Tag - economy

 
 

ECONOMY

Japan’s unemployment rate rose for the first time in four months in July.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 29, 2023
Rising jobless rate dims outlook for labor market and inflation
The job market must tighten to spur wage gains, which in turn would contribute to a virtuous cycle of inflation and salaries.
A gasoline tanker truck at an Eneos gas station in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 29, 2023
LDP approves extension of gasoline subsidy to year-end
The ruling party also agreed in principle to further expand the program, which pays subsidies to oil wholesalers to curb retail fuel price increases.
The Bank of Japan's inflation outlook doesn’t reflect reality, according to one of the country’s leading experts on prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 29, 2023
BOJ’s outlook doesn’t reflect reality, key price expert says
While the bank sharply raised its price outlook last month, it was still kept too low, said University of Tokyo economics professor Tsutomu Watanabe.
Over the last decade, the attention given to falling income and wealth inequality has been tiny, creating a view of the issue that may be seriously out of date.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2023
We should concentrate on fighting poverty, not income inequality
Wealth inequality has recently gone down in the U.S. and the West, and the decline has been going on for the better part of the last decade.
Japan's exports have been "picking up recently," the government said in its latest monthly economic assessment, its first upward revision since May,
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2023
Japan improves view on exports for first time in three months
The Cabinet Office report cited the boost to auto shipments from easing supply issues and the bottoming out of demand for semiconductor-related goods.
Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, from left, Kazuo Ueda, governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ), and Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), walk the grounds at the Jackson Hole economic symposium in Moran, Wyoming, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 28, 2023
At Jackson Hole, post-inflation challenges vex central bankers
The bankers stressed the need to keep interest rates high until inflation is contained, and wrestled with deep shifts that will make their jobs harder.
Anti-World Bank protestors gather outside where the International Monetary and Financial Committee’s plenary session was being held in Washington in mid-April. 
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2023
The global order’s triple policy challenge and the tasks ahead
With public and private debt at record levels, political leaders face the monumental task of allocating resources to address critical global challenges.
A man rests at a fresh food market in Shanghai, China, in early August. The world's second largest economy was meant to drive a third of global growth this year, so its dramatic slowdown in recent months is sounding alarm bells across the world.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 28, 2023
China’s economic slowdown is rippling across the globe
Policymakers are bracing for a hit to their economies as China’s imports of everything from construction materials to electronics slide.
Christine Lagarde (left), president of the European Central Bank, Kazuo Ueda, governor of the Bank of Japan (center) and Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, at the Jackson Hole economic symposium in Moran, Wyoming, on Friday
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 27, 2023
BOJ chief says strategy backed by below-target inflation
Gov. Kazuo Ueda said price growth remains slower than the central bank’s goal, explaining why officials are continuing with their current strategy.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell attends the Jackson Hole economic symposium in Moran, Wyoming, on Friday.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Aug 26, 2023
Fed chief's 'higher for longer' mantra fans investor caution
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has left open the possibility of further rate increases and stressed the U.S. economy’s surprising strength.
Investors stand in front of an electronic board showing stock information on the first trading day after the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday at a brokerage house in Shanghai.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Aug 26, 2023
China’s market rescue is failing as Xi holds back on stimulus
China’s regulators face a losing battle convincing global funds to invest in the nation’s stocks without stronger stimulus packages.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his remarks during the 2023 BRICS Summit in Johannesburg on Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 26, 2023
Bigger isn’t necessarily better for the future of BRICS
Shared grievances may bind them, but they are not enough to fuel concerted action to challenge the dominace of the West.
The Bank of Japan's headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2023
Financial expert warns against delay in BOJ policy shift
Izuru Kato predicted that the BOJ will likely raise its short-term policy rate from below zero in "January or April next year."
The Tokyo core consumer price index rose 2.8% in August from a year earlier, slowing for the second straight month but remaining well above the central bank's 2% target.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 25, 2023
Inflation in Tokyo slowed in August but stayed above BOJ target
The Tokyo core consumer price index, which excludes volatile fresh food but includes fuel costs, rose 2.8% in August from a year earlier.
A woman stands on one side of the wall texting in front of a nightclub while, on the other side of the wall, a man works in an izakaya.
PODCAST / deep dive
Aug 24, 2023
One night out in Tokyo
As the last trains leave the central hubs of Shinjuku and Shibuya for the suburbs, much of the city heads home. However, Tokyo never sleeps.
Staff from All Nippon Airways and a travel agency escort a Chinese tour group from Beijing upon their arrival at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 24, 2023
Will 'explosive spending' return to Japan with China group tours?
Hopes the tours will herald big returns clash with a struggling Chinese economy and Japan's controversial release of treated wastewater into the sea.
Hiromi Yamaji, chief executive officer of Japan Exchange Group, says the yen is too weak and its benefits for Japanese stocks are diminishing.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 24, 2023
Yen’s too weak and benefits are waning, Japan bourse chief says
The yen has slipped below the levels where Japanese officials intervened last September to rein in the weakness in the currency.
Artificial intelligence is likely to help Big Tech companies cement their industry dominance as they are the ones with the resources to develop and maintain the most powerful AI models.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2023
Unlocking AI’s potential for everyone
The tech industry’s dominant players are now deploying artificial-intelligence models to reinforce their positions in the market.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo testifies during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on China in Washington last May.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 23, 2023
U.S. commerce chief to be latest Cabinet official to visit China
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will visit China next week at the invitation of her Chinese counterpart.
By 2060, it is estimated that the combined gross domestic products of China, India and Indonesia will equal $116.7 trillion, making the bloc's economy three times larger than the United States.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 15, 2023
The irresistible rise of the rest of the world
With 90% of the world's population, non-Western countries will no longer accept being excluded from global decision-making.

Longform

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