Tag - japanese economy

 
 

JAPANESE ECONOMY

The yen carry trade is expected to ramp up next year, driven by wide gaps in interest rates, higher government borrowing in the U.S. and low volatility in currency markets, analysts say.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 3, 2024
Yen carry trade that rattled markets shows signs of a comeback
Japanese retail investors as well as leveraged funds and asset managers outside the country are estimated to have boosted bearish wagers on the yen in November.
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.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 3, 2024
BOJ weighs case for first triple hike since Japan’s bubble burst
The last time the BOJ conducted three hikes in a single year was in 1989, with the third increase that year coming on Christmas Day.
Japanese companies' capital expenditure on goods excluding software rose 9.5% year on year in the three months through September.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 2, 2024
Japanese firms boost capex in sign of confidence holding up
Expectations are also growing for the Bank of Japan to raise rates sooner rather than later.
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.
A business district in Tokyo in 2020
BUSINESS
Nov 28, 2024
Share of female presidents at Japanese firms hits record 8.4%
The proportion of female presidents has been rising slowly but steadily since it stood at 4.5% in 1990, the oldest data available.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during a G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro on Nov. 18.
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2024
Japan to lean heavily on extra tax revenue to cover costs of extra budget
The extra budget will partly be funded by ¥3.83 trillion in higher-than-expected tax receipts and unused funds from the previous year.
Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino speaks at the organization's central committee meeting in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 28, 2024
Rengo to demand wage hike of 6% or more for smaller firms in 2025
Rengo set a higher goal for small and midsize businesses to rectify wage gaps with larger companies.
Motohisa Furukawa, Democratic Party for the People tax chief, says the Bank of Japan is unlikely to move so quickly in raising rates that the move would have a detrimental impact on public borrowing costs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 28, 2024
BOJ rate hike unlikely to derail budget planning, DPP tax chief says
Democratic Party for the People tax chief Motohisa Furukawa says it is "unthinkable” that the Bank of Japan will hike rates rapidly.
"I asked for cooperation in next year’s wage negotiations for a substantial wage increase, building on this year’s momentum,” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said.
BUSINESS
Nov 26, 2024
Ishiba renews pressure on companies to ramp up pay
Average wage deals this year hit a 33-year-high as firms responded to demands to raise pay amid ongoing inflation.
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.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gives a speech on Friday at a meeting of a newly formed group within the Liberal Democratic party to promote investments.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 24, 2024
Former Prime Minister Kishida launches new group in ruling LDP
Kishida is keen to exert his influence, saying that he has a lot of unfinished projects, sources said.
Workers install a battery for a new electric vehicle model at Mitsubishi Motor's factory in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2024
Trump tariffs may target Japanese cars, economist says
The Moody's Analytics economist warned that this poses a huge risk to the Japanese economy.
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%.
The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to approve an economic stimulus package totaling ¥21.9 trillion on Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2024
Ishiba set to announce $140 billion stimulus package
The package aims address a range of challenges from inflation to wage growth, and alleviate a cost-of-living crunch.
Rengo chief Tomoko Yoshino speaks at a news conference in Tokyo in October.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2024
Union chief calls for Ishiba to step up wage hike efforts
Rengo's Tomoko Yoshino was keen to emphasize that wage gains have to spread more to workers at smaller firms.
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2024
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Travelers spent ¥5.86 trillion in Japan through September of this year, preliminary figures show, eclipsing the ¥5.3 trillion they spent in all of 2023.
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 20, 2024
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
The package will include cash handouts to lower-income households and subsidies to help families cope with rising utility bills.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan