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November 22, 2024
 

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Tetsushi Kajimoto
Masato Kanda, then-vice minister of finance for international affairs, in January 2022
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2024
As pain from weak yen deepens, Japan's ex-currency chief Masato Kanda warns of action
Kanda's warning came as the Japanese currency weakened to a three-month low of near ¥155 to the dollar.
Japan's core machinery orders unexpectedly fell for a second straight month in May.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 11, 2024
Japan's key capex gauge falls again, clouds outlook for durable growth
The volatile leading indicator of capital spending fell 3.2% month-on-month in May, following a 2.9% drop in April.
Workers' monthly pay will rise 5.1% on average this fiscal year, according to a survey of companies conducted since March by union group Rengo.
BUSINESS
Jul 3, 2024
Firms deliver biggest pay hikes in 33 years, union survey shows
Workers' monthly pay will rise 5.1% on average this fiscal year, according to union group Rengo.
The Japanese national flag waves at the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo on March 18.
BUSINESS
Jun 24, 2024
Moody's Japan analyst urges reform while BOJ takes time to raise rates
Christian de Guzman said he did not expect the budget-balancing target for fiscal 2025 to be met, but failure would not trigger a negative rating action.
Core machinery orders in April dropped month-on-month for the first time in three months, but the Cabinet Office said they are continuing to show signs of picking up.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 17, 2024
Japan's core machinery orders down in April but seen firming up ahead
Core orders fell 2.9% month-on-month in April, the first drop in three months.
Some analysts say machinery orders are on track for a recovery as core machinery orders rose 7.7% in February from the previous month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 15, 2024
Machinery orders rise sharply, possibly easing domestic demand worries
Some analysts say machinery orders are on track for a recovery.
Officials from the Finance Ministry, the Bank of Japan and the Financial Services Agency hold an emergency meeting over the yen at the ministry on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 29, 2024
Japan brought forward emergency yen meeting to maximize market impact, source says
Meeting like these are considered a sign Tokyo is moving closer to intervening in the currency market.
A representative from Honda's labor union submits a demand for spring negotiations to management last month in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 8, 2024
Japan Inc. set to offer bumper pay hikes, paving way for stimulus end
Economists see negotiations resulting in an average increase of around 3.9% in pay for union workers at major firms.
Japan's corporate spending on plants and equipment jumped 16.4% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, government data shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 4, 2024
Japan corporate capex jumps, paving way for BOJ exit from stimulus
Capital expenditure rose 16.4% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, and 10.4% on a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said Friday that the BOJ will examine the possibility of easing measures when price targets are met.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 16, 2024
BOJ's Ueda maintains pledge to review stimulus when inflation goal met
Data released on Thursday showed Japan's economy unexpectedly slipped into a recession in the final quarter of last year.
Masato Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs, is closely watching how an expected end to negative interest rates in Japan affect markets.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 25, 2024
Top forex diplomat vigilant over market impact from BOJ stimulus exit
As vice finance minister for international affairs, Masato Kanda oversees currency policy.
Leaders of Keidanren and labor unions officially started annual spring wage negotiations on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2024
Japanese firms and unions kick off wage talks as markets bet on bigger pay hikes
Japan's big firms are expected to offer their unions wage hikes of 3.85% on average this year, the highest wage increase in 31 years.
At stake in this year's spring negotiations between trade unions and large Japanese firms, analysts say, is whether wages will rise far enough to ignite the sustainable inflation that policymakers consider a prerequisite for ending negative interest rates.
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2024
Japan's top business lobby calls for worker pay raises above inflation
The call sets the tone for annual wage talks that may pave the way for the Bank of Japan to exit its ultraeasy monetary policy.
Commuters at Tokyo Station earlier this month. A Reuters poll showed six out of 10 economists expect major firms' pay hikes in 2024 to exceed this year's.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Nov 20, 2023
Japan's back-to-back wage bonanza would open door for BOJ exit
The news comes as the government pushes companies to hike pay to help offset rising living costs.
Tomoko Yoshino, president of Rengo, attends a meeting in 2022.
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2023
Japan's largest labor union to seek worker pay hikes beyond 2024
Rengo said last month it will demand wage hikes totaling 5% or more next year.
People pass an electronic board showing the rate of the yen against the dollar on a street in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 15, 2023
Former currency czar sees structural factors behind yen weakness
"I wonder whether overseas investors may be thinking what's in it for investing in Japan," said Rintaro Tamaki.
Takeshi Niinami, chairman of business lobby Keizai Doyukai, says the Bank of Japan "must normalize" monetary policy.
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2023
Japan needs to prepare for 'life with interest rates': lobby head
Takeshi Niinami, chairman of business lobby Keizai Doyukai, said the Bank of Japan "must normalize" monetary policy to help weed out incompetent firms.
Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino says the labor organization will seek wage hikes of 5% or more next year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 19, 2023
Japan's largest labor group aims for wage hikes of 5% or more
Rengo will finalize its stance in December ahead of next year's wage negotiations.
A rebound in auto output and falling raw material costs helped lift Japan's business sentiment in the third quarter.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 2, 2023
Japan's business mood improves as economic revival continues
The tankan survey suggests conditions for the BOJ to phase out its massive stimulus could fall into place, even as policymakers remain cautious.
Newly appointed economy minister Yoshitaka Shindo arrives at the Cabinet Office on Thursday
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 14, 2023
New economy minister sees positive signs for end of deflation
Little is known about Yoshitaka Shindo's views on monetary and fiscal policies as he served in an intraparty post for the past eight years.
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.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
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By Kathryn Wortley

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