Tag - economy

 
 

ECONOMY

Japan's core inflation held above the Bank of Japan's 2% target in October, keeping pressure on the central bank to raise its still-low interest rates.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 22, 2024
Inflation held above BOJ target in October, supporting winter rate hike
Food companies raised the prices of 2,911 items, with processed food prices increasing by 3.8% while rice prices rose 60%.
The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to approve an economic stimulus package totaling ¥21.9 trillion on Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2024
Ishiba set to announce $140 billion stimulus package
The package aims address a range of challenges from inflation to wage growth, and alleviate a cost-of-living crunch.
Rengo chief Tomoko Yoshino speaks at a news conference in Tokyo in October.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2024
Union chief calls for Ishiba to step up wage hike efforts
Rengo's Tomoko Yoshino was keen to emphasize that wage gains have to spread more to workers at smaller firms.
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2024
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Travelers spent ¥5.86 trillion in Japan through September of this year, preliminary figures show, eclipsing the ¥5.3 trillion they spent in all of 2023.
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 20, 2024
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
The package will include cash handouts to lower-income households and subsidies to help families cope with rising utility bills.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda gives a speech in Nagoya on Monday. Ueda's signaling remains vague and noncommittal, further muddying the outlook for December.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 20, 2024
Dithering in December could cost Bank of Japan yen stability
For some analysts, the central bank is all but certain to raise rates next month, though others think it might be too early.
Pudong's Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai, China
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 20, 2024
Japanese businesses grow more pessimistic on China’s economy
About 64% of Japanese companies said the Chinese economy is faring worse than last year.
Japan's exports rebounded in October, led by a pickup in chip equipment demand in China.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 20, 2024
Japan’s exports grow, helped by China even as global risks rise
Exports rose 3.1% from a year ago, led by strong growth in shipments of chip-making equipment, especially sales to China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives for a bilateral meeting Peruvian President Dina Boluarte at the Government Palace in Lima on Nov. 14.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 20, 2024
Xi’s push for stable world of low tariffs undone by Trump and Putin
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to put 60% tariffs on Chinese goods while China walks a tightrope regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Former economic revitalization minister Daishiro Yamagiwa has been named the new head of the Liberal Democratic Party's group that promotes semiconductors.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 19, 2024
Former minister Daishiro Yamagiwa named to lead LDP semiconductor group
Appointment follows pledge by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba of more than ¥10 trillion in fresh public support for chip and artificial intelligence sectors.
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 19, 2024
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
Japanese investors sold a record $61.9 billion of the securities in the three months ended Sept. 30.
The Bank of Japan's policy review next month will be its first attempt to take a deeper, analytical look at the drawbacks of prolonged monetary easing.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Nov 19, 2024
BOJ to bid farewell to stimulus era and justify rate hikes in policy review
The review will be the central bank's first attempt to take a deeper, analytical look at the drawbacks of prolonged monetary easing.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said the timing of the central bank’s next policy adjustment will depend on the economy and prices during a speech in Nagoya on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 18, 2024
Yen weakens after Ueda’s caution on BOJ rate hike hints
The yen weakened as much as 0.5% to ¥155.14 against the dollar as Ueda’s comments proved less hawkish than some market participants had expected.
Masahide Endo, chief consultant at Daiwa Institute of Research noted that Alimentation Couche-Tard's bid for Seven & I Holdings had spawned a sense of crisis in other industries over sudden takeover proposals.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 18, 2024
Japanese companies increasingly targeted in foreign M&A bids
The total value of inbound acquisitions from overseas is up about 3.7 times year on year.
Core machinery orders dropped 0.7% in September month-on-month, confounding economists' median estimates for a 1.9% rise and down for the second straight month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 18, 2024
Japan's machinery orders see unexpected fall in September
The orders dropped 0.7% in September month-on-month, confounding economists' median estimates for a 1.9% rise.
The likelihood of interest-rate hikes from the Bank of Japan and further cuts from the Federal Reserve will drive the yen's recovery to as far as ¥130 against the dollar, according to some strategists.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 18, 2024
Yen bulls lie in wait for U.S.-Japan yield gap to shrink next year
The likelihood of Bank of Japan interest-rate hikes and further Federal Reserve cuts will drive the yen's recovery, some say.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping reviews an honor guard upon his arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Callao, Peru, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 16, 2024
Xi seizes role as global defender of free trade against Trump
China’s leader warned on Friday that the global economy was fracturing as protectionism spreads, leading to "severe challenges.”
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump attends a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 16, 2024
G20 set to back climate goals and global trade in message to Trump
Group of 20 leaders meeting in Brazil next week are set to show unity on climate action and global trade rules.
Japan Airlines' entrance ceremony. As of Oct. 1, 72.9% of job-hunting students had received job offers, down 1.9 percentage points from a year earlier, according to a joint survey by the labor and education ministries.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 15, 2024
Share of graduating Japanese university students with job offers falls
The labor and education ministries attribute the 1.9-percentage-point drop to a seller's market in which students take time to consider multiple tentative offers.
Japanese companies lack the agility needed for the digital transformation, a new report says.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 15, 2024
Japan ranked 31st in digital competitiveness, 92nd for English skills
In the 2024 EF English Proficiency Index, Japan was ranked 92nd, down from 87 the previous year. It was its worst showing yet.

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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?