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November 21, 2024
 

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Erica Yokoyama
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.
Japan's exports rebounded in October, led by a pickup in chip equipment demand in China.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 20, 2024
Japan’s exports grow, helped by China even as global risks rise
Exports rose 3.1% from a year ago, led by strong growth in shipments of chip-making equipment, especially sales to China.
Japan spent ¥3.17 trillion on dollar-selling intervention on July 11 and ¥2.37 trillion on July 12, quarterly data from the Finance Ministry showed on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 8, 2024
Japan intervened twice last quarter to bring yen below ¥160
The Finance Ministry intervened on July 11 and 12, spending ¥3.17 trillion and ¥2.37 trillion respectively to prop up the yen.
The pace of gains in Japanese workers' base pay quickened to 2.6% year on year in September, versus a 2.4% clip in August.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 7, 2024
Japan’s biggest base pay gains in 31 years support case for rate hikes
While base pay rose in September, real wages fell for a second straight month even as price gains slowed.
UA Zensen President Tomoko Nagashima addresses the labor union's meeting in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 6, 2024
Japan’s UA Zensen union aims for continued 6% wage hike in 2025
UA Zensen’s target follows an announcement last month by Rengo that it will continue to aim for at least a 5% pay rise in the next round of negotiations.
Japan's jobless rate decreased to 2.4% in September, falling to its lowest level since January.
BUSINESS
Oct 29, 2024
Job market tightened in September, supporting wage gains and BOJ policy goals
Higher demand for workers is expected to pressure companies to raise salaries to retain them, potentially feeding into a virtuous cycle between prices and wages.
Core consumer prices in Japan's capital rose 1.8% in October from a year earlier, slipping below the central bank's 2% target for the first time in five months.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 25, 2024
Tokyo inflation slows below 2% ahead of election and BOJ meet
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 1.8% in the capital in October.
Exports declined 1.7% from a year ago, led by cars, mineral fuels and construction machinery and slipping to negative growth for the first time since November last year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 17, 2024
Japan’s exports fall most since 2021 amid global slowdown
Exports declined 1.7% from a year ago, led by cars, mineral fuels and construction machinery.
Japan saw the highest number of bankruptcies since 2013 in the six months through September.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 8, 2024
Japan records highest number of bankruptcies in a decade as costs rise
The bankruptcies partly reflect the impact of higher prices, while a record 163 firms cited labor shortages as a reason for their struggles.
Shinjiro Koizumi, a former environment minister, during a news conference at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo earlier this month.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 21, 2024
Koizumi ranks as top choice in polls among lawmakers in Japan’s LDP race
The surveys also said many lawmakers remain undecided or could change their minds, indicating a fluid situation with just a few days to go until the vote.
Japan's export growth slowed sharply in August as shipments to the United States dropped for the first time in three years.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 18, 2024
Japan’s export growth slows as external demand moderates
Imports climbed 2.3%, falling short of the 15% gain forecast by economists, with trade deficit widening to ¥695.3 billion.
Japan's household spending rose less than expected in July as consumers remained wary of loosening their purse strings in the face of higher prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2024
Japan’s household spending stays flat in signs of tepid growth
Spending on housing and education jumped from June figures, while outlays on transportation and food declined.
Michie Hino, 77, works at an elderly care home in Chiba Prefecture. She is one of a growing number of senior Japanese citizens working into their 70s.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Sep 5, 2024
Working till your 70s — Japan's prospective gift to the world
A struggling pension system and the highest inflation in decades have led more Japanese people to delay retirement until their 70s or later to make ends meet.
Real cash earnings for workers in Japan climbed 0.4% in July from a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2024
Japan real wages unexpectedly rise, keeping BOJ on hike path
Real cash earnings for workers climbed 0.4% in July from a year earlier, the labor ministry has reported.
Japanese firms' capital expenditure rose 1.9% in the three months through June from the previous quarter.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2024
Japan’s firms lift outlays in sign of modest domestic demand
Capital expenditure on goods excluding software rose 1.9% in the three months through June from the previous quarter.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2024
Japan raises view of economy for first time in 15 months
The Cabinet Office said in its August report that the economy is recovering at a moderate pace, and only parts of it are pausing.
Katsunobu Kato, former health minister, speaks in an interview in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 22, 2024
Japan should keep rates and prices moving, prime minister hopeful Kato says
The former health minister is a dark horse but also the type of person who could emerge as a compromise candidate.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference after the central bank's policy meeting in Tokyo on July 31.
BUSINESS
Aug 11, 2024
BOJ’s policy path fraught with risks after global market turmoil
Markets erupted with volatility within days of a BOJ rate hike on July 31.
Japan’s civil servants will likely see the biggest salary increases in over three decades in the current fiscal year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 8, 2024
Japan’s public servants may see biggest pay hike in 32 years
The Finance Ministry estimates that implementing these recommendations could increase the financial burden of sustain services by roughly ¥382 billion ($2.6 billion).
Japanese currency authorities spend ¥5.5 trillion to prop up the yen against the dollar in the past month.
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2024
Japan spent ¥5.5 trillion to prop up the yen in past month
The latest action appears to have helped reverse the tide on the yen’s weakness.
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

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