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December 04, 2024
 

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Kazuaki Nagata

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Kazuaki Nagata
An electronic stock board displays the 225-issue Nikkei average and the rate of the yen against the U.S. dollar outside a securities firm in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 1, 2024
Ishiba cool on Abenomics, pragmatic and a bit of a mystery
Analysts argue that the new prime minister will be more like former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida than former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
New Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba (right), economic security minister Sanae Takaichi (left) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Ishiba won the LDP leadership race on Friday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 27, 2024
Yen rallies as Ishiba beats Takaichi in LDP race
Ishiba has shown support for the BOJ’s rate policies and the independence of the central bank.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks at a news conference in Osaka on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 26, 2024
Small rate hike unlikely to hurt economy, BOJ policy board noted in July
The move came as a surprise and caused roller-coaster fluctuations in stock and currency markets.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Analysts polled ahead of Friday were in agreement that the BOJ would choose not to make any rate adjustments.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 20, 2024
Bank of Japan leaves rates unchanged as Ueda signals pause
The central bank on Friday kept the uncollateralized overnight call rate steady at 0.25% following a two-day meeting of its Policy Board.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s plant in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture. The chipmaker is building a second plant in the prefecture that is scheduled to commence production in 2027.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2024
Third TSMC plant in Japan remains up in the air 
Taiwan Minister of National Development Liu Chin-ching, who is on TSMC’s board, says it hasn't been decided yet.
The Bank of Japan is holding its policy board meeting this week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 17, 2024
Japan set to hold rates steady as yen rallies and LDP candidates stump
A rate hike by the Bank of Japan right after an expected cut by the Federal Reserve would cause more turbulence, UBS Securities' chief Japan economist says.
Labor market reform will likely be a hot economic debate topic in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, the campaign of which kicked off on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 12, 2024
Labor market reform becoming hot topic in LDP leadership race
Candidates differ in how they intend to tackle labor market issues, especially on whether to give firms more flexibility in the dismissing of workers.
The 225-issue Nikkei average plunged 4.2% on Wednesday, its sharpest drop since a 12% crash on Aug. 5.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 5, 2024
Japanese stocks seen as volatile and capped as U.S. walks economic tightrope
Japan's stock market is heavily influenced by movements in Wall Street and the exchange rate, which remain uncertain due to the unpredictable U.S. presidential election.
Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 3, 2024
Anti-nuclear energy stance fades among LDP presidential hopefuls
Candidates' apparent shift in policy stance on nuclear power may be part of a strategy to win the leadership race.
Concern about the yen strengthening might limit the Bank of Japan's room for maneuver.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 2, 2024
Yen calling the shots as BOJ mulls rate increase
Analysts are concerned that the BOJ is at risk of going too far with its rate hikes and that the currency is close to being too strong.
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%.
Japan’s 2024 buzzword of the year urges a reevaluation of past norms
Sadao Abe, who played the role of a time-traveling Showa Era teacher transported to present day in a popular TV drama, receives the 2024 buzzword of the year award for the word "futehodo," the nickname of the series.
Princess Aiko, only child of emperor, turns 23
Princess Aiko on Nov. 22 ahead of her 23rd birthday on Sunday at the Imperial Palace
Ishiba questioned on political reform, social issues and the economy
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in the Lower House in Tokyo on Monday.
Nearly 90% in Japan and China have negative views of other
Chinese people's sentiment toward Japan is believed to be impacted by their use of social media platforms such as Weibo and Douyin, as well as whether they have visited Japan.
Bear that attacked Akita supermarket employee captured
A brown bear in Hokkaido. In the city of Akita, a bear that attacked a supermarket employee over the weekend was captured in a box trap on Monday morning.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Europe eyes 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine as possible peace deal option
A serviceman with the Ukrainian Army's 24th mechanized brigade fires a machine gun during an exercise, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the country's Donetsk region on Friday.
Seven strangers and an algorithm: Can this new dinner app help you make friends?
Timeleft uses an algorithm to match its users with five or six strangers in an effort to prompt “human connection” over dinner at a restaurant. It determines the attendees with the help of a simple personality quiz available when you sign up for the service. 
Don’t worry, you can still use your Japan health insurance card — for now
A My Number card reader at a pediatric clinic in Tokyo. While the government will stop issuing new health insurance cards on Monday, most people will remain unaffected by the move in the short term as existing health insurance cards can still be used for another year.
The Geisha bean is the leading lady of Tokyo's coffee scene
Discovered in the 1930s, the Geisha coffee plant came to worldwide fame in the early 2000s and now represents some of the best coffee on the planet — Tokyo's top cafes included.

Podcast

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

Longform

The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
By Tomoko Otake

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