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November 22, 2024
 

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Toru Fujioka
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 Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 14, 2019
Bank of Japan's never-ending monetary stimulus offers lessons for the world's central banks
Central bankers searching for options to fight the next downturn should look to Japan, where policymakers are gathering for a regular review of the world’s most epic monetary stimulus program.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2019
Japan's workforce can expect smaller raises this year as companies push back against Abe
Japan Inc. is pushing back after years of pressure to give bigger pay raises that has been a key part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's campaign to restore stable economic growth.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Feb 6, 2019
Dissecting the Bank of Japan's zero-rate policy 20 years on
Long before the U.S. and Europe embraced radical monetary policies last decade during the global financial crisis there was the Bank of Japan.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

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