Tag - inflation

 
Menu
Search
 
December 05, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

INFLATION

The Bank of Japan regularly sells government bonds with repurchase agreements to boost liquidity.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 4, 2024
BOJ sells 10-year cash bonds to ease shortage tied to futures
The BOJ owned ¥8.03 trillion of the bonds due in March 2032 as of Nov. 29, down from ¥8.23 trillion on Nov. 20.
Resona's loan balance for SMEs was up 4.9% by the end of September from a year earlier, compared with just 1.1% growth in the 12 months through September 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 2, 2024
Resona says inflation is boosting SME loan demand and pay hikes
SMEs make up the bulk of Resona's client base, giving the bank insight into the state of firms that account for most of the employment in Japan.
The average price of osechi traditional food for the 2025 New Year stood at ¥27,826 ($185), a 1.3% increase — or ¥360 — compared with that for the 2024 New Year.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 2, 2024
Osechi ryōri prices climb for a third consecutive year
The latest increase, at ¥360 ($2.40), is the smallest in three years, at less than half the increase for the 2024 New Year.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a news conference after a policy meeting in Tokyo on Oct. 31.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 30, 2024
BOJ's Ueda says rate hike timing 'approaching,' Nikkei reports
The remarks reinforce growing market expectations that the BOJ will raise its short-term policy rate from the current 0.25% as soon as its next meeting on Dec. 18-19.
The Bank of Japan's headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 29, 2024
Stimulus staved off years of deflation, BOJ study says
The study found that monetary stimulus beginning in 2013 boosted the level of gross domestic product by as much as 1.8 percentage point on average through this year.
Commercial buildings in the Shibuya area of Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 29, 2024
Consumer inflation speeds up amid BOJ rate hike speculation
Overall inflation sped up to 2.6%, as food prices also pushed up the gauge, also outpacing economist expectations.
Japanese food makers plan to raise prices for 109 items in December, a survey released by research company Teikoku Databank on Friday showed.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 29, 2024
Japanese food makers to raise prices for 109 items in December
The total number of food items subject to price increases throughout 2024 is expected to fall by about 60% from the previous year to 12,520.
The services producer price index rose 2.9% in October from a year earlier, the Bank of Japan data shows, accelerating from a 2.8% gain in September.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 26, 2024
Japan's steady corporate service inflation bolsters BOJ rate-hike view
The Bank of Japan is watching service-sector inflation for clues on whether demand-driven price gains are broadening enough to justify further raising interest rates.
Princess Yuriko waves during the New Year's public greeting at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in January 2019.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2024
Japan will spend ¥325 million in government funds on Princess Yuriko's funeral
The total includes about ¥202 million for the "Renso-no-gi" main funeral ceremony to be held at the Toshimagaoka cemetery on Tuesday.
The policy chiefs of the Democratic Party for the People, Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito — Makoto Hamaguchi (left), Itsunori Onodera (center) and Mitsunari Okamoto — shake hands after reaching an agreement on an economic stimulus package on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 22, 2024
Japan approves ¥21.9 trillion stimulus plan
Combined with expected spending from the private sector, this year’s package is estimated to add a total of ¥39 trillion to the economy.
Japan's core inflation held above the Bank of Japan's 2% target in October, keeping pressure on the central bank to raise its still-low interest rates.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 22, 2024
Inflation held above BOJ target in October, supporting winter rate hike
Food companies raised the prices of 2,911 items, with processed food prices increasing by 3.8% while rice prices rose 60%.
Amid a slowing economy, Beijing has avoided large-scale fiscal stimulus to prevent further debt buildup, focusing instead on modest measures to alleviate regional financial stress without adding new borrowing.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 21, 2024
No, China doesn’t really have a debt crisis
Beijing is gun-shy about fiscal stimulus due to concerns more debt will build up. This thinking is muddled.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda gives a speech in Nagoya on Monday. Ueda's signaling remains vague and noncommittal, further muddying the outlook for December.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 20, 2024
Dithering in December could cost Bank of Japan yen stability
For some analysts, the central bank is all but certain to raise rates next month, though others think it might be too early.
Prices will increase for about 60% of Sukiya menu items starting Nov. 22 due to a recent rise in the price of Japanese rice, the fast-food restaurant operator Zensho Holdings said in a statement Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 19, 2024
Sukiya operator Zensho sees shares rise ahead of beef-bowl meal price hike
Prices will increase for about 60% of Sukiya menu items starting Nov. 22 due to a recent rise in the price of Japanese rice, the company said Monday.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said the timing of the central bank’s next policy adjustment will depend on the economy and prices during a speech in Nagoya on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 18, 2024
Yen weakens after Ueda’s caution on BOJ rate hike hints
The yen weakened as much as 0.5% to ¥155.14 against the dollar as Ueda’s comments proved less hawkish than some market participants had expected.
Takeshi Shina, an opposition lawmaker and a member of the Lower House's financial committee, has frequently summoned Bank of Japan governors, including incumbent Kazuo Ueda, to parliament for grilling on monetary policy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 14, 2024
BOJ should raise rates to 1% to reverse weak yen, says CDP lawmaker
His remarks highlight how concern over the demerits of a weak yen will remain a key topic of debate among politicians.
Then-Chinese Vice Premier Liu He presents a letter from his boss, Xi Jinping, to then-U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House following trade negotiations in October 2019.
COMMENTARY
Nov 14, 2024
Trump’s tariffs and inflation fatigue are a toxic brew
Key to Trump's logic is the idea that the U.S. has all the leverage, and that just isn’t true in the current macroeconomic environment.
The government aims to finalize an economic package later this month to help households hit hard by rising prices.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2024
Japan eyes ¥30,000 benefits for low-income households
The planned economic package includes a proposal of ¥20,000 per child to the benefits, which are designed to support households hit hard by soaring prices.
The corporate goods price index rose 3.4% in October from a year earlier, Bank of Japan data showed, above market forecasts for a 3.0% gain.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 13, 2024
Japan's wholesale inflation heightens uncertainty on rate hike timing
A spike in the price of rice, coupled with the increasing cost of nonferrous metals, food and oil, pushed up overall wholesale inflation.
Many on the Bank of Japan board highlighted the need to scrutinize market developments in determining whether the economy can weather higher borrowing costs, a summary of opinions from October meeting shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 11, 2024
BOJ divided on rate hike timing, October summary shows
Many highlighted the need to scrutinize market developments, particularly yen moves, in determining whether the economy can weather higher borrowing costs.
South Korea's Yoon backs down after parliament rejects martial law
Soldiers try to enter the National Assembly building in Seoul, after South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday evening.
BOJ weighs case for first triple hike since Japan’s bubble burst
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda reiterated in an interview published Saturday that authorities will raise rates if the economy performs in line with projections.
Australian says romance scam tricked her into smuggling drugs into Japan
Donna Nelson says her life was turned upside down when she learned that the man she was falling for had tricked her into smuggling 2 kilograms of methamphetamine into Japan.
Jetstar Japan loses lawsuit over disciplinary action against cabin crew
Jetstar Japan has been ordered to pay back wages to two cabin crew members for the periods they were suspended.
Nomura CEO takes pay cut after former employee charged with attempted murder
Kentaro Okuda, CEO of Nomura Holdings, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
U.S. Space Force launches first unit in Japan
Activated on Wednesday, U.S. Space Forces Japan — a component similar to the one established at South Korea’s Osan Air Base in 2022 — will operate out of Yokota Air Base in the city of Fussa, western Tokyo, with a staff of about 10.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Europe eyes 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine as possible peace deal option
A serviceman with the Ukrainian Army's 24th mechanized brigade fires a machine gun during an exercise, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the country's Donetsk region on Friday.
Seven strangers and an algorithm: Can this new dinner app help you make friends?
Timeleft uses an algorithm to match its users with five or six strangers in an effort to prompt “human connection” over dinner at a restaurant. It determines the attendees with the help of a simple personality quiz available when you sign up for the service.
Don’t worry, you can still use your Japan health insurance card — for now
A My Number card reader at a pediatric clinic in Tokyo. While the government will stop issuing new health insurance cards on Monday, most people will remain unaffected by the move in the short term as existing health insurance cards can still be used for another year.

Podcast

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

Longform

The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’
Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER