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December 22, 2024
 

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Emi Urabe
Masato Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on April 30.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2024
Japan’s reserves tally likely too early to reflect intervention
Officials continue to conceal whether they have taken action, forcing investors to make educated guesses about the market moves.
An electronic board in Tokyo showing the yen-dollar rate on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 24, 2024
Japan ‘very close’ to yen intervention, former top currency official says
Market reaction to U.S. data could encourage Japanese authorities to act about the yen, according to Mitsuhiro Furusawa.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki warns he’s ready to take action in the foreign exchange market after the yen fell further past ¥154 to the dollar.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 16, 2024
Japan’s tepid warning on yen fuels renewed weakness ahead of IMF
The finance minister’s comments come after the yen set a fresh 34-year low of ¥154.45 following stronger than expected U.S. retail sales figures.
Former Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Tatsuo Yamasaki previously warned of the possibility of a looming currency intervention two days before Japan entered markets in September 2022.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 3, 2024
Ex-finance official who warned of Japan's 2022 yen intervention sounds alarm
"Officials wouldn’t have issued such strong warnings unless they were prepared.” said Tatsuo Yamasaki, a former vice minister overseeing the yen.
Masato Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs, is warning against speculative moves in the foreign exchange market as the yen continues to fall.
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2024
Japan’s currency chief warns against speculative moves in market
"The current weakening of the yen is not in line with fundamentals and is clearly driven by speculation,” Masato Kanda said.
Akihiko Matsuura, head of UA Zensen, has called for a standard 6% increase in total wages.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 2, 2024
Major union UA Zensen calls for 6% pay raise to support BOJ policy shift
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is also pushing for wage gains after hikes last year failed to keep up with inflation, putting a burden on household budgets.
Former finance ministry official Michio Saito says Japanese long-term yields won’t climb much beyond 1% even if the Bank of Japan revises its yield curve control program.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 15, 2024
Mr. JGB says end of BOJ’s negative rate won’t set yields on fire
Yields won’t keep shooting up after the initial jump as the central bank will still be offering support for the economy, says Nomura's Michio Saito.
Pedestrians walk past an electronic board displaying various companies' share prices, in a business district in Tokyo on Oct. 31.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 20, 2023
Japan’s fiscal advisory board warns of impact of higher rates
Even small changes could have a large impact given rates are so low and Japan has the largest public debt load among developed economies.
The total value of unpaid household tasks was ¥111 trillion for women and ¥32 trillion for men in 2021, according to a recent Cabinet Office report, indicating the amount of men's work around the home is less than a third of what women do.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 4, 2023
Japanese women are missing out on ¥111 trillion in unpaid wages
A recent report has highlighted both the wage gap between men and women, as well as the sheer amount of uncompensated work that gets done in Japan.
The Bank of Japan's inflation outlook doesn’t reflect reality, according to one of the country’s leading experts on prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 29, 2023
BOJ’s outlook doesn’t reflect reality, key price expert says
While the bank sharply raised its price outlook last month, it was still kept too low, said University of Tokyo economics professor Tsutomu Watanabe.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 27, 2023
Official behind last year’s ¥9.33 trillion yen intervention strategy reappointed
Masato Kanda has become just the fourth official in the past three decades to serve a third year as vice finance minister for international affairs, Finance Ministry documents show.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jun 5, 2023
Rapid return of tourists to Japan helping fuel inflation for BOJ
Almost 2 million visitors arrived from overseas in April, compared with less than 140,000 a year earlier, according to Japan’s National Tourism Organization.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2023
Credit Suisse AT1 bond writeoff hands $1 billion loss to Japan investors
It’s 'regrettable” that the fallout from Credit Suisse’s woes affected investors in Japan, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 4, 2023
BOJ should review yield curve control under Ueda, ex-finance official says
Takehiko Nakao, a former vice minister for international affairs, stressed the need for a policy tweak — even if that results in short-term shocks.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2023
Fears of societal collapse prompt new push for babies in Japan
Ideas like compulsory paternity leave, canceling student debt for people who have a baby, and ¥10 million ($76,445) payouts for a third child have been thrown around in recent weeks.
BUSINESS
Mar 22, 2023
Japan to spend $15 billion on inflation aid ahead of local polls
The measures include handouts for low-income households and their children, and support for households that use liquefied petroleum gas, according to documents from the Cabinet Office.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 17, 2023
Japan’s largest trade union head says 2023 is pivotal for wages
Trade union leader has stressed the importance of moving toward continued wage growth in the face of rapid inflation and economic stagnation.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Nov 2, 2022
Kishida adviser sees perpetual bond solution for Bank of Japan's ETF stash
The idea would enable the BOJ to reduce its exposure to risk assets by moving them off its balance sheet in a way that doesn't trigger market turmoil.
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2022
Traders watch for response from Japan as yen approaches ¥150 against dollar
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki reiterated to reporters on Monday that the country will take bold action if there are speculative foreign exchange moves.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 5, 2022
Ruling LDP looks to continue aid to struggling Japan firms as pandemic loans end
The party will draw up new support proposals for firms at risk of default, aiming to reflect them in the government's economic package that will be put together by the end of the month.
Freed anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson arrives in France
U.S.-Canadian anti-whaling environmental activist Paul Watson, who was released from prison in Greenland's capital Nuuk after five months in detention, arrives with Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd France, at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Roissy-en-France, near Paris, on Friday.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.

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