Tag - inflation

 
 

INFLATION

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 total cost of cooking curry rice has topped ¥300 for the 12th straight month and is expected to exceed ¥350 per serving in August, according to a survey.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 12, 2024
Making a bowl of curry rice at home now costs over ¥300, survey says
The cost of the budget-friendly dish hit a record ¥342 in July, up ¥44 from the same period last year, according to a survey.
The dollar fell to an eight-month low in Tokyo trading Wednesday morning, after a Bank of Japan policymaker signaled a willingness to raise interest rates further.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 11, 2024
Yen leads gains versus dollar as traders weigh BOJ and U.S. debate
The yen has been in a broad appreciation trend since hitting a multi-decade low of ¥161.95 on July 3.
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.
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.
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.
Liquor store P&V Wine + Liquor Merchants owner Louise Dowling
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2024
Cash-strapped consumers are giving Australia's liquor makers a headache
Australia's alcohol industry is in its sharpest downturn in memory as more people cut back on discretionary spending and turn to healthier ways to relax.
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.
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.
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.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand in Wellington in 2017
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 3, 2024
New Zealand's data fog leaves its central bank flying blind
Years of tight funding by successive governments have left statisticians struggling to keep up with a rapidly changing economy.
Food companies are raising prices of many items including frozen food products in September.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 30, 2024
More than 1,000 food products in Japan set for September price hikes
This will be the first time since April that more than 1,000 products are experiencing price increases, according to a survey by research firm Teikoku Databank.
Core consumer prices in Japan's capital rose 2.4% in August from a year earlier, accelerating for the fourth straight month and keeping alive market expectations of further interest rate hikes in coming months.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 30, 2024
Inflation accelerates beyond forecasts in Tokyo, boosting case for rate hike
Analysts say the data shows that the real economy and its fundamentals are continuing to recover but at a slow pace.
Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 28, 2024
BOJ deputy governor sees rate hike justified if outlook realized
Bank of Japan Deputy Gov. Ryozo Himino's comments underscore the central bank's basically unchanged stance following ructions in the financial markets.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a Lower House financial affairs committee meeting in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Aug 24, 2024
Fed's dovish shift a mixed blessing for BOJ rate hike plan
The BOJ's efforts to raise interest rates could be complicated if the two central banks' diverging policy paths keep markets jittery.
IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas says Japan's inflation is higher than 2% and inflation expectations have started to move toward, or "maybe even a little bit above" the BOJ's 2% target. As a result, the BOJ is normalizing the extremely loose monetary policy it has had for decades.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 24, 2024
IMF sees scope for Bank of Japan to keep raising rates
The BOJ can raise interest rates gradually as heightening inflation expectations leave further scope for normalization, the IMF said.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food climbed 2.7% in July from a year earlier, accelerating slightly from 2.6% in June.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 23, 2024
Japan's core inflation picks up, but demand-driven growth slows
The "core core" index, which is closely watched by the BOJ, dipped below the key 2% line for the first time since September 2022.
Katsunobu Kato, former health minister, speaks in an interview in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 22, 2024
Japan should keep rates and prices moving, prime minister hopeful Kato says
The former health minister is a dark horse but also the type of person who could emerge as a compromise candidate.
The size of the carry trade strategy is hard to determine because currency transactions, unlike stock trades, aren't tracked on exchanges. We only have estimates.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 14, 2024
How big is the yen carry trade, really?
There is now worry that the unwinding of yen-funded carry trades would wreck investors’ frothy exposures to U.S. technology and AI-related companies.

Longform

A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?