Tag - japanese-economy

 
 

JAPANESE ECONOMY

Japan's gross domestic product grew by an annualized rate of 2.8% in the October-December period, far more than the 1% forecast.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 17, 2025
Japan’s economic boomlet continues with strong fourth-quarter growth
Gross domestic product grew 2.8% in the three months to December, compared with a median market estimate of a 1% gain.
As an alternative way of wagering on yen strength, some firms are using strategies involving European currencies, rather than the U.S. dollar, to profit from a widening rate differential with Japan.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 17, 2025
Dollar swings drive creative yen bulls to European-currency trades
Some firms are using strategies involving European currencies, rather than the dollar, to profit from a widening rate differential with Japan.
The Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda last month reiterated his long-held position that he needs more time to mull the fate of the ETFs because it’s a complicated issue.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 17, 2025
BOJ shifts focus to ETF assets as end of bank stock sales nears
The ETF holdings are the last major piece of Gov. Kazuo Ueda’s policy puzzle.
Data show that the policies of Japan’s last decade or so have served the rich better than the vast majority of the country’s households.
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2025
Assets of Japan’s wealthiest jump to a record $3 trillion
Between 2011 and 2023, the wealth of Japan’s rich more than doubled and super rich tripled.
The measure of input prices for Japanese firms rose 4.2% in January from a year earlier, the Bank of Japan reported Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 13, 2025
Corporate goods prices rise 4.2% from year earlier, backing case for rate hikes
The gain, led by agricultural products such as rice, was bigger than the consensus estimate of 4% and compared with a revised 3.9% advance a month earlier.
Japan has effectively exited deflation, but Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s reluctance to acknowledge it reflects outdated economic fears rather than current reality.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 13, 2025
It’s time for Japan to admit victory over deflation
The last time prices declined was in July 2021, the same month the Tokyo Olympic Games took place.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the yen at the ¥153 level against the dollar on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 12, 2025
Yen underperforms major currencies on Trump tariff uncertainties
Japan’s currency has dropped to ¥153.73 against the dollar, its weakest level in a week and lagging all major peers.
Japanese companies face mounting pressure as U.S.-China tensions grow, forcing them to navigate security concerns, economic dependencies and shifting trade policies.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 12, 2025
For Japanese firms, the China dilemma is set to intensify
“America First” and “Make America Great Again” are simple slogans that can be fitted to any outcome. All that ultimately matters is the final say of the president.
In digital trade, Japan's imports have been rising faster than its exports, amid the dominance of global information technology giants such as Microsoft and Google.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 11, 2025
Japan's trade deficit for digital services rose to record ¥6.6 trillion in 2024
Japan's digital trade deficit is expected to reach ¥10 trillion in 2030, roughly equivalent to its crude oil imports in 2024.
Debt servicing costs are estimated to increase, reflecting the Bank of Japan's interest rate hikes.
BUSINESS
Feb 10, 2025
Japan's government debt climbs to record ¥1.32 quadrillion
The combined balance of Japanese government bonds, borrowings and financing bills swelled by ¥7.2 trillion from the end of September 2024.
Japan's current account surplus grew 29.5% year on year in 2024, the Finance Ministry said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 10, 2025
Japan's current account surplus hits record high in 2024
The surplus grew 29.5% from 2023 to ¥29.26 trillion ($193 billion) last year, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.
The three megabank groups including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group posted record consolidated net profits in April-December 2024.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 9, 2025
Japan firms to log record profits — driven by finance and AI biz
Leading the growth is the financial sector, buoyed by the return of positive interest rates to Japan thanks to the Bank of Japan's rate hikes
Shoppers walk past a display of cabbages for sale at a supermarket in Tokyo last month. The 2024 record summer heat and heavy rain ruined crops, driving up the cost of the usually inexpensive leafy green in what Japanese media has dubbed a "cabbage shock."
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 7, 2025
Inflation becoming a concern in Japan after being a goal for decades
Rising consumer prices are putting real wage growth at risk and possibly becoming a drag on much-needed household consumption.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the yen at the ¥155 level against the dollar on Monday, when it began rallying after a sharp decline in the previous week.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 7, 2025
Yen’s weekly surge underscores growing case for a hawkish BOJ
The Japanese currency has rallied more than 2% this week, heading for the biggest gain since late November.
While the ruling minority government’s weakened position has emboldened opposition parties to push for more spending across multiple policy fronts, the International Monetary Fund has warned there is limited space today in Japan to address the risks of natural disasters and mounting social security costs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 7, 2025
Japan needs immediate deficit cut to fix fiscal path, IMF warns
The government needs to prepare now to avoid negative surprises four or five years down the road, the IMF’s Japan mission chief says.
Japanese household consumption in December grew at the fastest pace since August 2022, but it is uncertain whether the gains are sustainable, given wage growth in the month was largely supported by the temporary effect of bonuses.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 7, 2025
Japan’s household spending jumps the most since 2022 as wages rise
Outlays adjusted for inflation gained 2.7% in December from a year earlier, according to internal affairs ministry data.
"The short-term interest rate should be at the 1% level by the second half of fiscal 2025,” up from the current 0.5%, the Bank of Japan’s most hawkish board member Naoki Tamura said Thursday in a speech to local business leaders in Nagano Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 6, 2025
BOJ’s Tamura says interest rate needs to rise to at least 1%
A speech by the board member is likely to further fuel market speculation that more rate hikes are in the pipeline.
Households continue to be squeezed as inflation outpaces pay increases.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 5, 2025
Real wages in Japan rise in December, but fall for third straight year
Inflation continued to outpace pay increases, which have been generous on a nominal basis in recent years.
Based on his own assessment, Hideo Hayakawa, a former Bank of Japan executive director, says he sees the BOJ’s terminal rate in this cycle somewhere around 1.5%.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 5, 2025
BOJ’s rate likely to go higher than consensus, ex-official says
"My base view is that there is a lot more coming,” the former director said. "There is little logical reason to believe that rate hikes will stop early.”
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki speaks to reporters Tuesday about the idea of revising the companies law to fully allow businesses to hold online-only shareholders' meetings.
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2025
Japan to allow firms to hold online-only shareholder meetings
Online-only shareholders' meetings are currently permitted only in exceptional cases under the industrial competitiveness enhancement law.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji