda said Japan has "made progress in moving away from zero and lifting inflation expectations."
Bruno Le Maire, France's finance minister, speaks at an event in Nesle, France, in April 2023.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 27, 2024
China’s industry threatens entire global economy, France warns
Leading industrialized nations are coalescing for a tougher and more united challenge to overcapacities in China.
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen holds a news conference ahead of a meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors in Stresa, Italy, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 26, 2024
China slammed in G7 show of unity threatening trade escalation
The Group of Seven ministers and bankers accused the world’s second-biggest economy of hurting the economies of its trade partners.
Bank of Italy Gov. Fabio Panetta (left), French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire (center) and Italian Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti pose for a picture at the Group of Seven finance chiefs and central bank governors' meeting in Stresa, Italy, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 25, 2024
China fear grips G7 with draft raising alarm at ‘harmful’ trade
A draft communique formulated at the Group of Seven meeting in the lakeside resort of Stresa introduces much stronger language than before.
Japan's top currency diplomat, Masato Kanda, poses for a photograph during an interview at the Finance Ministry in Tokyo in January 2022.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 25, 2024
Japan issues fresh warning on yen drops and signals readiness to intervene
The finance minister also said he was in frequent contact with overseas counterparts, particularly in the U.S., on issues including financial markets.
Japan's core inflation slowed for a second straight month in April due to milder food inflation.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 24, 2024
Japan’s inflation cools as BOJ waits for wage gains to kick in
Consumer prices excluding those for fresh food rose 2.2% year on year in April, matching analysts’ estimates and marking a 25th month of staying above the BOJ's 2% target.
The captain of a port pilot boat approaches a container ship outside the Port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles.
WORLD / Politics
May 24, 2024
A new trade war offers no easy way back for old global order
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump fired the first shots with tariffs on China seven years ago, then President Joe Biden ushered the U.S. into the new industrial policy age.
As companies lose once-stable investors through the unwinding of cross-shareholdings, they are now hoping that rewarding long-term individual shareholders will help make them more resilient in possible proxy battles.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2024
Japanese firms woo individuals as cross-shareholdings shrink
In a bid to protect themselves from activist investors, firms are trying to build loyalty with long-term individual shareholders by doling out gifts.
Japan's real wages in fiscal 2023 were down for the second straight year, as steady wage growth failed to keep pace with inflation.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 23, 2024
Japan's fiscal 2023 real wages show sharpest drop in nine years
Real wages were down for the second straight year, as steady wage growth failed to keep pace with inflation.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says his administration is committed to capital market reforms to attract more foreign investments.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 23, 2024
Kishida makes public push on capital market reforms
Kishida's appearance at a conference held by Wall Street bank Morgan Stanley was another example of Japan's effort to shed the image of being unwelcoming to foreign investors.
Service prices, a key component of Japan’s inflation data, may be sturdier than in the past.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 23, 2024
Steady and widening service price rises may spur BOJ’s next move
Service prices, a key component of Japan’s inflation data, may be sturdier than in the past.
Some strategists have predicted that Japan’s 10-year sovereign yield will rise to 2% by the end of 2026.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 22, 2024
Japan yields have room to rise after 1% reached on BOJ bets
The focus turns now to how quickly the supereasy monetary policy will be dialed back and how much further yields may rise.
Japan swung to a trade deficit of ¥462.5 billion in April due to higher crude oil prices and a weak yen.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 22, 2024
Japan trade deficit shows weak yen is weighing on economy
The trade balance in April registered a ¥462.5 billion deficit, flipping from a ¥387 billion surplus.
Joe Biden’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and other imports are more than symbolic — they are a signal that the U.S. won’t accept a surge of imports that could undermine crucial parts of his administration’s agenda.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2024
The U.S. is preparing for a second 'China shock'
The immediate impact of these tariffs will be small, because the United States currently imports very few of the affected goods from China.
Notwithstanding the increase in EV sales, there are now more cars than ever powered by internal-combustion engines.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2024
Nevermind those EVs — oil demand keeps growing
The oil bulls still have reason to worry: With OPEC+ trying to keep prices as close as possible to $100 a barrel, non-OPEC supply, including from biofuels, keeps surging.
Nissan to solicit early retirements while eyeing plant closures in Japan
Nissan's Oppama plant in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, may be closed as part of the struggling carmaker's streamlining efforts.
Australian firm produces heavy rare earth, in first outside China
The Lynas Rare Earths processing plant in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
Police arrest Chinese man in Saitama hit-and-run case
Police questioned a man who turned himself in as he closely resembled the driver recorded on the dashcam of another vehicle that happened to pass by the scene of a hit-and-run incident in Saitama Prefecture.
Wholesalers may be behind elevated retail rice prices
Wholesalers added ¥7,593 on average to their selling prices for stockpiled rice, far more than the ¥2,206 to ¥4,689 added for the 2022 rice.
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.
In Nintendo’s backyard, foreign indie game devs are thriving
Kyoto's gaming landscape is dominated by Nintendo's headquarters, but a contingent of foreign-born indie developers is also working in the gaming giant's shadow.
Akazawa's dilemma: no tariff deal or a half-baked deal
Chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa and his delegation in the Oval Office of the White House in April. Since then, Japan's trade negotiations with the U.S. have produced no tangible results.
Nissan hoping to electrify home crowd as Formula E returns to Tokyo
Nissan's Oliver Rowland drives during qualifying for Miami E-Prix at Homestead Motor Speedway in Homestead, Florida, on April 12.
For his first feature film, director Ryuya Suzuki created a masterpiece
"Jinsei," which follows its protagonist over a century, probes themes of identity and societal issues with a dark comic touch. The director, however, says he created the story without knowing where it would lead.
Historian Rob Fitts discovers earliest ever reference to baseball in Japan
Japan's Shohei Ohtani carries the Japanese flag onto the field before the start of the World Baseball Classic final against the United States in Miami on March 21, 2023.

Podcast

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

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?
By Tomoko Otake

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