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September 01, 2024
 

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Kazuaki Nagata

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Kazuaki Nagata
Japanese workers in their 40s and 50s — known as the "lost generation" — saw their wages rise slightly in the second quarter.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 29, 2024
Japan’s 'lost generation' gets a raise, and the economy, a small boost
The pay bump in the second quarter is vitally important to the economy, as consumption by Japanese workers in their 40s and 50s is an important driver of growth.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a Lower House hearing on Friday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 23, 2024
Ueda promises better communication as he sticks to the script
Ueda took extra care with his comments to an extraordinary session of parliament called to discuss the market turmoil sparked by the central bank's surprise rate hike.
Wind turbines in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2024
Japan offers lifeline to ESG investing amid backlash overseas
In light of the anti-ESG sentiment in the U.S. and Europe, analysts said that Japan can play a key role in driving sustainable finance globally.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida leaves at the end of a news conference, in which he announced he is stepping down, at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 14, 2024
Kishida's shock announcement shakes already unsettled Japanese markets
The prime minister's decision to step down follows the Bank of Japan's surprise rate hike just two weeks earlier.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks to reporters on July 3.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 8, 2024
Bank of Japan’s surprise rate rise a real head-scratcher for some analysts
Some analysts are skeptical about consumption actually being stimulated, saying that positive wage growth will not necessarily guarantee that.
An electronic stock board displaying the Nikkei 225-issue Nikkei average outside a securities firm in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 6, 2024
Tokyo stocks rebound 10% following Monday’s mad rout
The yen, which had strengthened to the ¥141 mark on Monday from almost ¥162 just weeks earlier, was trading around ¥145 to the dollar on Tuesday.
The Bank of Japan released minutes from its June policy board meeting Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 5, 2024
Up rates before it’s 'too late,’ one BOJ policy board member said in June
Some members of the nine-member policy board mentioned that a weak yen could inflate import prices and put upward pressure on consumer prices.
The Nikkei 225 fell more than 2,000 points on Friday, capping a volatile week in the financial markets.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 2, 2024
Japanese stocks fall almost 6% just days after shock rate rise
In the span of less than a month, the 225-issue Nikkei average went from all-time records to a shocking rout.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a news conference after the central bank's policy meeting, in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 1, 2024
BOJ’s sudden hawkishness attributed to yen defense
Economists believe political pressure may have had something to do with the central bank’s shift in stance.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 31, 2024
Bank of Japan delivers one-two punch few were expecting
At its two-day policy meeting, the BOJ voted to increase its short-term policy rate target to 0.25% from a range of 0% to 0.1%.
Taro Kono, Japan's digital transformation minister, during a Bloomberg Television interview in Tokyo, during which he mentioned that the Bank of Japan to needs to introduce a rate hike to stop the weak yen trend.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 29, 2024
Doves in ascendancy ahead of big Bank of Japan meeting this week
The central bank will likely hold rates where they are when it meets this week, according to analysts.
Japanese stocks are down 10% from their July peak as the yen strengthens.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 26, 2024
Yen melt-up nudges Japanese stocks into correction territory
Japan’s benchmark index is now down 10% from its July peak, meeting the textbook definition of a market correction.
Demonstrators rally to demand a big hike in minimum wages in Tokyo last week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 25, 2024
Japan’s minimum wage set for record ¥50 hike in major boost
While the sharp increase will be a big boost for workers, smaller firms already struggling financially will be put under further stress.
Some economists say a sticky weak yen trend would have a negative impact on Japan's real wage growth.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 24, 2024
Yen rally could help end crushing wage decay in Japan
The Japan Research Institute anticipates real wage growth turning positive in the July-September quarter assuming ¥155 to the dollar.
Entrepreneurs who participated in the Beyond Japan Zero to X program last year share their experiences in the United States during a meeting in May in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 23, 2024
Japanese startups advised to internationalize to get some global mojo
Occupying the No. 1 spot in the Japanese market affords many comforts, but global dominance is unlikely to be one of them.
More Japanese firms have gone bankrupt in the first half of this year due to soaring costs, labor shortages and the end of pandemic-related support.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 18, 2024
Triple whammy takes Japan bankruptcies to decade high
Soaring costs, labor shortages and the end of pandemic-related financial support are taking a heavy toll on smaller businesses.
Unionists hold a rally in Tokyo in April. Households' real cash earnings have been falling year on year for more than two years, with the weakening of the yen making the situation only more difficult as prices of imported goods increase rapidly.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 17, 2024
Japan’s minimum wage might not budge much if corporate fears prevail
While households desperately need a big raise, smaller businesses might not be in a position to handle an increase as they struggle with the weak yen.
People attend a seminar, hosted by Daiwa Securities, on the new NISA tax-free investment program last November. Retail investors in Japan have been favoring international investments as they deploy funds held in their fast-growing NISA accounts.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 11, 2024
Yen takes hit as ¥1 trillion flows abroad monthly after NISA tweak
Many taking advantage of changes to the rules for Japan's tax-free savings accounts have been shifting their savings to international investments.
One analyst argues that the billions of dollars flowing from Japan to the likes of Apple, Amazon and Microsoft might be more a positive than a negative in that more companies and individuals are using digital services.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 7, 2024
Japan’s digital deficit might be a good thing
The digital deficit indicates that digitalization has accelerated in the country, says Mitsubishi Research Institute researcher Kengo Wataya.
The weakness of the yen is posing a big problem for small and midsize businesses. As for desired exchange rates, 69.5％ said they want the yen trading between ¥110 and ¥135 to the dollar.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 4, 2024
Weak yen inflicts major damage to small and midsize businesses, survey says
While some larger, export driven companies have benefited from the weak currency, smaller firms are struggling to adjust.
Alerts issued for Tokyo area cities as Shanshan crawls across Japan
A submerged area of Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on Thursday after Typhoon Shanshan dumped torrential rain throughout the Kyushu region.
Typhoon Shanshan batters Kyushu ahead of likely landfall
A satellite image shows Typhoon Shanshan south of Kyushu on Wednesday afternoon
From tropical storm to 'violent': Japan’s typhoon classifications
A satellite image from Wednesday shows Typhoon Shanshan south of Kyushu as the storm was rapidly intensifying.
Tropical Storm Shanshan soaks Japan as flood and landslide risks rise
People walk in front of closed ticket gates for the Tokaido Shinkansen in Tokyo Station as train operations between Tokyo and Nagoya remain suspended due to Tropical Storm Shanshan on Saturday.
Japan scraps idea to woo women out of city with cash
Bureaucrats had envisioned payments of up to ¥600,000 for women who got married and settled outside of Tokyo, according to media reports.
Japan seeks another record-breaking defense budget for fiscal 2025
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force hold a live-fire exercise at the GSDF's training grounds in the East Fuji Maneuver Area in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May. Japan's Defense Ministry is seeking another record-breaking budget for fiscal 2025.
Can Japan handle a heat wave and natural disaster at the same time?
A member of the Self-Defense Forces wipes away sweat as he conducts a search and rescue operation at a landslide site caused by heavy rain in Kumano, Hiroshima Prefecture, on July 11, 2018.
Did you feel that? It may be time to refresh your disaster kits — and vocabulary.
A map of western Japan shows the Nankai Trough and, to its north, the hypocentral region where the energy for an earthquake is thought to be building.
This English schoolboy has big dreams of becoming yokozuna — and more
Nicholas Tarasenko trains at Minato stable in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, on Tuesday. Tarasenko’s potential in sumo was made obvious when he won U18 gold in the 90-kg weight class at the 2023 Baruto Cup in Estonia despite being four years under the age limit and having only had a total of one hour of sumo training before the meet.
Kitakyushu clashes with academics over Meiji Era remains
Remnants of the first Moji station complex are located near the current Mojiko Station in the city of Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture.

Podcast

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

Longform

A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?
By Alex K.T. Martin

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