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July 28, 2024
 

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Toru Fujioka
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 14, 2020
BOJ seen extending pandemic-fighting programs this week, according to survey
All but one economist projected the BOJ will make no change to its interest rates, forward guidance or key asset-purchase program.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 25, 2020
BOJ’s local bank aid makes rates harder to cut, ex-official says
To gain eligibility for the interest payments, regional banks must make decisions on merging or show they have improved their profitability.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 19, 2020
Japan’s top union federation to demand wage raises despite pandemic
Rengo chief Rikio Kozu has indicated he'll push for a 4% wage increase, including base pay.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 12, 2020
Tokyo’s tiny ramen bars close up shop rather than raise prices
'A price increase was never an option because passing our burden onto customers would be totally unfair,' said a worker at one restaurant that closed in August.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 23, 2020
BOJ official says digital currency needs public support first
China's plans to issue a digital yuan, while still not fleshed out, have heightened global interest in digital currencies among central banks and policymakers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 21, 2020
BOJ likely to reduce inflation forecasts as Go To campaign cuts prices
The travel discounts started in July, and have helped drive consumer inflation below zero as hotel prices dropped by more than 30% from a year ago.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 12, 2020
BOJ’s swelling share of Japan assets complicates future exit from stimulus
The central bank now owns 71% of exchange-traded funds, a fifth of commercial paper and 7% of corporate bonds, its assets equivalent to 137% of gross domestic product.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 10, 2020
Bank of Japan coronavirus loans may ensure ‘zombie’ firms limp on
The total lent so far is already more than four times the amount deployed from January 2009 to support firms during the global financial crisis.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 12, 2020
Bank of Japan’s aid to lenders hasn't warmed them to negative rates
For the country's commercial banks, the BOJ's sub-zero rates strategy aimed at stimulating the economy and prices has eroded their profit margins.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 11, 2020
BOJ gets first female executive director in 138-year history
Tokiko Shimizu's appointment as one of only six BOJ executive directors is another step forward for gender equality at the central bank.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 30, 2020
‘Jobs for life’ in South Korea and Japan set to cushion virus blow
A longtime thorn for businesses and productivity in Japan and South Korea is set to prove a bulwark for those economies as the coronavirus threatens millions of jobs around the world.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Mar 9, 2020
Japan's GDP contraction revised to 7.1%, fueling recession fears amid coronavirus crisis
The data show that the economy was already in a highly fragile state when the virus started to slam exports, supply chains, tourists and shoppers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 14, 2020
Even before COVID-19, Japan economy likely took biggest hit since 2014
Economists estimate the economy shrank at an annualized rate of 3.8 percent in the third quarter and that the virus will likely push Japan into recession.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2019
Massive fiscal stimulus in works as Japan's politicians shrug off concerns about national debt
Japan looks set to re-embrace the power of public spending with one of its biggest ever stimulus packages.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 24, 2019
Kuroda talks up shift to fiscal firepower as BOJ reaches its limits
Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's role as the prime focus for efforts to revive the world's third-largest economy is coming to an end.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 7, 2019
Bank of Japan chief Kuroda's pain threshold put to test as yen rallies and yields slump
Global financial turmoil is turning up the heat on the Bank of Japan, raising the question of how much pain it can take before it is forced to act.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 17, 2019
Economists expect Bank of Japan will expand stimulus sometime soon, but not this week
A majority of economists now see the Bank of Japan expanding its stimulus as its next move, with a strengthening of the yen from Federal Reserve rate cuts seen as a key factor for triggering action, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Jun 6, 2019
Japan holds its own debate on Modern Monetary Theory
The hottest economic doctrine around says governments should stop worrying and learn to love their public debt. Japan has been more relaxed than most — but a looming tax hike suggests it may be about to blink.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 27, 2019
Warning that tax hike would doom Abenomics, former aide vows to convince PM to delay yet again
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should postpone the consumption tax increase scheduled for October or face the failure of Abenomics, his six-year economic revival program, according to one of the architects of that program.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 2, 2019
Japan government bonds have a cute sales mascot, but there's only one buyer that matters
In the land that gave us Hello Kitty, it's no surprise the government employs an endearing mascot to sell its bonds. His name is Kokusai-sensei. A pint-size rendition of him welcomes visitors to the investor relations office at the Finance Ministry. Pudgy and professorial, he's got his own Twitter account...
Japan's population continues to fall even as foreign resident count rises
The number of residents in Tokyo as of Jan. 1 rose by 0.03% from a year before, data shows, marking a year-on-year increase for the first time in three years, while the country's other 46 prefectures saw their populations continue to decline.
Ahead of the Olympics, Japan is still talking about the gymnast who won't be there
Japan's Shoko Miyata withdrew from the gymnastics team herself over her drinking and smoking, although it had already appeared as though the association was prepared to send her home from the team’s training camp in Monaco.
Yen melt-up nudges Japanese stocks into correction territory
Japanese stocks are down 10% from their July peak as the yen strengthens.
‘Crazy’ yen rally is at risk of shattering as soon as Wednesday
Some investors are warning that a yen rally is fragile, as was on show this week when the yen rapidly retraced an advance after Thursday’s stronger-than-expected U.S. economic growth figures.
Japan's average life expectancy rises for first time in three years
A decline in COVID-19-caused deaths likely helped boost the average life expectancy for Japanese men and women to rise for the first time in three years in 2023.
The Japanese Olympians looking to shine in Paris
Rim Nakamura, who is attempting to win Japan's first Olympic gold medal in cycling, will be one of the top Japanese athletes to watch at the Paris Games.
Japan’s minimum wage set for record ¥50 hike in major boost
Demonstrators rally to demand a big hike in minimum wages in Tokyo last week.
Japan loses top spot on strongest passport list to Singapore
Japan had the strongest passport for six years running from 2018, before being dethroned by Singapore on the 2024 list.
Why Japan's mysterious stash of classified funds escapes scrutiny
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (right) during a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japan eyes gold — and the future — as Olympic men's soccer campaign begins
Japan midfielder Yu Hirakawa controls the ball during a match against the United States in Kansas City, Kansas, on June 11.

Podcast

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

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals
By Alex K.T. Martin

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JNTO promotes sustainable tourism initiatives

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