Tag - japanese-economy

 
 

JAPANESE ECONOMY

The Japanese national flag at the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo on Monday
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2024
BOJ introduces first rate hike in 17 years following pay gains
The negative rate policy had been a symbol of the Bank of Japan's ultraloose monetary stimulus lasting over a decade.
Customers make a toast at an eatery in Tokyo. Many view Japan’s economy as being on the rise, and that of regional powerhouse China as declining. But how accurate is this narrative?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2024
Japan is back, China is over. The trouble with narratives.
The idea that Japan and China's roles have flipped, with the former on the rise and the latter in decline, obfuscates important facts and trends.
Japan's core machinery orders fell 1.7% in January from the previous month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2024
Japan core machinery orders fall more than expected
Core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as a leading indicator of capital spending in the six to nine months ahead, fell 1.7% in January.
The Bank of Japan will decide whether to end its negative interest rate policy at its policy board meeting, which ends on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2024
BOJ’s Ueda faces decision time on rate hike
With the end of Japan's negative rate being a near certainty, the only question that remains is whether it comes on Tuesday or at the end of April.
Keidanren chief Masakazu Tokura addresses the Liberal Democratic Party's annual convention in Tokyo on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 17, 2024
Japan business lobby chief hopes for government efforts to end deflation
The BOJ may end negative interest rates at its two-day monetary policy meeting through Tuesday, in what could be the first hike in 17 years.
Call loan brokers at Tokyo Tanshi in Tokyo in November. After decades of setting its benchmark rate near zero, the Bank of Japan is poised to tighten, spurring new opportunities for veteran traders after decades of setting its benchmark rate near zero.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 17, 2024
Japan’s $4 trillion offshore funds will ignore first BOJ hike
Only 40% of 273 respondents said the BOJ's first interest-rate hike since 2007 will prompt investors to sell foreign assets and repatriate the proceeds.
Visitors look at cherry blossom trees in Tokyo's Ueno Park.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 16, 2024
Inflation dents budgets for cherry blossom viewing in Japan
People planning to go to see the flowers will likely spend an average of ¥6,872 ($47) per person, down 0.9% compared with last year.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 15, 2024
BOJ to end negative interest rates at next week's meeting, sources say
The move would be the first rate hike by the central bank in 17 years.
A woman takes pictures with Kawazu cherry blossom trees, one of the earliest to bloom in Japan, in Tokyo's Sumida district on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 15, 2024
Economic impact of hanami expected to double this year
Higher tourist numbers and prices, along with a depreciation of the Japanese currency, are among factors contributing to the larger economic impact.
Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi speaks to reporters about the new system to train foreign workers in the parliamentary building on Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2024
Government OKs bill for new foreign worker training system
The new system is expected to begin as early as 2027 if the legislation is enacted.
The results of wage negotiations between companies and labor unions are written on a whiteboard at the office of the Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 15, 2024
Japan’s labor unions win big pay raises for members
The preliminary figure for the average hike stands at a 33-year high of 5.28%, according to Japan’s largest labor organization.
Investors will be heaping ever more scrutiny on Japanese assets, with negative rates potentially relegated to history.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 15, 2024
BlackRock and Man Group reveal big Japan bets before BOJ decision
Snap up more Japanese stocks and keep buying the yen — these are some of the most popular calls from big-name money managers.
Results of spring wage negotiations are written on a board at an office of the Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 13, 2024
Major Japanese firms offering solid pay hikes for second year running
Several companies met or even exceeded labor union demands, raising the possibility the Bank of Japan will adjust monetary policy soon.
Some 38% of Bank of Japan watchers in a survey believe the central bank will end its negative rates next week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 12, 2024
Half of BOJ watchers still see April rate hike while bets on March move jump
The proportion of 50 economists forecasting an end to the world’s last negative rate in April slipped to 54% in the latest survey from 59% in January.
Business sentiment among major Japanese companies in the January to March period deteriorated to record its first negative reading in four quarters.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 12, 2024
Big Japanese firms' sentiment shows first negative reading in four quarters
The business sentiment index for large companies stood at minus 0.018, according to the joint Finance Ministry-Cabinet Office survey.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said consumption was weakening for food and daily necessities amid higher prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 12, 2024
BOJ chief Kazuo Ueda slightly tones down optimism on economy
Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said consumption was weakening for food and daily necessities amid higher prices.
Zensho Holdings, the operator of Sukiya and other restaurant chains, will raise salaries of regular employees by 12.2% on average.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 12, 2024
Japan firms across sectors offer pay hikes of up to 12% in spring talks
Early wage deals with unions reflect a recovery in earnings from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a sense of crisis over labor shortages.
Japan revised economic data higher, reversing a quarterly contraction in October-December 2023 into positive growth and avoiding a technical recession.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 11, 2024
Japan’s economy avoids recession one week before BOJ meeting
The government made an upward revision to capital investment figures to reflect 2% growth, which in turn sent the country's GDP into positive territory.
Kazuo Ueda, governor of the Bank of Japan, speaks at a fintech summit in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2024
Bank of Japan leaning toward exiting negative rates in March
Many BOJ policymakers are closely watching the outcome of big firms' annual wage negotiations with unions on March 13.
A man looks at electronic boards displaying stock prices of companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on Monday. The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei average has surged at an unexpected pace of about 20% this year
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 8, 2024
A stock rally but sluggish growth: What’s the deal with Japan’s economy?
The Nikkei is benefiting from companies' strong earnings, but wider economic indicators are much less positive.

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A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world