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April 15, 2025
 

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Sumio Ito
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2022
Japan expected to keep last central bank negative interest rate
Explaining the refusal to shift gears is getting harder and such doggedness risks triggering a fresh downward spiral for the embattled yen.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2022
Failure to hit price goal may trigger BOJ shift, former director says
Ex-BOJ executive thinks there is a considerable chance that in a year or so the BOJ's topic of discussion will shift to when the price target can really be achieved.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 27, 2022
BOJ chief Haruhiko Kuroda backs intervention while stressing need for easing
The government's action last week came almost directly after the BOJ's ultralow rates stance fueled further yen weakening, triggering doubt over the authorities' unified stance.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 13, 2022
BOJ could normalize policy in mid-2023, ex-board member says
Views on Japan's inflation dynamics are shifting among some experts after more than a decade of deflation and price weakness.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2022
BOJ should look at exit steps while holding policy, former official says
'This isn't the time for a drastic rate hike, so there is a limit on what the BOJ can do now,” Yuri Okina has said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 4, 2022
Mr. JGB says markets need to prepare for BOJ buying fewer bonds
The Ministry of Finance has started looking into ensuring there's sufficient liquidity in the market, said Michio Saito, who heads the department that oversees debt issuance.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 19, 2022
Bank of Japan chief determined to maintain stimulus as world tightens
Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda is in no mood to give up on stimulus and his ultraloose monetary policy, according to people familiar with the matter.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 7, 2022
BOJ likely to consider revising inflation and growth forecasts, sources suggest
The new economic projections will be released together with the bank's policy decision at the end of the meeting.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 9, 2022
BOJ’s rock-bottom rates are crucial for Kishida’s spending plans
The prime minister has signed off on changes to an annual fiscal policy plan that loosen rather than tighten the corset constraining the nation's spending plans.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 28, 2022
Yen slides past ¥130 to the dollar after BOJ doubles down on bond buying
The Bank of Japan's decision had been widely expected among economists, despite ongoing speculation the bank might take action in light of a recent slide in the yen rate to a two-decade low.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 19, 2022
Japan to model digital yen tests on Sweden’s approach, not China’s
The Bank of Japan will explore the design issues of a central bank digital currency in measured steps like Sweden rather than pressing ahead with large-scale pilot tests like China.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 15, 2022
Bank of Japan poised to predict strongest inflation in 30 years
With global central banks accelerating interest rate hikes to tackle inflation, Haruhiko Kuroda will have the task of explaining why he is insisting on staying wedded to stimulus.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 8, 2022
BOJ is likely to adjust policy as soon as July, ex-official says
The view sharply contrasts with the stated position of Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda, who has repeatedly said he will stick with stimulus.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2022
BOJ maintains easing stance, highlighting policy divergence
The bank left its interest rates and asset purchases unchanged, according to a statement Friday, as predicted by all economists in a survey.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2022
Weaker yen likely to prompt BOJ message shift, ex-official says
'The yen has already moved a lot compared with last year, so a further weakening means volatility has generally been high,' says Kazuo Momma.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 15, 2022
Bank of Japan chief risks hitting inflation goal in a way he doesn’t want
Economists are predicting core consumer prices will rise at a pace of 2% or more this year as surging energy prices, a weakening yen and stabilizing phone charges feed inflation.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2022
Japan’s economy needs more spending aid, Abenomics advocate says
The call for more stimulus by Etsuro Honda comes barely three months after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida unveiled a bigger-than-expected u00a556 trillion package to support the economy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 31, 2022
Ex-official warns BOJ against using digital yen to juice policy
Hiromi Yamaoka said that while it's clear Japan's payment systems need to change, he is totally against the idea of the central bank using a digital yen to gain extra policy leverage.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 6, 2022
Bank of Japan plans to discuss changing long-held view on price risks, sources say
The central bank meets on Jan. 17 and 18, with its quarterly report on prices and growth likely to be the focus of interest.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 8, 2021
BOJ likely to scale down COVID-19 aid, former executive says
The BOJ could extend some parts of the program beyond March, while scaling back other areas such as its corporate debt buying, says the former leader of the bank's pandemic crisis response.
A new tour of Tokyo’s most underground attraction
When you stare into the abyss at the bottom of the No. 3 shaft of the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel, the abyss stares back.
China halts critical rare earth exports as trade war intensifies
Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, in China's Jiangsu province, in October 2010.
'Chikan' incidents rise as Japan grapples with mental health and cultural challenges
Overcrowded trains and a lack of legal consequences for groping in Japan have led to a rise in "chikan," or groping, which has been linked to a mental condition and compounded by cultural stigmas.
Japan doesn’t plan to use U.S. Treasurys as tariff talk leverage
Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Itsunori Onodera speaks at LDP headquarters in Tokyo last October.
Osaka Expo throws open its doors as mega-event kicks off
People visit the Osaka Expo on the first day it opened to the public, in the city of Osaka on Sunday.
Japan’s population shrinks for the 14th consecutive year
Japan’s population has been falling year on year since 2011 after peaking in 2008.
A new tour of Tokyo’s most underground attraction
When you stare into the abyss at the bottom of the No. 3 shaft of the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel, the abyss stares back.
Two-thirds of fourth to sixth graders in Japan use social media, survey finds
The survey showed that more children are starting to use social media at an earlier age.
Osaka Expo-bound? Take your pick of the city’s new luxury hotels.
The Four Seasons Hotel Osaka opened in 2024, just one of many new luxury accommodations the city boasts ahead of the 2025 World Expo.
Heaven from hells: The sulfuric pleasure of Unzen Onsen
While Unzen Onsen's "hells" can be visually striking, locals describe them and their effects as "a source of emotional healing."

Podcast

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

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.
By Tomoko Otake

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