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April 01, 2025
 

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Toru Fujioka
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.
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.
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.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 17, 2019
Yen likely to hit 80 to the dollar in next Japan recession, former BOJ official says
The yen is likely to reach its strongest level against the dollar in more than six years if Japan enters a recession, which could come as early as the fall of this year, a former central bank official has said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 19, 2018
Bank of Japan's ¥400 trillion cash injection changes little for ordinary people
It's been the most radical cash injection in history — nearly ¥400 trillion pumped into Japan's economy over more than five years to slay deflation and kick growth into higher gear.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2018
Bank of Japan's price forecasts are headed for another crash with oil
The sharp slide in oil prices threatens to halve Japan's inflation rate over the next six months, while cheaper mobile phone bills and free nursery education could even push it below zero.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 15, 2018
BOJ keeps monetary policy unchanged and downgrades inflation assessment
The Bank of Japan left monetary policy unchanged Friday and downgraded its assessment of inflation, falling further behind its global peers at the end of a busy week for central banks.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

Podcast

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

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
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