Tag - economic-indicators

 
 

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Commuters walk past a fruit store at a shopping arcade in Kyoto earlier this year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 12, 2025
Survey forecasts 12% rise in inflation in Japan over coming year
Of those surveyed, 86.7% said that prices are likely to be higher in a year's time, up from 85.7%.
The Bank of Japan's headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2025
Price expectations rise in Japan as tariffs cloud BOJ rate path
Households expect average annual inflation of 9.6% over the next five years, the highest since June 2006.
Producer prices of farm goods surged 19.7% in fiscal 2024 from the previous year, reflecting higher prices of rice sold to wholesalers.
BUSINESS
Apr 10, 2025
Japan producer prices rise 3.3% in fiscal 2024
According to a preliminary report by the Bank of Japan, the producer price index in the year through March hit a record high for the third straight year.
Japan posted a surplus in the current account balance for the first time in two months, mainly as the trade balance turned into a surplus.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 8, 2025
Japan's current account surplus hits record high in February
The country posted a surplus in the current account balance, mainly as the trade balance turned into a surplus.
In a reflection of persistent price pressure, real wages declined for a second straight month in February, falling 1.2% from a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 7, 2025
Japan’s nominal wages rise in bright spot as outlook darkens
Nominal cash earnings for workers climbed 3.1% in February from a year earlier, with the pace accelerating from a revised 1.8% in January, the labor ministry said Monday.
Household outlays declined 0.5% in February from a year earlier, led by falling outlays on clothes and footwear, housing and food.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 4, 2025
Japan’s household spending drops for first time in three months
The drop, ahead of sweeping tariffs announced by the U.S., was led by falling outlays on clothes and footwear, housing and food.
Japanese stocks declined on Monday as auto and electronics shares were hit hard.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 31, 2025
Japanese stocks fall about 4% ahead of Trump's 'Liberation Day'
Traders and analysts are expecting a week of volatility as the U.S. tariff situation becomes clearer and waivers, if any, are granted.
Factory output in February marked the fastest gain since March last year thanks to strong demand before the U.S. implements new tariffs on autos and auto parts.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 31, 2025
Japan production rises most in 11 months ahead of new U.S. tariffs
Factory output increased in February by 2.5% from January, the first advance in four months and marking the fastest gain since March last year.
According to the internal affairs ministry on Friday, consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.4% in March from a year earlier as inflation in processed food accelerated.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 28, 2025
Tokyo inflation exceeds forecasts, keeping BOJ on rate hike path
The leading indicator for nationwide inflation is likely to keep BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda mulling over the right timing for further rate hikes.
A survey of 12,817 companies by Shinkin Central Bank Research Institute found that only 51% committed to base wage hikes, the think tank announced on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2025
Japan’s wage growth isn’t as rosy as Rengo’s data indicate
The broader picture for pay trends may not be as rosy as the union group expects, according to one think tank.
A kitchenware recycling team collects equipment at a closed hotpot restaurant in Beijing last month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 22, 2025
China's restaurants race to the bottom in deflation-hit economy
A restaurant in China has an average lifespan of just about 500 days, analysts say, falling to as low as a year in Beijing.
Citizens’ holdings of cash in the three months ended in December was down 3.4% from a year earlier in the biggest drop in the data going back to 1998.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 21, 2025
Japan’s households slash cash at record pace as inflation bites
The decline mostly likely reflects the wider adoption of cashless consumption as well as a rise in nominal consumer spending due to inflation.
While headline inflation cooled in February, underlying price pressure remains steady, raising concerns for households as real wages remain stagnant.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 21, 2025
Japan’s inflation slows less than expected, backing BOJ hikes
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 3.0% from a year ago in February, decelerating from a 3.2% pace in January.
Japan's shipments abroad have advanced in the first two months of this year, as Japanese companies brace for the rollout of higher tariffs in the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 19, 2025
Japan’s exports rose more quickly in February ahead of Trump tariffs
Global trade flows face potential major disruptions as the U.S. continues to escalate its tariff campaign, targeting nations where Japanese carmakers have manufacturing bases.
One year on from the Bank of Japan's historic rate hike, the biggest winners are the banks.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 17, 2025
Banks boom and shoppers scrimp a year after Japan’s rate pivot
Higher borrowing costs are also fueling a political battle over how the government can rein in its outlays.
The gloom is a sign of just how much U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies, particularly around trade, have rattled Wall Street nerves.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 14, 2025
Stocks tumble into correction as Trump policies roil sentiment
The gloom is a sign of just how much U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies, particularly around trade, have rattled Wall Street nerves.
Japan's economy expanded in the October-December quarter at a slower pace than earlier reported as consumption came in weaker than expected.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 11, 2025
Japan’s economic growth revised lower ahead of BOJ meet
The revised figures highlight pockets of weakness in the Japanese economy even as it continues to moderately expand.
Japan logged a deficit of ¥257.6 billion in the current account, a measure of trade and investment flows, compared with a surplus of ¥334.3 billion a year before, according to the Finance Ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 10, 2025
Japan logs its first current account deficit in two years in January
The nation logged a deficit of ¥257.6 billion in the current account compared with a surplus of ¥334.3 billion a year before.
Qianmen street, Beijing, in March 2023. Though the immediate shock has passed, COVID-19's legacy continues to reshape global economies and markets.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 8, 2025
Five years on, the economic impact of COVID-19 lingers
Though the immediate shock has passed, COVID-19's legacy continues to reshape global economies and markets.
The weighted average of wage hikes demanded by 2,939 member unions of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, in this year's shuntō labor-management negotiations came to 6.09%, a Rengo survey showed Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 6, 2025
Japan pay hike demands top 6% for first time in 32 years
It is the first time in 32 years for the average wage hike request to exceed 6%, amid the soaring cost of living and labor shortages.

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Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.