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July 17, 2024
 

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ECONOMY

Japan's inflation marked a four-decade high this year, caused by surging fuel and raw material costs amid Russia's war against Ukraine. Japanese firms chose the kanji character for 'change' to describe such turbulence.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 3, 2023
Firms in Japan pick kanji for 'change' to describe turbulent 2023
From extreme weather to global conflicts, many companies in Japan say they spent the year adapting to new market forces.
Capital spending on goods excluding software rose 0.3% in the three months through September compared with the previous quarter, possibly serving as an encouraging sign for the Bank of Japan.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2023
Japan’s capital spending nudges higher in sign of resilience
Some analysts still warn that GDP could contract again in the current quarter
Akihiko Tanaka (center) attends a meeting on the foreign technical trainee and skilled workers program at the Justice Ministry on Friday.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 30, 2023
Panel submits final report on Japan's foreign trainee program
After roughly a year of meetings, the cumulative report contains recommendations on a newly designed policy.
COP28 has kicked off in Dubai amid division, as there is no firm commitment from developed nations to help out less financially secure countries. 
COMMENTARY
Nov 29, 2023
The Global South has lost faith in COP28
The Global South, which bears the brunt of climate change despite contributing minimally to emissions, is frustrated.
The Bank of Japan board member Toyoaki Nakamura says more time is needed before the bank phases out its massive stimulus.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 30, 2023
BOJ policymaker says more time needed before easing can be curbed
While a continued economic recovery and tight labor market hold promise for wage growth, inflation continues to suppress down real wages.
Strong shipments of cars, especially to the U.S., helped push up Japan’s industrial production more than expected in October.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 30, 2023
Japan's factory output beat expectations in October
Improvement in supply chains bolstered automakers while inventory adjustments underpinned the electronics parts industry.
University students attend a job fair. If Japanese companies continue hiring people based on the university they graduated from, acquiring extra qualifications or reskilling won't impact candidates' job prospects.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 29, 2023
Kishida’s stimulus package needs rethinking, not reskilling
The government aims to promote reskilling for nonregular workers to boost their job prospects, but this won't matter if hiring practices don't change.
Monthly regular pay rose 3.2%, or ¥9,437, on average this year, both record highs since comparative figures began in 1999.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 28, 2023
Japanese firms giving record pay raises this year, poll shows
Policymakers have said hiking wages is essential to ending deflation and to achieving and sustaining an inflation rate of 2% in a stable manner.
Chinese tourists buy gold bars and gold accessories at LukFook, a jewelry store, in Hong Kong.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 28, 2023
Gold bars and Tokyo apartments: How money is flowing out of China
The outbound shift of money in part indicates unease inside China about the sputtering recovery after the pandemic as well as deeper problems.
A man walks through the Central Business District on a rainy day, in Beijing.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 28, 2023
West's de-risking starts to bite China's prospects
China is outwardly confident about growth despite a global economic slowdown
A Bank of Japan survey shows that the services producer price index rose 2.3% in October from a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 27, 2023
Corporate service inflation rise signals broadening price pressures
The services producer price index, which measures the price companies charge each other for services, rose 2.3% in October from a year earlier.
Technical trainees from Vietnam work at a knitwear factory in Mitsuke, Niigata Prefecture.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2023
Japan's new foreign trainee program to enhance rights protection
Originally designed to transfer skills to developing countries, the program has long been criticized as a cover for firms to import inexpensive labor.
Helping Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s political fortunes is the Liberal Democratic Party’s inability to agree on a successor.
EDITORIALS
Nov 24, 2023
Kishida is in trouble, but he’ll survive — for now
A Jiji Press survey released earlier this month put the Kishida Cabinet's approval at 21.3%, the lowest level since his inauguration in 2021.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends a Budget Committee session in the Lower House in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Explainer
Nov 24, 2023
Why is Fumio Kishida called 'the four-eyed tax-hiker'?
The prime minister hasn’t actually raised taxes for the public at large since he took office over two years ago — at least, not yet.
Core consumer prices in Japan rose 2.9% in October from a year earlier, staying above the Bank of Japan's 2% target for the 19th straight month as products seeing price hikes continued to broaden.
BUSINESS
Nov 24, 2023
Japan inflation quickens, clouding price outlook for BOJ
A weak yen has been a key driver behind high import costs, as it has stayed near a 33-year low against the dollar in recent months.
The home of the National Tax Agency in Tokyo
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2023
Undeclared income of Japan's wealthy hits record high
By occupation, business management consultants hid ¥33.67 million per person, topping the list of income concealers for the second year in a row.
With the 225-issue Nikkei stock average up by 28% this year and trading near its highest level since 1990, foreign investors who have plowed more than $35 billion into Japanese stocks in 2023 after years of shying away are seen as especially demanding.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 22, 2023
‘Tourist investors’ punish Japan’s earnings misses
Traders relatively new to the market with unrealistically high expectations have exited positions due to nervousness.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (third from left) attends a meeting of ministers related to the monthly economic assessment held at the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 22, 2023
Japan cuts economic view on weak domestic demand
The latest assessment came after Japan's economy marked its first contraction in three quarters in July-September.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has been meeting with Japanese buyers, as well as overseas suppliers, to urge the signing of more long-term LNG contracts.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2023
Japan urges LNG buyers to sign long-term deals for fuel security
The push is meant to insulate Japan from future supply shocks, as well as potentially harsher sanctions against Russian fuel exports.
Japan’s first trading of digital securities will begin next month in the form of security tokens issued by real estate firms.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2023
Japan to start digital securities trading from December
The trading of security tokens issued by real estate firms Ichigo and Kenedix will begin on the Osaka Digital Exchange.
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
China’s economic growth comes in worse than expected
Pedestrians in the Wangfujing shopping area in Beijing on July 11, 2024. China's economic growth in the second quarter was lower than forecast, adding pressure on Chinese leaders to lift confidence at the Chinese Communist Party's third plenum this week.
Kansai airports to increase takeoff and landing slots ahead of Osaka Expo
Kansai International Airport in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture. The upper limit on the number of takeoff and landing slots at the airport as well as Kobe Airport in Hyogo Prefecture will be raised in spring next year ahead of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

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Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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