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November 22, 2024
 

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ECONOMY

The Federal Reserve building in Washington. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said last week he felt that the pre-pandemic years during which the Fed's rate hovered near zero for years and Europe delved into the exotic world of negative rates are gone for good.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 27, 2024
A global hunt for neutral rates to shape world finance costs
Policymakers are exploring whether the rates required to keep inflation in check and economies growing are higher now than the ultra-low ones before the pandemic.
Shoppers in Tokyo. Consumer inflation in the capital eased in September after outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reinstated energy subsidies to help households cope with one of the hottest summers on record.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 27, 2024
Tokyo inflation cools as government resumes energy subsidies
The government's energy subsidies were the biggest factors behind the deceleration, knocking 0.5 percentage point off overall inflation.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks at a news conference in Osaka on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 26, 2024
Small rate hike unlikely to hurt economy, BOJ policy board noted in July
The move came as a surprise and caused roller-coaster fluctuations in stock and currency markets.
Traders betting on further recovery in Japanese equities are looking to any steer from the Bank of Japan that may cap the yen’s gains and support exporters.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 25, 2024
Japan's corporate service inflation steady, BOJ focusing on Oct data
The BOJ is closely monitoring service-sector inflation to see if demand-driven price increases are broadening enough to warrant further interest rate hikes.
Residential buildings in the Toyosu area in Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 11, 2023. If rising rates on real estate investment loans are seen as a burden, people may become more cautious about acquiring properties for leasing, experts warn.
BUSINESS
Sep 25, 2024
Tokyo home prices are seen to largely withstand BOJ rate hikes
The days of making large profits from property in Tokyo may be over
Italian former prime minister and economist Mario Draghi (left) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen take part in a joint news conference about the future of European competitiveness at the EU headquarters in Brussels on Sept. 9.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 25, 2024
Draghi warns Europe — and Japan — about the failure to innovate
The warning could not be clearer. Europe faces “an existential crisis.” “Over time, we will inexorably become less prosperous, less equal, less secure and, as a result, less free to choose our destiny.” Moreover, “without action, we will have to either compromise our welfare, our environment...
CCP Committee Secretary and People's Bank of China head Pan Gongsheng in Beijing on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 25, 2024
Xi’s economic adrenaline shot is only buying China a little time
The measures include interest rate cuts, more cash for banks, bigger incentives to buy homes and plans to consider a stock stabilization fund.
Toyota added ¥200 billion to a ¥1 trillion stock repurchase plan announced in May, according to an exchange filing Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 24, 2024
Toyota raises buyback to ¥1.2 trillion, citing share levels
The carmaker’s operating profit for the three months ended June 30 was ¥1.31 trillion, 17% higher than a year earlier.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda indicates the central bank is in no rush to raise interest rates further.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 24, 2024
BOJ chief signals no rush in raising rates further
The central bank can afford to spend time scrutinizing market and overseas economic developments in setting monetary policy, Gov. Kazuo Ueda says.
Troops from the Ground Self-Defense Force take part in the 05JX military exercises on the island of Tokunoshima in Kagoshima Prefecture last November. While Japan's overall ranking in the 2024 Asia Power Index dropped, it scored improvements in the defense and security sphere.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2024
Japan falls behind India to No. 4 in new Asia power survey
The 2024 Asia Power Index highlights shifting power dynamics in the region, with the U.S. still dominant but facing rising military pressure from China.
Decades after Bhutan introduced its Gross National Happiness index, the idea that gross domestic product is an inadequate indicator of human well-being and social progress is gaining ground.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2024
Is gross national happiness the way forward?
The World Happiness Report's top-ranked countries tended to be smaller Western countries, led by Finland. Larger Western economies tend to perform worse.
Rice in a field in Tambasasayama, Hyogo Prefecture in August. Rice prices jumped 28.3%, posting the largest increase since September 1975.
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2024
Japan core consumer prices up 2.8% in August
Rice prices shot up 28.3%, electricity rates soared 26.2% and city gas rates 15.1%, following an end of government subsidies.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Analysts polled ahead of Friday were in agreement that the BOJ would choose not to make any rate adjustments.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 20, 2024
Bank of Japan leaves rates unchanged as Ueda signals pause
The central bank on Friday kept the uncollateralized overnight call rate steady at 0.25% following a two-day meeting of its Policy Board.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell injected uncertainty as to where future rates will ultimately land during his news conference following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 19, 2024
The Fed’s uncertain destination troubles the bond market
The upshot is that longer-term bond yields don’t have much room to fall in the near-term unless the economy weakens materially.
The world-beating record rally in Japanese shares this year has stalled, with a 12% plunge in both the Topix and Nikkei 225 gauges on Aug. 5 underscoring the risks of putting money into already high-flying equities.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 19, 2024
Japanese share sales reach 20-year high despite market rout
The share surge was driven in part by policymakers pushing companies to boost returns for their shareholders.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell holds a news conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 19, 2024
Fed cuts rates by half-point in decisive bid to defend economy
It is the Fed’s first rate cut in more than four years.
Japan's export growth slowed sharply in August as shipments to the United States dropped for the first time in three years.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 18, 2024
Japan’s export growth slows as external demand moderates
Imports climbed 2.3%, falling short of the 15% gain forecast by economists, with trade deficit widening to ¥695.3 billion.
Tokyo's Ginza area marked the highest commercial land prices this year for the 19th consecutive year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 17, 2024
Japanese average land price rises for third consecutive year
Overall land prices showed the first increase in 32 years in locations outside the three metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.
The Bank of Japan is holding its policy board meeting this week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 17, 2024
Japan set to hold rates steady as yen rallies and LDP candidates stump
A rate hike by the Bank of Japan right after an expected cut by the Federal Reserve would cause more turbulence, UBS Securities' chief Japan economist says.
A ride-hailing service vehicle in Sendai. In times of disasters, such services will be available more widely.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2024
Japan to allow use of ride-hailing services in disasters
Demand for transportation tends to increase during disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons, as well as in the recovery and reconstruction process.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
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.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
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 ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

The celebrated artist ‘updating’ the kimono
The celebrated artist ‘updating’ the kimono

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