Tag - boj¥

 
 

BOJ¥

An electric stock board displays the rate of the yen against the U.S. dollar at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in early August.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 31, 2024
Yen’s rapid advance pressures earnings once thought easy to beat
With stronger signals coming from the Bank of Japan and Federal Reserve, the yen has gained 3.5% against the dollar since the end of July.
Despite the challenges, including sluggish consumption and market volatility, the Bank of Japan's recent policy adjustments reflect a strategy aimed at ensuring a stable path toward its inflation goals.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 30, 2024
BOJ’s recent policy changes highlight a shift toward global monetary practices
The BOJ's approach is influenced by global financial regulations and aims to balance market stability with effective monetary policy.
Core consumer prices in Japan's capital rose 2.4% in August from a year earlier, accelerating for the fourth straight month and keeping alive market expectations of further interest rate hikes in coming months.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 30, 2024
Inflation accelerates beyond forecasts in Tokyo, boosting case for rate hike
Analysts say the data shows that the real economy and its fundamentals are continuing to recover but at a slow pace.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2024
Japan raises view of economy for first time in 15 months
The Cabinet Office said in its August report that the economy is recovering at a moderate pace, and only parts of it are pausing.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda "predictably unpredictable" actions and policy shifts highlight the need for improved communication, reflecting modern central banking practices.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 28, 2024
How long can the BOJ get away with rate shocks?
The BOJ’s shifting policies and Kazuo Ueda’s unpredictable approach reflect the need for better alignment with modern central banking practices.
Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 28, 2024
BOJ deputy governor sees rate hike justified if outlook realized
Bank of Japan Deputy Gov. Ryozo Himino's comments underscore the central bank's basically unchanged stance following ructions in the financial markets.
The yen traded in the 143 range against the dollar on Monday, a three-week high.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 26, 2024
Dollar sinks against the yen, hovers near 2½-year low to sterling
The U.S. dollar also hovered near its lowest in 13 months against the euro.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a Lower House committee meeting on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Aug 26, 2024
BOJ shows how action matters more than hawkish signs
In the debate over how central banks can affect market perceptions, the central bank may have gotten it right when in July it raised rates for a second time.
U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 26, 2024
Powell’s pivot leaves traders debating size and path of rate cuts
Bond traders are now focusing in on bets over the size of the first U.S. interest rate reduction and the future path of easing.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a Lower House financial affairs committee meeting in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Aug 24, 2024
Fed's dovish shift a mixed blessing for BOJ rate hike plan
The BOJ's efforts to raise interest rates could be complicated if the two central banks' diverging policy paths keep markets jittery.
IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas says Japan's inflation is higher than 2% and inflation expectations have started to move toward, or "maybe even a little bit above" the BOJ's 2% target. As a result, the BOJ is normalizing the extremely loose monetary policy it has had for decades.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 24, 2024
IMF sees scope for Bank of Japan to keep raising rates
The BOJ can raise interest rates gradually as heightening inflation expectations leave further scope for normalization, the IMF said.
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.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food climbed 2.7% in July from a year earlier, accelerating slightly from 2.6% in June.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 23, 2024
Japan's core inflation picks up, but demand-driven growth slows
The "core core" index, which is closely watched by the BOJ, dipped below the key 2% line for the first time since September 2022.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda is scheduled to respond to questions from lawmakers in parliament on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 22, 2024
BOJ governor set to face intense scrutiny after market chaos
Gov. Kazuo Ueda will respond to questions from lawmakers in the Lower House on Friday morning, and those in the Upper House in the afternoon.
Katsunobu Kato, former health minister, speaks in an interview in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 22, 2024
Japan should keep rates and prices moving, prime minister hopeful Kato says
The former health minister is a dark horse but also the type of person who could emerge as a compromise candidate.
Some investors are still betting on more interest rate hikes in Japan in the coming months.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 20, 2024
Big-name investors still betting on further BOJ rate hikes
Major asset managers are doubling down on their short positions in Japanese government bonds based on the prospect of further hikes.
If there is one person who can tell you all about the building that used to be the Bank of Japan's Hiroshima branch, which survived the atomic bombing, it's Yasuhiro Nanba.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Aug 19, 2024
A building that survived the A-bomb, and the man who tells its story
A security guard's fascination with the Bank of Japan's Hiroshima branch led him to compile personal accounts of people who were there when the bomb was dropped.
An electronic stock quotation board inside a building in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 17, 2024
What panic? Stocks are quickly on way back to record highs.
With U.S. equities on the rebound, this summer’s selloff is looking more like a pause in the bull market than the beginning of its end.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s decision to step down opens the door to newcomers competing at a time when the central bank is paving the way for policy normalization.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 16, 2024
Japan's change of leadership comes at challenging time for monetary policy
Next month’s ruling party vote will be held against a backdrop of persistent inflation.
People walk along Takeshita street at Harajuku shopping area in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 15, 2024
Japan's economy rebounds strongly on consumption boost, backing case for more rate hikes
The Bank of Japan had forecast that a solid economic recovery will help inflation hit its 2% target and justify raising interest rates further.

Longform

A woman passes an "akichi" (vacant lot) in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo. The capital is littered with such small lots in part because of Japan's aging and shrinking population.
Dealing with rising land vacancies as Japan shrinks