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November 21, 2024
 

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Elizabeth Beattie
An infrastructure project in the city of Mumbai. The International Monetary Fund forecasts 7.0% growth for India in 2024 and 6.5% in 2025, compared with 0.3% growth for Japan this year and 1.1% next year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 12, 2024
India set to overtake Japan in GDP rankings
Economic stagnation and a weak yen could take Japan's economy to fifth place globally as early as next year.
Japanese exporters could be hit by higher U.S. tariffs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 11, 2024
Trump tariffs could have a significant impact on Japanese exports
The U.S. president-elect has promised 10% to 20% duties on all goods coming into the United States.
Tokyo stocks rallied on Wednesday as ballots were counted in the U.S. presidential election.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 6, 2024
Tokyo stocks rally and yen falls as Trump nears election win
The 225-issue Nikkei stock average rose 2.61% on the day while the yen fell 1.6% against the dollar as it became increasingly apparent that Donald Trump would likely win.
A perfect storm of political uncertainty at home and abroad is brewing for markets in Japan.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 1, 2024
Investors in Japan place — and hedge — their bets ahead of U.S. election
Donald Trump's lead in U.S. battleground-state polls, coupled with the outcome of Sunday's Lower House election, is fueling bets on the dollar against the yen.
Gov. Kazuo Ueda has made it clear over the past few months that any monetary policy moves are dependent on inflation and growth data being aligned with forecasts.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 31, 2024
Bank of Japan keeps policy rate steady at 0.25%, as expected
The central bank held its ground this week even as it faced considerable political and economic pressure and significant uncertainty on the horizon.
After a two-day meeting of the Bank of Japan policy board ends on Thursday, Gov. Kazuo Ueda is likely to stick to the script and repeat almost verbatim his previous remarks.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 30, 2024
Bank of Japan set to stay course with Ueda seen sticking to script
Deviations from expectations in the statement could have an impact on markets, analysts say.
People from Thailand look at used smartphones in Tokyo's Akihabara district in October 2022.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 23, 2024
Japan's secondhand smartphone market booms as households struggle
Sales of used goods in Japan have grown rapidly as households struggle to make ends meet.
Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of Mt. Gox, speaks at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan on Oct. 11.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 21, 2024
The unsinkable Mark Karpeles is willing to give Tokyo another shot
The former CEO of Mt. Gox, which once processed the majority of bitcoin transactions globally before it blew up in 2014, is looking to set up shop in Japan again.
Traders borrow in currencies where rates are low and put that money to work in economies where rates are high, pocketing the difference.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Oct 2, 2024
Massive carry trade still lurks in the shadows and looms over markets
Trillions might remain, slightly different, less obvious and all but forgotten by a market eager to move on.
Shigeru Ishiba speaks at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo after being elected the party's new leader Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 30, 2024
Tokyo stocks fall 4.8% in first day of trading after Ishiba's victory
The surprise result in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election “contributed to meaningful volatility” in the markets.
Kioxia Holdings was reportedly planning an initial public offering in October valuing it at $10 billion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 25, 2024
Kioxia reportedly pulls IPO as AI winter looms
The IPO delay comes as the chip business globally faces a number of challenges related to possible overcapacity in some products.
Catherine O’Connell has achieved a number of notable firsts in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 24, 2024
Pioneering foreign female attorney stresses pragmatism within Japan Inc.
Catherine O’Connell was the first foreign woman to establish a law practice in Tokyo and to sit on the audit and supervisory boards at Toyota Motor and Fujitsu.
Pedestrians cross an intersection in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. Japan has experienced a postpandemic travel boom, with tourists pouring back in after restrictions closed the country’s borders to travelers.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 12, 2024
Japan jumps to No. 2, from sixth place, in Best Countries index
It jumped from 6th place on the 2023 list as a post-COVID boom and reforms helped bump it up on the subindexes used to calculate the overall score.
Seven & I Holdings, operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, said on Friday it has rejected Alimentation Couche-Tard's takeover bid as not being in the interest of shareholders.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2024
Seven & I pans value of offer as it rejects Canadian takeover bid
Seven & I said that Alimentation Couche-Tard had “grossly” undervalued the target company and that the takeover attempt was timed “opportunistically.”
Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel is opposed by politicians across the political spectrum, including both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 5, 2024
Japan miffed but reaction muted after shocking twist to U.S. Steel deal
U.S. President Joe Biden is set to reject Nippon Steel's acquisition of the American steelmaker, according to multiple unconfirmed reports released in recent days.
U.S. Steel's Edgar Thomson Works steel mill in Braddock, Pennsylvania
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 4, 2024
U.S. Steel to remain American-led, Nippon Steel says
The Japanese firm said post-acquisition the majority of U.S. Steel's board of directors and all members of core senior management would be U.S. citizens.
An abandoned house in Urayama, Saitama Prefecture. Buying an <i>akiya</i>, which means empty house in Japanese, can be a rewarding experience that yields a unique space and a livable home, competitively priced. Or it could turn out to be a money pit.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 2, 2024
First lesson of Japan’s akiya gold rush: No such thing as a free house.
Renovations are usually the most expensive part of the journey and the laundry list of what needs to be done is long and tends to get longer after the process starts.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a Lower House hearing on Friday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 23, 2024
Ueda promises better communication as he sticks to the script
Ueda took extra care with his comments to an extraordinary session of parliament called to discuss the market turmoil sparked by the central bank's surprise rate hike.
Seven & I Holding’s logo is seen at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Tokyo on Aug. 19. Apart from 7-Eleven, Seven & I also owns, has stakes in or operates a number of other iconic properties, including Denny’s, Tower Records and Ito-Yokado.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 22, 2024
Japan warms to audacious Canadian bid for 7-Eleven operator
The deal might just work if Alimentation Couche-Tard lets the convenience store chain get on with business and continue to develop and expand globally.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida leaves at the end of a news conference, in which he announced he is stepping down, at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 14, 2024
Kishida's shock announcement shakes already unsettled Japanese markets
The prime minister's decision to step down follows the Bank of Japan's surprise rate hike just two weeks earlier.
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
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.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
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.

Podcast

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

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

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