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JAPANESE

Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on Friday. The Japanese yen is on a bumpy path toward strengthening after Friday's central bank policy change, threatening to upend the carry trade, one of this year's most popular strategies, as the currency inevitably becomes more expensive.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Jul 29, 2023
Bank of Japan's opaque policy shift means stronger and wilder yen
The Japanese yen is on a bumpy path toward strengthening after Friday's central bank policy change, threatening to upend the carry trade.
Kazuo Ueda, governor of the Bank of Japan, speaks during a news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 28, 2023
BOJ to allow ‘greater flexibility’ with yield curve control policy
The bank also raised its inflation forecast in the quarterly outlook, projecting that consumer prices for fiscal 2023 will be 2.5%.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 28, 2023
Japan’s average minimum wage set to top ¥1,000
With the government eager to create a healthy cycle of pay and price increases, the minimum wage panel suggested a record 4.3% hike from the current average of ¥961.
Monex Group was sued on Thursday in what is believed to be the first lawsuit questioning the responsibility of a Japanese securities company over Credit Suisse AT1 bond losses.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 28, 2023
Japan’s Monex sued by client for Credit Suisse bond loss
The move marks a rare case of a financial institution being accused of responsibility for investor losses triggered by Switzerland’s move to wipe out the bonds.
Core inflation in Japan's capital slowed in July but remained well above the Bank of Japan's 2% target.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 28, 2023
Tokyo CPI growth tops consensus, focusing attention on BOJ
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 3% in the capital, beating analysts’ forecast of a 2.9% increase, underscoring the stickiness of underlying inflation.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 26, 2023
Can Japan prevent crimes from happening on trains?
Trains are often targeted for attacks because they offer the most familiar, everyday setting. Railway companies are now exploring ways to bolster security.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 25, 2023
Severed head in ‘love hotel’ murder case found in family home
The police suspect that the 29-year-old daughter, Runa Tamura, carried out the murder and beheading of a 62-year-old office worker by herself at a short-stay hotel earlier this month.
The Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto. Tourists are flocking to Kyoto and other popular spots in Japan, highlighting the country's severe shortage of hotel staff.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 25, 2023
As tourism booms, Japan struggles with labor shortages and weary locals
The return of tourists has given the country a boost, but it has also highlighted several issues, including a severe lack of hotel staff.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda has repeatedly pushed back against the idea that a major pivot on policy is looming by emphasizing his doubts about the sustainability of price rises.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 25, 2023
BOJ set to stick with easing as markets see clock ticking on yield control
Since taking the helm in April, Gov. Kazuo Ueda has repeatedly pushed back against the idea that a major pivot on policy is looming.
Some economists hope the labor ministry panel will make an annual average minimum wage proposal of above ¥1,000 this week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 23, 2023
The average minimum wage may top ¥1,000 this year. But is that enough?
Aside from the symbolic hurdle, a more substantial issue remains: Will momentum for wage hikes from this spring continue or will it be short-lived?
Residential buildings in the Kachidoki area of Tokyo. The average unit price of newly supplied condominiums in the greater Tokyo area in the first six months of this year reached the highest level for the six-month period due to rising material and labor costs and higher land prices.
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2023
Tokyo's new condo prices surge 60% to a record in first half of year
The average price of a new apartment in central Tokyo jumped 60% to ¥129.6 million ($930,000) in the January to June period.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2023
Japan top court sends back reemployment pay case
In the lawsuit, the male plaintiffs have demanded that their employer pay the difference between what they were paid before and after the retirement age.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 21, 2023
Crime ring suspect served fresh warrant over Chiba robbery
The case is part of a spate of robberies across Japan allegedly committed by a group whose ringleaders are believed to have recruited people through social media posts.
Japan's consumer prices rose 3.3% year-on-year in June, with the pace of inflation accelerating from the 3.2% recorded in May.
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2023
Japan's price growth accelerates ahead of BOJ inflation update
Prices excluding those for fresh food gained 3.3% from a year ago, accelerating a little from the rise in May as energy prices were less of a drag on inflation.
A cinema employee checks on a display showing a digital poster for Oscar-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki's latest film, "The Boy and the Heron," on the first day of its premiere in Tokyo on July 14.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 21, 2023
For his last movie, Hayao Miyazaki recycles himself
While visually and technically stunning, "The Boy and the Heron" might give some viewers an unsatisfying sense of deja vu.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 20, 2023
Mother in Osaka arrested for starving daughter and claiming insurance money
Investigators believe Kasumi Nawata regularly starved her daughter, hospitalizing her 43 times for a total of 332 days since spring 2018.
Nikko Asset Management is ditching its bearish view on the yen, and now has a ¥135 target against the dollar by year-end.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 20, 2023
Nikko Asset shifts to bullish yen slant as Ueda bides his time
The shift in his view highlights potential upside for the yen, where inflation-adjusted interest rates have exacerbated its decline to multidecade lows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 20, 2023
Japan cuts growth forecast and projects inflation over 2% BOJ target
The estimates come ahead of a Bank of Japan policy meeting next week, set to be closely watched amid market expectations the bank will soon phase out its massive stimulus program.
An overwhelming majority of Japanese firms are negative about achieving a goal of having women in 30% of executive positions by 2030, a survey shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 20, 2023
Firms pessimistic about hitting 30% goal for female execs by 2030, poll shows
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida set the target in June for leading companies, aiming to boost womens' management participation from 2.2% as of July 2022.
A theater-goer takes a photo of the promotional poster for Hayao Miyazaki’s new film, “The Boy and the Heron.”
CULTURE / Film
Jul 18, 2023
‘The Boy and the Heron’: It’s so good to be back in Hayao Miyazaki’s world
Studio Ghibli’s latest film takes viewers on one last journey to the familiar world of a master animator who has captivated audiences worldwide for decades.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’