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December 23, 2024
 

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Toru Fujioka
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.7% in November from a year earlier driven by higher energy costs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 20, 2024
Japan’s inflation accelerates on energy as BOJ seeks more data
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.7% in November from a year earlier driven by higher energy costs.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said in a Nikkei interview last month that hikes are "nearing.”
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 12, 2024
BOJ said to see little cost to waiting for next rate hike
At the same time, some officials are not against a rate hike at this meeting if it is proposed, sources have said.
Ryozo Himino, deputy governor of the Bank of Japan, is scheduled to give a speech on Jan. 14, a rare step for the bank before its policy meeting later in the same month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 10, 2024
BOJ plans a rare January speech that may lift rate hike views
By scheduling the speech before the January meeting, the BOJ will have a solid opportunity to telegraph its thinking on monetary policy.
Bank of Japan board member Toyoaki Nakamura's cautious stance on raising interest rates indicates that the idea of a December hike may not have unanimous support.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 5, 2024
BOJ’s leading dove calls for careful approach to tweaking easing
The board member's remarks indicate that the idea of hiking interest rates this month may not have unanimous support.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda reiterated in an interview published Saturday that authorities will raise rates if the economy performs in line with projections.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 3, 2024
BOJ weighs case for first triple hike since Japan’s bubble burst
The last time the BOJ conducted three hikes in a single year was in 1989, with the third increase that year coming on Christmas Day.
The yen briefly breached the key ¥150 mark against the dollar on Friday, as traders' expectations for a rate hike by the Bank of Japan in December grow.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 29, 2024
Yen breaches key ¥150 level as Tokyo inflation fuels BOJ bets
The swaps market is now factoring in a 63% chance of a BOJ rate hike in December, twice the odds at the start of the month.
Commercial buildings in the Shibuya area of Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 29, 2024
Consumer inflation speeds up amid BOJ rate hike speculation
Overall inflation sped up to 2.6%, as food prices also pushed up the gauge, also outpacing economist expectations.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said the timing of the central bank’s next policy adjustment will depend on the economy and prices during a speech in Nagoya on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 18, 2024
Yen weakens after Ueda’s caution on BOJ rate hike hints
The yen weakened as much as 0.5% to ¥155.14 against the dollar as Ueda’s comments proved less hawkish than some market participants had expected.
Japanese household spending fell in September for the second straight month as higher prices choked consumers' appetite.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 8, 2024
Japan’s households cut spending once again as prices rise
Consumer spending in Japan has consistently failed to show clear signs of strength as shoppers have been forced to cope with prices increasing.
Most economists expect the Bank of Japan to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged during their policy meeting next week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 24, 2024
BOJ watchers believe rate hike unlikely now as half brace for year-end shift
Analysts will be closely watching for policy hints from a two-day meeting that ends on Oct. 31, a few days after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s first general election.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 24, 2024
Ueda says right-sizing BOJ normalization ‘keeps me awake 24/7’
Ueda and his fellow board members are widely expected to keep their benchmark rate unchanged at the next policy meeting, ending Oct. 31.
Eiji Maeda, former executive of the Bank of Japan
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 9, 2024
BOJ’s next hike likely to come in January, former official says
The central bank will be watching the U.S. presidential election, the trend in service prices this autumn and momentum ahead of next year’s annual wage talks.
The Bank of Japan raised it economic assessments for the Hokuriku and Tokai regions in its quarterly regional report Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 8, 2024
BOJ signals it remains on rate hike path with regional report
The Bank of Japan indicated it remains on track to consider more interest rate hikes by upgrading its assessments for two regional economies.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba meets with Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda at the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2024
Further BOJ rate hike this year in doubt after Ishiba's surprise warning
A survey last month showed 53% of economists forecast the BOJ would push up interest rates in December, but that outlook is now in question.
The Bank of Japan's September board meeting summary suggests the BOJ will endeavor to send clearer hints before raising its benchmark rate again.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 1, 2024
BOJ keen to avoid surprises after rate hike tanked Nikkei, meeting notes show
The bank's July 31 rate hike shocked markets and prompted the 225-issue Nikkei average's biggest tumble on record.
Shoppers in Tokyo. Consumer inflation in the capital eased in September after outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reinstated energy subsidies to help households cope with one of the hottest summers on record.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 27, 2024
Tokyo inflation cools as government resumes energy subsidies
The government's energy subsidies were the biggest factors behind the deceleration, knocking 0.5 percentage point off overall inflation.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Some 53% of economists surveyed by Bloomberg said the earliest timing for a rate change would be in October.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 13, 2024
Over half of BOJ watchers see next rate hike coming in December
The survey results show most analysts believe the market ructions after the July 31 rate hike didn't derail the BOJ from the normalization path.
Japan's economy expanded in the April-June period at a slightly slower pace than initially reported, largely due to downward revisions in corporate and personal spending.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 9, 2024
Japan’s softer economic rebound still keeps BOJ hike in play
In noninflation adjusted terms, the economy advanced 1.8% from the previous quarter.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. The BOJ was seen as having contributed to the global market meltdown in early August after its 0.25% hike.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2024
BOJ’s hiking pace may be faster than expected, ex-official says
While almost no economists expect the BOJ to adjust its benchmark rate on Sept. 20, many BOJ watchers expect another rate hike by January.
Hajime Takata, Bank of Japan's board member, says the bank needs to proceed with a further rate hike if inflation continues to develop.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2024
BOJ to need more hikes if justified by data, board member says
The remarks reinforce the recent message by Gov. Kazuo Ueda that the bank will continue to normalize its policies as conditions allow.
How Bashar Assad's inner circle fled Syria after his fall
Syrians step on posters of Bashar Assad and his father, Hafez Assad, in Homs, Syria, on Tuesday.
Zelenskyy to replace Ukraine ambassador to Japan
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky delivers a speech during a handover ceremony of Self-Defense Force vehicles to Ukraine, at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo, in May last year.
Bankruptcies and suicides rise as Japanese struggle with mounting debt
Lawyers estimate that personal bankruptcies in Japan are on track to reach the highest since 2012 this year.
Honda and Nissan consider mutual production of vehicles, report says
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe at the Japan Mobility Show 2023 at Tokyo Big Sight in October 2023.
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.
For baseball fans, 2024 brought The Summer of Shohei Ohtani
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani reacts to a standing ovation from fans after hitting his 50th home run of the season, against the Marlins in Miami on Sept. 19.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
Is Japan finally ready to tap its abundant geothermal energy potential?
Steam rises from a geothermal plan in Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture. Despite its long history and potential, geothermal provided just 0.3% of Japan's overall energy mix in the fiscal year from April 2023
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.
North Korea aiding Russia where it needs it most, Canadian general says
North Korean special forces soldiers march and shout slogans during a military parade marking the 105th birth anniversary of the country's founding father, Kim Il Sung, in Pyongyang in April 2017.

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