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November 24, 2024
 

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DEBT

The problem many developing countries have in repaying their debts might be even bigger than the world realizes, as many sovereign debts are hidden.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 10, 2024
Tackling the world’s hidden debt problem
Low-income countries are struggling to repay their debts. Better transparency and accounting systems could help them tackle this challenge.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda has indicated the central bank's debt buying will be dialed back at some point.
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2024
Japan’s bond market liquidity improves as BOJ loosens its grip
Among the signs of progress, the average bid-ask spread to trade the country’s debt has tightened to the narrowest in at least six months.
An Upper House budget committee session for questions and answers on the fiscal 2024 draft budget held Wednesday
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 6, 2024
Japan's huge draft budget raises questions over fiscal accountability
The government allocates reserves and determines their use at Cabinet meetings, requiring only retroactive approval by parliament.
The world needs to avoid the mistakes and pitfalls that go with providing debt relief and should craft sustainable solutions for financially distressed nations. 
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 1, 2024
Developing countries’ never-ending debt crisis
Creditors have a role in resolving debt crises. This means all eyes are on China, which is the single most important creditor for debt distress.
In early February, the Finance Ministry announced that government debt at the end of last year had reached a record high of ¥1.2 quadrillion.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 27, 2024
With downfall of Abe faction, some see a shift in Japan’s debt debate
The faction has long promoted fiscal stimulus, but its demise combined with wider economic conditions could open up space for a different approach.
The Aozora Bank headquarters in Tokyo. The bank surprised investors with losses tied to U.S. commercial property, sending shares down by the limit and heightening concern over global banks' exposure to souring real estate bets.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 2, 2024
Gamble on U.S. commercial property blows up for Japan’s Aozora
Shares went down by the limit and heightened concern over global banks' exposure to souring real estate bets.
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the Italy-Africa summit in Rome on Monday
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2024
Overwhelmed by debt, Italy sells stake in Post Office 'crown jewel'
The government has a long way to go to reduce its debt, which currently amounts to 140.2% of GDP.
Projections for Japan's primary balance are presented at a meeting held at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
BUSINESS
Jan 22, 2024
Japan’s baseline forecasts show government missing budget goal
The primary balance is projected to be around minus 0.4% in fiscal year 2025.
Workers walk past an underconstruction area with completed office towers in the background in Shenzhen's Qianhai new district on Aug. 25, 2023.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 1, 2024
China's strained economy casts shadow over 2024
Last year, the economy was roiled by a real estate crisis, falling consumer confidence, deflation and the disappearance of foreign investment.
The Chinese national emblem and flags at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 18.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 21, 2023
China’s move to clip local borrowing puts growth engine at risk
A revamp of the intergovernment debt structure could diminish the fiscal discretion of local leaders and weaken their drive to enact new policies.
A Chinese national flag flutters at the headquarters of a commercial bank on a financial street near the People's Bank of China in Beijing.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 6, 2023
Officials hit back after Moody’s downgrades China's credit outlook
The ratings agency downgraded its outlook from stable to negative, saying a need for bailouts could weigh on the country’s economic strength.
Evergrande has become a poster child for China’s property crisis since the builder defaulted two years ago. It reported a combined loss of $81 billion in 2021 and 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 4, 2023
Evergrande winding-up hearing in Hong Kong adjourned again
The world’s most-indebted property developer now has eight weeks to convince offshore bondholders to agree on a restructuring.
Pedestrians walk past an electronic board displaying various companies' share prices, in a business district in Tokyo on Oct. 31.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 20, 2023
Japan’s fiscal advisory board warns of impact of higher rates
Even small changes could have a large impact given rates are so low and Japan has the largest public debt load among developed economies.
U.S. President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 4, 2023
Biden jabs at China 'debt-trap diplomacy’ at Americas summit
In a summit with other Western Hemisphere leaders, Biden cast the U.S. approach as a healthier alternative for countries seeking global investment.
Hiroshi Mikitani, chairman and CEO of Rakuten Group, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in May.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 17, 2023
Rakuten rally from record lows clouded by looming bond deadlines
The most pressing task now for Rakuten is to raise funds for a wall of more than $5 billion of bonds due in the next two years.
Vitor Gaspar, director of the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department
BUSINESS
Oct 13, 2023
IMF official says fiscal reform will only grow more difficult
According to data from the IMF, Japan's national debt-to-GDP ratio topped 260% in 2022.
Farmers harvest rice in a field in Chai Nat province, Thailand.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 18, 2023
Soaring rice prices sow hope and trouble for Thai farmers
Thailand's centuries-old rice cultivation system is under severe stress from climate change and unsustainable farm debts.
Buildings in Guangzhou, China. Aside from short-term solutions, economists see three options for China to restructure its economy.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Sep 4, 2023
Part of China's economic miracle was a mirage. Reality check is next.
While many analysts see a slow drift towards Japan-style stagnation as the most likely outcome, there is also the prospect of a more severe crunch.
Anti-World Bank protestors gather outside where the International Monetary and Financial Committee’s plenary session was being held in Washington in mid-April. 
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2023
The global order’s triple policy challenge and the tasks ahead
With public and private debt at record levels, political leaders face the monumental task of allocating resources to address critical global challenges.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2023
Kishida under pressure to spend even as debt costs rise
The prime minister pivoted away from his previous stance Tuesday by scrapping September-end plans to stop subsidies that cap gasoline prices.
Japan approves ¥21.9 trillion stimulus plan
The policy chiefs of the Democratic Party for the People, Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito — Makoto Hamaguchi (left), Itsunori Onodera (center) and Mitsunari Okamoto — shake hands after reaching an agreement on an economic stimulus package on Wednesday.
Tokyo Metro’s overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal
Tokyo Metro will soon have a role in the running of London's Elizabeth Line, a major train route serving the U.K.’s capital city and environs.
Saitama court bans demonstrations over anti-Kurd hate speech
Kurdish people in Japan in 2015. A court injunction has banned acts that defame the Japan Kurdish Cultural Association and are disrespectful, such as putting up banner flags or handing out fliers with hate speech like “Refugees should go back to their home countries.”
China reinstates visa-free travel for Japanese nationals
Beijing Daxing International Airport
U.S. aircraft carrier returns to Japan carrying navy’s ‘most capable fighter’
U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Fred Kacher speaks to reporters shortly after the arrival of aircraft carrier USS George Washington at Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Friday.
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
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.

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