Tag - economy

 
 

ECONOMY

Big Japanese banks are now training a generation of professional front-line staff who have little experience with rising interest rates.
BUSINESS
Dec 5, 2023
Staff at Japan's banks scramble to adjust to rising interest rates
Many younger employees have no expertise in dealing with the vagaries of a traditional inflationary environment.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.3% in November from the prior year in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 5, 2023
Tokyo inflation cools to slowest pace in over a year
The development supports the Bank of Japan’s view that it should continue to be cautious about a tightening of policy.
Shein, a Chinese-founded online fast fashion platform, has filed to go public in the U.S. in what could be one of the world’s biggest IPOs.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 4, 2023
Chinese are making a killing everywhere but in China
China's companies are racing to reap the benefits of entering the U.S., while also running away from a crowded and competitive local market.
Spot workers who choose when and where to work through dedicated apps during their free time are seen as a new pool of human resources in industry sectors that have faced labor shortages.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 4, 2023
Number of 'spot workers' surges in Japan amid labor shortage
The work style has gained popularity due to the flexibility it offers: individuals can choose when and where to work through dedicated apps.
The government plans to raise the retirement age of drivers of privately owned cabs to 80, from 75 currently, as rural areas in particular suffer from an acute shortage of transportation for the elderly.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 4, 2023
Expanding labor shortage pushes Japan to find new ways to fill jobs
Companies have been forced to come up with new ways to find labor and keep their operations running smoothly, sometimes with novel ideas.
Buyouts by management and controlling parties have surged this year in Japan, with the total value now set to pass ¥1 trillion.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 3, 2023
Being a listed company in Japan is losing its luster
Japan's corporate landscape is shifting as companies opt for management buyouts.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?