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Toru Fujioka
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2017
Rural Japan's folk traditions fading as residents age
Traditions die hard in the small mountain town of Kanegasaki, whose history includes a series of battles nearly 1,000 years ago that drove an ancestor of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to leave the area for southern Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Dec 21, 2016
Kuroda breathes easier, at least for now, as stars align for Bank of Japan
After a long year, the Bank of Japan unexpectedly finds itself in a sweet spot.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 19, 2016
Depopulating rust belt counts on 'robonomics' to run assembly lines
A withering factory town in the rust belt is looking for revival through a dose of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "robot revolution."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2016
Amamiya, aka 'Mr. BOJ,' shapes central bank policy behind the scenes
Masayoshi Amamiya is viewed as so essential to operations at the Bank of Japan that he's known inside the central bank as "Mr. BOJ."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 25, 2016
Retailers turn deaf ear to Kuroda's inflation pledge
While Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's vow to overshoot the Bank of Japan's 2 percent inflation target caused a stir among monetary policy watchers in September, it's yet to have an impact among retailers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 22, 2016
Kuroda's strategy shifts from shock and awe to bond market finesse
Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda stormed onto the global stage in 2013 with the subtlety of a Metallica concert, electrifying markets with a shock-and-awe strategy.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Sep 7, 2016
BOJ review of easing actions casts spotlight on core policy planning unit
The Bank of Japan's unprecedented review of its unprecedented monetary policy has stepped up focus on a key group of Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's allies.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 30, 2016
Kuroda leads BOJ to a policy crossroads
After more than three years of pumping out cheap money that has failed to secure its inflation target, the Bank of Japan has signaled a rethink.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 22, 2016
BOJ increasingly worried by strong yen, insiders say
Having adopted a negative interest rate on some excess reserves to penalize financial institutions for leaving money idle, the Bank of Japan may consider helping them lend by offering a negative rate on some loans, according to people familiar with talks at the BOJ.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2016
Kuroda ally says BOJ should use easing now rather than later
The Bank of Japan should expand already-record stimulus at its April meeting, as a wait-and-see stance risks further appreciation of the yen, according to Takatoshi Ito, a former colleague of BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 11, 2016
BOJ's backfire hangs over central bankers as IMF meetings start
The world's central bankers, already hitting the limits of their effectiveness on growth and inflation, are now contending with another risk: that additional stimulus could produce lackluster results and undercut investor confidence.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 7, 2016
BOJ's Kuroda says impact of next sales tax hike to be less than in 2014
Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said Monday that the impact of a sales tax increase scheduled for April 2017 would be much less than that which resulted from the hike in 2014 — sending Japan into a recession.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 13, 2016
Bank of Japan talking with global peers about turmoil in markets
The Bank of Japan has been communicating with officials around the world over turmoil in financial markets, Deputy Gov. Hiroshi Nakaso said, as stocks tumble and the yen surges.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2016
Kuroda sees limited impact of market turmoil on Japan's outlook
Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda plays down the prospect of market turmoil causing Japanese companies to pare back capital spending and wage increases, and expressed confidence in the underlying pace of inflation.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 22, 2016
BOJ on verge of fresh inflation target delay, putting monetary policy under scrutiny
The Bank of Japan is poised, for the third time in less than a year, to push back the time frame for reaching its inflation target, making it harder for policymakers to hold off from enlarging monetary stimulus.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 20, 2016
BOJ officials 'disappointed' with unambitious salary talks
Bank of Japan officials are increasingly expressing disappointment at subdued annual wage talks, according to people familiar with the discussions, making next week's monetary-policy decision a closer call.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 2, 2015
Kuroda sows doubts on further easing among some BOJ watchers
After twice this year putting off his inflation target yet declining to step up monetary stimulus, Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda has discouraged some analysts from thinking he'll ever boost policy again.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 19, 2015
Ex-BOJ exec says further easing hinges on output, export data
Poor data for exports and industrial output have the potential to force the Bank of Japan into bolstering stimulus later this month, said a former chief economist for the BOJ.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 21, 2015
Economists cut Japan growth view again, widening gap with BOJ
Economists from Nomura Holdings Inc. to BNP Paribas SA lowered their forecasts for the economy this week, making the central bank's growth outlook for this year look increasingly optimistic.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2015
Japan can offset China yuan move by easing: Abe adviser
Japan "need not worry" about China's devaluation of the yuan because it can always offset the effects by easing monetary policy, said an adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Longform

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