Tag - inflation

 
 

INFLATION

A person holds a Binance cryptocurrencies QR code at a store in La Paz, Bolivia. Binance is favored in the country for its low fees and educational resources for new users.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 8, 2025
In land of 25% inflation, crypto is starting to replace money in Bolivia
From small coffee shops to large corporations, signs of cryptocurrencies being rapidly adoption are everywhere in the landlocked nation of 11 million in South America.
A Bank of Japan board member suggested the possibility of a rate hike by year-end, depending on the impact of U.S. tariffs, according to a summary of opinions from the central bank’s policy meeting last week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 8, 2025
BOJ may exit wait-and-see mode by year-end, policy meeting summary says
Depending on the impact from U.S. tariffs, another rate hike then might be possible, an unnamed board member hinted.
The government revised its real growth projection for fiscal year 2025 to 0.7%, down from the previous forecast of 1.2%.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 8, 2025
Japan lowers this year’s growth forecast as tariffs kick in
The downgrade partly reflects a darkening global economic outlook as a result of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
The National Personnel Authority recommended Thursday a 3.62% increase in average monthly base pay for public employees in the current fiscal year.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2025
Japan’s public workers set to get largest pay hike in 34 years
The rise in wages will come as a welcome development for policymakers at the Bank of Japan, who are seeking broad-based and lasting growth to support stable inflation.
LDP lawmaker Ken Saito
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 6, 2025
Japan ruling party heavyweight warns against BOJ rate hike
The remark highlights the political pressure the BOJ could face in resuming rate hikes as higher U.S. levies hurt corporate profits.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Taro Kono called for the Bank of Japan to tighten monetary policy to bolster the yen at a time when political leadership is under pressure after the ruling coalition lost its majority in the Upper House in an election last month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 6, 2025
LDP’s Kono adds to chorus urging BOJ to tighten policy
Taro Kono’s remarks come after several prominent executives made similar pleas, though no economists expect a move when the BOJ next sets policy on Sept. 19.
Nominal wages in Japan rose 2.5% in June from a year earlier, accelerating from a revised 1.4% gain the previous month, according to the labor ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 6, 2025
Japan’s nominal pay rises faster in June, backing case for BOJ rate hike
Nominal wages increased 2.5% in June from a year earlier, accelerating from a revised 1.4% gain the previous month and marking the steepest increase since February.
Hironori Kamezawa, chief executive officer of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, speaks during an interview at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 5, 2025
BOJ rate hike in September or October is 'desirable,' MUFG chief says
Such a hike is ideal in the face of strong inflation in the country.
Amid rising prices for food and other items, a government panel has proposed a record hike in the average minimum wage.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 5, 2025
Amid inflation, Japanese government panel proposes record ¥63 minimum wage hike
The recommendation by the panel, which advises the labor minister, would raise the average minimum wage to ¥1,118 per hour.
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi (center) talks with rice farmers in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, on July 11.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Aug 4, 2025
Japan seeks to ditch rice output curbs after price surges
Currently, the government provides subsidies to farmers to encourage them to restrict rice production and switch to other crops to prevent an oversupply.
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 3, 2025
BOJ watchers bring forward next rate hike call after trade deals
The view has emerged after clarity over trade increased with U.S. President Donald Trump announcing deals, including one with Japan.
Bags of newly harvested Koshihikari brand rice are sold at a supermarket in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2025
Japan's first rice crop of 2025 goes on sale at high prices
Rice prices may remain high even after autumn, leading consumers to struggle with their food spending.
The price increases in August will be especially noticeable for dairy products, including milk and yogurt, according to the research firm Teikoku Databank.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 31, 2025
1,010 food and beverage prices to rise in Japan in August
The price increases in August will be especially noticeable for dairy products, including milk and yogurt.
The Bank of Japan kept the overnight call rate at 0.5% at the end of a two-day policy meeting in a unanimous vote, according to a statement Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 31, 2025
BOJ keeps rates unchanged and lifts price view after U.S. trade deal
While the changes in the outlook suggested Gov. Kazuo Ueda’s board is closer to its next rate hike, the central bank also avoided dropping any clear hints as to the exact timing.
The agriculture ministry believes the increase in rice distributed through new channels with higher transaction prices is one of the factors behind the rice price surge since last summer.
BUSINESS
Jul 30, 2025
Varied sales channels may have triggered rice price surge
The amount of 2024 rice shipped from producers to major buyers dealing with farmers fell by 340,000 metric tons from the previous year.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda. The central bank is expected to remain cautious until the fall.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 29, 2025
Bank of Japan likely to hold key rate at 0.5% as tariff breakthrough evaluated
Political uncertainty may also weigh on the policy board's decision this week.
Kazuhiko Shigetoku (second from left), policy chief of the Constitutional Democratic Party, speaks at a meeting of opposition party policy leaders discussing a bill to scrap the provisional add-on gasoline tax rate, on Tuesday at parliament.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2025
Eight opposition parties agree to push for extra gasoline tax to be scrapped
The opposition parties are hoping to raise public expectations for political change after the ruling coalition lost its majority in the recent Upper House election.
A bottle of Suntory's Yamazaki whisky
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 29, 2025
Suntory will gauge U.S. consumer sentiment for whisky price hike
CEO Takeshi Niinami also said the company is "overreliant on the U.S. and Japan” and has realized the importance of emerging markets.
Hideyuki Okamoto, ice pop maker Akagi Nyugyo's marketing team leader, says the public is more accepting of price hikes as he holds the company's flagship Garigari-kun ice pop.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Jul 29, 2025
Enough apologies: How Japan is shaking off its price hike phobia
A shift in consumer mindset about such increases is driven by the biggest pay hikes in three decades and has given companies more confidence to pass on rising costs.
Prolonged high prices for food and other goods have pushed down consumer sentiment and real wages, according to the Annual Report on the Japanese Economy and Public Finance for fiscal 2025.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 29, 2025
Japan should take all possible measures to raise wages, white paper says
Prolonged high prices for food and other goods have pushed down consumer sentiment and real wages, while predictions for continued price climbs have curbed consumption.

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Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person