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Yuko Takeo
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2020
Japan subsidies to cut China reliance set to boost Southeast Asia
'Even before coronavirus and the U.S.-China trade war struck, there was a shift away from production in China,” said a Japan External Trade Organization official.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 24, 2020
Aging administrative pipeline holds back Japan's ¥230 trillion virus-response aid
Slow response due to small government and lack of digitalization has seen some companies go out of business.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 7, 2020
Japan's ultralow official jobless rate ignores 4 million on leave
Factor in those on partially paid leave and the 2.6 percent rate hits 11.5 percent. Then there's the 940,000 who left the labor force in April but weren't counted.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 28, 2020
Budget in hand, Abe shifts focus to pandemic response as economy reels
Prime Minister Abe's team is working on steps to save jobs and spark a v-shaped recovery, but is money all it takes?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 21, 2020
Japan could face year-long slump if 'cursed' Olympics canceled
A canceled or postponed Olympics would likely result in Japan's economy shrinking for the longest stretch since the global financial crisis, according to some economists.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 25, 2020
History repeats as consumption tax hike pushes Japan toward recession
Housewife Matsuko Mitsui had been meaning to buy a new air conditioner for years, but it took the looming consumption tax hike in October to spur the 64-year-old to finally make the purchase.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 7, 2019
ECB and Japan linked by pitfalls of Abenomics
When Mario Draghi ended his term as European Central Bank president last week with a call for government policies to be "mutually aligned" with those of his institution, the message came with an unspoken caveat — it might not be enough.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2019
The world is watching as Japan deals with severe population decline and rural flight
When it comes to the nation's economy, there's actually two of them.
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
Mar 17, 2019
Forget consumption tax hike and give structural reform another try, ex-economy chief Heizo Takenaka says
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should again abandon his oft-delayed plan to hike the consumption tax this year because it risks pushing Japan's economy into recession and hampering efforts to generate stable inflation, according to former economy minister Heizo Takenaka.
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 / Economy
Nov 14, 2018
Bank of Japan's hoard of assets now bigger than the economy
The Bank of Japan's massive asset purchase program has taken it into uncharted territory, with its ballooning holdings now larger than the country's annual economic output.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 9, 2018
It pays to listen to the the real needs of women consumers in Japan
The country's male-dominated businesses are starting to ditch long-held views about what kinds of products women want as female consumers flex their growing spending muscle.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 8, 2018
Japan leaves no stone unturned as it prepares to cushion blow from Abe's 2019 sales tax hike to 10%
With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe determined to increase the sales tax next year, the government is testing public reaction to a string of potential measures to ensure people keep spending.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 19, 2018
In Japan, the growing number of dementia sufferers hold a vast pool of idle wealth
The country's growing ranks of dementia sufferers are sitting on a mountain of frozen assets, creating personal dilemmas for loved ones fretting over how to handle that money and a drag on the nation's economic prospects as the vast pool of wealth lays idle.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 9, 2018
BOJ-watchers pare back expectations of future policy changes
Economists now see a lower chance of any further changes to Bank of Japan monetary policy through the 2019 calendar year, after the central bank last week announced the most significant changes in two years.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jun 20, 2018
Construction app offers fix for Japan's supertight labor market
One of Yosuke Kobayashi's biggest headaches has been finding enough workers to build hotels, restaurants and bath houses for his construction company.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 14, 2018
Cashed-up grannies splurging on grandkids boost Japan's economy
Mikayo Taguchi loves splurging on her grandkids and children, whether for clothes or sporting goods or family outings. In Japan, that generosity matters — boosting demand by tens of billions of dollars each year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2018
U.S. allies push Trump for change of heart as trade war looms
U.S. President Donald Trump is headed for a showdown with America's allies at a Group of Seven summit this week in Quebec, with the European Union and Canada threatening retaliatory measures unless he reverses course on new steel and aluminum levies.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 20, 2018
From exemption to escalation: Japan's options on U.S. metals tariffs, set to be applied from Friday
Japan is rattled, but it will probably be able to avoid the worst effects of U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to raise tariffs on metal imports.

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