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May 02, 2024
 

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ECONOMY

A woman walks past the Bank of Japan headquarters in central Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2024
BOJ leaves policy unchanged despite yen’s continued weakness
Investors and market observers had been watching for whether the bank would send more hawkish signals to prop up the Japanese currency.
More investors are calling on Japanese firms to abolish cross-shareholdings, a practice that has been criticized as undermining discipline in corporate governance and leading to anti-competitive behavior.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 26, 2024
Investor group calls for zero cross-shareholdings at Japanese firms
"Strategic shareholdings," where companies hold stocks in businesses they have ties with, have decreased slightly, but progress is slow.
Core inflation in Japan's capital slowed much more than expected in April, falling below the central bank's 2% target.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 26, 2024
Tokyo inflation slows sharply as education subsidy cuts outlays
A plunge in costs for public and private high schools shaved around half a percentage point from the overall figure, the internal affairs ministry said.
Japan's stock market attention is shifting to whether domestic market-oriented firms can bring some bullishness back to the market.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 25, 2024
Revival in Japanese stock market hinges on domestic demand taking hold
Attention has shifted to whether domestic market-oriented laggards may be able to bring some bullishness back to the market.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 25, 2024
South Korea’s economic growth beats forecast as exports rise
South Korea's gross domestic product advanced 1.3% in the three months through March, easily outpacing economists’ consensus for a 0.6% expansion.
The rate of the yen against the U.S. dollar is displayed in the trading room at foreign exchange brokerage Gaitame.com in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 25, 2024
Yen inches closer to intervention point as BOJ meeting starts
For the first time in over 30 years, the yen weakened beyond ¥155 per dollar, sending traders on the alert for possible intervention.
The yen’s slide has pushed up import bills in Japan, keeping domestic consumer spending tepid, with analysts saying any gains in real wages may evaporate if the yen depreciates further.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 24, 2024
Investors loved weak yen boosting shares until it went too far
Concern is growing that the currency is becoming a liability for Japan’s economy and stocks.
An electronic board in Tokyo showing the yen-dollar rate on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 24, 2024
Japan ‘very close’ to yen intervention, former top currency official says
Market reaction to U.S. data could encourage Japanese authorities to act about the yen, according to Mitsuhiro Furusawa.
Buyers inside an exhibition hall at the Canton Fair in Guangzhou on April 17.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2024
China’s prices are just too low for buyers to sweat about tariffs
Many buyers at China’s biggest trade event in the southern city of Guangzhou shrugged off the risk of an escalating trade war with the U.S.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks during a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on the sidelines of IMF and G20 meetings in Washington last week.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 23, 2024
Tokyo issues strong warning on yen intervention as currency dips further
Comments by Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki came after the dollar rose to ¥154.85, its strongest levels against the Japanese currency since 1990.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda hasn’t ruled out responding to exchange rates with a policy move if the impact on prices is seen to be "non-negligible.”
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 23, 2024
BOJ to hold rates with focus on hawkish signals to buoy yen
Gov. Kazuo Ueda and his fellow board members are set to keep the short-term rate around 0% to 0.1% at the end of their two-day policy meeting.
About 60% of small and mid-sized companies plan to raise wages in fiscal 2024, a government survey shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 23, 2024
70% of Japan companies to raise pay-scales in FY 2024
Survey results showed that about 40% of firms were struggling with labor shortages even after raising wages.
The dollar's resurgence has come on the back of a slew of signs that the U.S. economy avoided the slowdown many anticipated.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 23, 2024
U.S. dollar’s extended reign delivers stark wake-up call to markets
Global investors are talking about "U.S. exceptionalism” after a predicted slowdown to the nation's economy didn't transpire.
The Nikkei stock market rally has paused, but the market has an upside potential toward the end of the year, according to Allianz Global Investors.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 22, 2024
Allianz says Japanese stocks will defy geopolitics and yen volatility
The asset manager expects support from solid corporate fundamentals and the long-term outlook for artificial intelligence.
More than half of respondents in a recent survey say they would continue to buy a product at the same supermarket even if prices rose by 10%.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 22, 2024
Higher price tolerance among Japan's shoppers supports further BOJ rate hikes
A recent survey by an inflation expert showed that more than half of respondents would keep buying a supermarket product even if prices rose by 10%.
Vitor Gaspar, director of fiscal affairs at the International Monetary Fund, speaks at a news conference during the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 19, 2024
Japan should pursue fiscal consolidation, IMF economist says
With Japan's inflation mostly in line with the Bank of Japan's 2% target, an IMF economist is encouraging fiscal consolidation.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a news conference after a policy meeting at BOJ headquarters in Tokyo on March 19.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 20, 2024
BOJ's Ueda says 'very likely' to hike rates if inflation keeps rising
The BOJ must maintain loose monetary policy for the time being as underlying inflation remains "somewhat below" its 2% target, Gov. Kazuo Ueda said.
The average daily room rate of hotels in Japan for March marked the highest level since August 1997, as the country saw a record number of foreign visitors in March.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 19, 2024
Japan hotel prices near 30-year high as weak yen lures record tourists
The average daily room rate for March was about ¥20,986 ($136), the highest level since August 1997 and a nearly 20% increase from the same period in 2023.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks at a news conference in Washington on Thursday alongside Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 19, 2024
BOJ's Ueda signals possible rate hike if weak yen boosts inflation
The BOJ will scrutinize how the yen's declines so far this year could affect the economy and prices, Ueda said.
Japan's core inflation slowed in March and an index gauging broader price trends fell below 3% for the first time in over a year, as analysts try to gauge when the Bank of Japan will move again.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 19, 2024
Japan’s inflation cools ahead of BOJ policy board meeting
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.6% in March from a year ago, cooling from February’s 2.8% gain.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Did Japan intervene to prop up the yen? Analysts think it did.
A man walks past an electronic board displaying the exchange rate for the yen against the U.S. dollar (right) in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Number of vacant homes in Japan hits record high of 9 million
A vacant house in Tokyo is seen demolished in January 2020.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.

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