Tag - economy

 
 

ECONOMY

The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Dec 21, 2024
Economists see BOJ's policy review as insufficient
The massive easing policy has caused adverse effects, such as a loosening of fiscal discipline, economists said.
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2024
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The poll found that people worry most about their own health, plans for life after retirement, and the outlook for future income and assets.
A pedestrian crossing in Tokyo's Ginza district. In an economic report released Friday, the government cut its assessment on corporate profits for the first time since March 2023.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 20, 2024
Japan says overall economy recovering, but cuts view on corporate profits
Among key economic areas, the government cut its assessment on corporate profits for the first time since March 2023 as the pace of its recovery was moderating.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said Friday that Japan will take appropriate action if there are excessive moves in the currency market, as the yen resumed its rapid downturn.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 20, 2024
Japan warns on yen after BOJ’s dovish messaging extends slide
Recent sharp movements in the yen feed into concerns that the government may intervene in the currency market.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.7% in November from a year earlier driven by higher energy costs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 20, 2024
Japan’s inflation accelerates on energy as BOJ seeks more data
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.7% in November from a year earlier driven by higher energy costs.
The average retail gasoline price is expected to rise by over ¥5 per liter as the government has announced that it will reduce subsidies to oil wholesalers.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 19, 2024
Gasoline prices rise as Japanese government cuts subsidies
Until now the industry ministry has subsidized 60% of gasoline costs over ¥168 and under ¥185, but from Thursday the subsidy dropped to 30% for prices in that range.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda holds a news conference after a BOJ policy meeting in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 19, 2024
Bank of Japan opts for caution as Trump factor and wage concerns weigh
Ueda said that it might take quite a while to fully assess Japan’s wage-growth trend and the impact of the economic policies of the Trump administration.
Nissan and Honda may be nearing a merger to address Nissan's struggles, forming a second major hub in Japan's auto industry to rival Toyota.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 19, 2024
A Honda-Nissan merger is a slow-moving savior
Nissan is struggling — burning through cash and with billions of dollars of debt due in a little over a year.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda gives a press conference in Tokyo on Oct. 31.
BUSINESS
Dec 19, 2024
BOJ meets for final rate review this year as Trump risk clouds outlook
Sources have said the BOJ is leaning toward keeping interest rates steady at the two-day meeting concluding on Thursday.
Foreign tourists visit Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo in June.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2024
Japan breaks annual visitor record with 33.4 million in just 11 months
November saw 3.19 million foreign visitors for business and leisure, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization.
The fall of financial assets held by households in Japan reflected a decline in stock prices following the central bank's decision in July to raise interest rates, as well as a weaker yen.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 18, 2024
Japan household financial assets post first fall in eight quarters
The fall reflected a decline in stock prices following the central bank's decision in July to raise interest rates, as well as a weaker yen.
Honmoku pier in Yokohama. While the value of exports has risen, trade is giving limited support to the economy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 18, 2024
Weak yen helps Japan’s exports rise ahead of BOJ meet
Exports measured in value rose 3.8% from a year earlier led by chipmaking machinery and nonferrous metals.
The plenary session of the House of Representatives, which passed the three political reform bills, in parliament on Tuesday
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2024
Japan enacts ¥13.9 trillion extra budget for fiscal 2024
The economic policy package aims to finance measures against inflation and disaster relief.
Japan's labor productivity ranked last place among the Group of Seven major economies in 2023.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2024
Japan's labor productivity rises to 29th among OECD countries
Japan's per-hour productivity in 2023 came to $56.8, or ¥5,379 based on purchasing power parity, up two notches from the all-time low logged the year before.
Most market players expect shareholder activism to be as frenetic, if not more, next year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 17, 2024
Activist investors set record with $6.6 billion spree in Japan
Activists have taken stakes in at least 146 companies, successfully demanding disposal of real estate, changes in strategy and stock buybacks.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda. The central bank's policy board meets this week.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 16, 2024
Uncertainty reigns as BOJ rate bets almost evenly split
Slightly less than half of surveyed economists expect the central bank to raise rates this week while just over half believe it will wait until January.
Nobuhiro Ito, who runs casting-maker Ito Tekko, which employs about 100 people, in front of his company's factory in the city of Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 13, 2024
BOJ's rate hike plans clouded by small firms' wage woes
Next year's wage prospects are crucial for sustaining a consumption-led recovery — a prerequisite for further rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.
Business sentiment among large manufacturers in Japan improved for the first time in two quarters, the Bank of Japan's tankan survey for December showed Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 13, 2024
Japan business mood improves slightly, but global risks cloud outlook
The Bank of Japan tankan survey results come ahead of a two-day policy meeting next week, when its board will debate whether to lift rates from the current 0.25%.

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Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition