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December 21, 2024
 

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Kazuaki Nagata

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Kazuaki Nagata
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda holds a news conference after a BOJ policy meeting in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 19, 2024
Bank of Japan opts for caution as Trump factor and wage concerns weigh
Ueda said that it might take quite a while to fully assess Japan’s wage-growth trend and the impact of the economic policies of the Trump administration.
Nissan President and CEO Makoto Uchida (left) and Honda President and CEO Toshihiro Mibe hold a news conference in Tokyo in March. Both automakers have been working together for months on a deal of some sort.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2024
Honda and Nissan might combine to form world’s No. 3 auto group
Mitsubishi, which has been working closely with Nissan since 2016, also might join the grouping.
A Taiwan High Speed Rail bullet train arrives at Nangang Station in the city of Taipei.
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2024
Taiwan’s bullet train a testament to shinkansen’s export potential
The line runs the length of Taiwan, over mountainous, unstable territory that makes the island a perfect test bed for the fast trains.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda. The central bank's policy board meets this week.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 16, 2024
Uncertainty reigns as BOJ rate bets almost evenly split
Slightly less than half of surveyed economists expect the central bank to raise rates this week while just over half believe it will wait until January.
Tokyo has the highest price-to-income ratio for high-rise condominiums in the country, at 17.78 times.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 12, 2024
New Japanese condos now cost 10 times average salary, study shows
Wages are not keeping up with rising costs, resulting in developers focusing on the higher end of the market.
The Yomiuri 333 index will offer a new benchmark for Japanese stock performance.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 28, 2024
New stock index — the Yomiuri 333 — coming to the Japanese market
The newspaper publisher said a distinguishing characteristic of the new index is that it will equally weight each stock in calculating the value.
The policy chiefs of the Democratic Party for the People, Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito — Makoto Hamaguchi (left), Itsunori Onodera (center) and Mitsunari Okamoto — shake hands after reaching an agreement on an economic stimulus package on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 22, 2024
Japan approves ¥21.9 trillion stimulus plan
Combined with expected spending from the private sector, this year’s package is estimated to add a total of ¥39 trillion to the economy.
Tokyo Metro will soon have a role in the running of London's Elizabeth Line, a major train route serving the U.K.’s capital city and environs.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2024
Tokyo Metro’s overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal
The award of a contract to operate London’s Elizabeth Line to a consortium that includes the firm could help address concerns about its domestic growth potential.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda gives a speech in Nagoya on Monday. Ueda's signaling remains vague and noncommittal, further muddying the outlook for December.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 20, 2024
Dithering in December could cost Bank of Japan yen stability
For some analysts, the central bank is all but certain to raise rates next month, though others think it might be too early.
Japanese companies lack the agility needed for the digital transformation, a new report says.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 15, 2024
Japan ranked 31st in digital competitiveness, 92nd for English skills
In the 2024 EF English Proficiency Index, Japan was ranked 92nd, down from 87 the previous year. It was its worst showing yet.
Democratic Party for the People chief Yuichiro Tamaki wants to the tax-free annual income ceiling raised to ¥1.78 million ($11,410).
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 14, 2024
Japan’s key political issue rests on an enduring economic myth
Economists cast doubts on the Democratic Party for the People's push for raising the tax-free income threshold — its key demand to the ruling coalition for its support.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a post-policy meeting news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Oct. 31.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 7, 2024
Trump victory might give Bank of Japan some room to maneuver
The Bank of Japan has been under pressure to keep monetary policy accommodative given the state of the economy and the tentativeness of the recovery.
During the Bank of Japan's September policy board meeting, some members pointed out that the central bank needs to more carefully communicate with the public to prevent a divergence between its views and those of investors.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 6, 2024
Bank of Japan board member moots Fed-style dot-plot projections
The dot plots show short-term rate projections of U.S. Federal Reserve officials.
Electronic monitors show stock prices rising in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 28, 2024
Yen takes a hit and Tokyo stocks jump as dovish opposition gains seats
Analysts said that the pace of interest rate increases could be slowed if opposition parties get more say in policymaking.
Investors already rattled by economic and monetary policy uncertainty are carefully watching Sunday's election.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 25, 2024
Tokyo stocks could 'plunge' if ruling coalition loses majority in Sunday vote
Investors are already rattled by monetary-policy tightening and geopolitical concerns.
Leaders of the three major business groups — Keidanren, Keizai Doyukai and the Japan Chamber of Commerce — meet Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Oct. 4 in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 24, 2024
¥1,500 minimum wage or bust, Japanese companies told
Managers unable to keep up with the minimum-wage increase schedule “are unfit for their positions,” Keizai Doyukai Chair Takeshi Niinami has said.
Ticket vending machines at a Tokyo Metro subway station. Tokyo Metro's network connects with nine of the 10 busiest stations in the capital.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 22, 2024
Tokyo Metro might be too much railroad for some investors
With over 80% of its operating profit coming from carrying passengers on trains, critics are concerned about its nonrailway business.
Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2024
Big wage increase sought by Japan’s largest union slightly underwhelms
For the 2025 spring wage negotiations, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation is aiming for a wage hike of "over 5%," the same goal as this year.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during a debate session with other political party leaders at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Saturday
BUSINESS
Oct 15, 2024
Japan’s sales tax likely to remain 10% as big parties avoid third rail
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba aims to fund social security programs without changing the current tax rate of 10%.
Yoshihiko Noda, head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, speaks during a party leaders' debate at the Upper House of parliament in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 11, 2024
Opposition party shakes up Japan’s rate debate with new inflation target
The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan calls for redefining the Bank of Japan’s inflation target to “above 0%” from the current 2%.
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
A year after going private, structural reforms bearing fruit for Toshiba
Toshiba's Corporate Senior Executive Vice President Koji Ikeya speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Monday.
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.
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.
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.
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.
With rare Asia carrier deployment, France seeks greater interoperability
The flight deck of the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier during a stop at Changi Naval Base in Singapore in May 2019

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

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