Tag - economy

 
 

ECONOMY

Growing moves by companies to pass on higher costs to consumers amid accelerating inflation are believed to have led to the decrease in bankruptcies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 10, 2024
Japan business failures log first drop in 29 months in August
The figure stood below 800 for the first time in four months.
Global investors are expecting the yen may rise further since the Bank of Japan raised interest rates in July.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 10, 2024
Yen rally prompts an unwind of hedges in Japanese stocks but investors wary of earnings hit
Expectations that the yen may strengthen further have prompted strategists to recommend unwinding currency hedges on Japanese shares that have outperformed peers.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the Nikkei stock average tumbling on Monday morning.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 9, 2024
Tech leads Nikkei decline but yen's retreat caps losses
The drop follows a sell-off in U.S. equities on Friday, after monthly U.S. payroll figures confirmed that the jobs market was losing momentum.
Ashwini Vaishnav (left), the Indian minister of electronics and information technology, and N. Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Tata Sons, take part in the foundation stone laying ceremony for India's first AI-enabled semiconductor fabrication facilities in Dholera, Gujarat, India, on March 13.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2024
Could India become an alternative to China in the ‘chip war’?
As decoupling from China gains traction, the U.S. and its allies are betting on India for supply chain restructuring and semiconductor development.
Japan's economy expanded in the April-June period at a slightly slower pace than initially reported, largely due to downward revisions in corporate and personal spending.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 9, 2024
Japan’s softer economic rebound still keeps BOJ hike in play
In noninflation adjusted terms, the economy advanced 1.8% from the previous quarter.
Former Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's remarks on Friday suggest the central bank has a long way to go since its latest rate hike took the key rate to just 0.25%.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2024
Kuroda indicates that BOJ is still a long way from neutral rate
A nominal neutral rate could be less than 2%, the former central bank governor told the Bund Summit in Shanghai via video link.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. The BOJ was seen as having contributed to the global market meltdown in early August after its 0.25% hike.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2024
BOJ’s hiking pace may be faster than expected, ex-official says
While almost no economists expect the BOJ to adjust its benchmark rate on Sept. 20, many BOJ watchers expect another rate hike by January.
Japan's household spending rose less than expected in July as consumers remained wary of loosening their purse strings in the face of higher prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2024
Japan’s household spending stays flat in signs of tepid growth
Spending on housing and education jumped from June figures, while outlays on transportation and food declined.
Hajime Takata, Bank of Japan's board member, says the bank needs to proceed with a further rate hike if inflation continues to develop.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2024
BOJ to need more hikes if justified by data, board member says
The remarks reinforce the recent message by Gov. Kazuo Ueda that the bank will continue to normalize its policies as conditions allow.
Demand for electric vehicles in Japan has long been sluggish, and the government this year changed how EV subsidies are calculated, reducing them for BYD and several of its rivals, raising concerns about protectionism.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Sep 5, 2024
BYD's global expansion push runs into a stiff test in Japan
Demand for electric vehicles in Japan has long been sluggish, and the government this year changed how EV subsidies are calculated.
Michie Hino, 77, works at an elderly care home in Chiba Prefecture. She is one of a growing number of senior Japanese citizens working into their 70s.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Sep 5, 2024
Working till your 70s — Japan's prospective gift to the world
A struggling pension system and the highest inflation in decades have led more Japanese people to delay retirement until their 70s or later to make ends meet.
Osaka is set to open Grand Green Osaka in the city’s Umekita area. It is a sprawling redevelopment that combines a park with mixed-use skyscrapers and is part of a push to rejuvenate the merchant city.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 5, 2024
Japan’s second city can finally make Tokyo jealous
For the first time in years, Osaka has something that will make Tokyoites jealous. It might also serve as a symbol of the merchant city’s push for a comeback.
Real cash earnings for workers in Japan climbed 0.4% in July from a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2024
Japan real wages unexpectedly rise, keeping BOJ on hike path
Real cash earnings for workers climbed 0.4% in July from a year earlier, the labor ministry has reported.
Digital transformation minister Taro Kono has described Japan's current fiscal state as an "emergency situation," saying the nation has to regain fiscal discipline.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2024
Japan's budget demands hit record as leadership race steps up
The race could complicate Tokyo's efforts to restore fiscal discipline.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi announces his candidacy for leadership of the party in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 4, 2024
In leadership bid, LDP Secretary-General Motegi says no tax hikes
He pledges to tackle Japan’s sluggish economy without increasing the burden on taxpayers and abolish the contentious "funds for political activities."
Weighting the total number of medals won by each country by value — three points for gold, two for silver and one for bronze — reveals that the 12 countries with the highest medal count in Paris are all advanced economies.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2024
The geopolitics of Olympic medals
A larger population offers a broader talent pool, and economic development supports better sports infrastructure and policies.
Uber is working with Royal Limousine and Times Mobility to conduct a trial to allow ordinary drivers to offer ride-hailing services even if they do not own vehicles.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2024
Uber Japan tests use of car-sharing vehicles for ride-hailing services
The aim of the trial, which will run through Nov. 30, is to make it easier for drivers to get into the business.
One survey revealed that 68% of recruiters admit to appearance-based hiring and 96% say interviews are influenced by visual impressions, which is why many employment experts advise job hunters to invest significantly in their appearance.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 4, 2024
Why do I need a photo on my resume to apply for a job in Japan?
It is time to build a recruitment system in Japan that rewards people’s talents, irrespective of their looks
A stock board at the Tokyo Stock Exchange
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 3, 2024
Japan FSA to examine bank risks in ‘world with interest rates’
In its annual policy guidance released on Friday, the Financial Services Agency pointed to uncertainty over the global economy and markets.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2024, the combined profits at both the manufacturing and nonmanufacturing sectors marked record highs.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 3, 2024
Japanese companies mark record combined profits in April-June
Nonfinancial companies' internal reserves at the end of fiscal 2023 grew 8.3% from a year earlier, topping ¥600 trillion for the first time.

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Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan