Tag - inflation

 
 

INFLATION

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday after a major reshuffle of his Cabinet.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 18, 2023
Japan voters unhappy with Kishida's price policies, poll shows
About 77% of respondents to the survey said they didn’t rate his price policies positively, compared with 17% who said they did.
Newly appointed economy minister Yoshitaka Shindo arrives at the Cabinet Office on Thursday
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 14, 2023
New economy minister sees positive signs for end of deflation
Little is known about Yoshitaka Shindo's views on monetary and fiscal policies as he served in an intraparty post for the past eight years.
A price board at a gas station in Tokyo shows regular gasoline at ¥186 yen per liter on Aug. 30.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 13, 2023
Japan's pump prices fall for first time in 18 weeks
The decline has come after the national average rewrote a record high for the second consecutive week.
A sign reading "Anti-inflation challenge, second price cut" is seen near shelves at a supermarket in Nice, France, in June.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 12, 2023
The inflation crisis is fraying Europe’s climate consensus
Polls show most European voters are reluctant to bear the cost of switching to less-polluting technology.
Kazuo Ueda
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 9, 2023
BOJ's Ueda signals chance of ending negative rates, report says
The central bank could have enough data by year-end to determine whether it can end negative rates, Gov. Kazuo Ueda said in an interview.
Hajime Takata, a member of the policy board at the Bank of Japan
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2023
BOJ policymaker sees signs of change in deflationary mindset
Conditions for phasing out the bank's massive stimulus seem to be falling into place, central bank policymaker Hajime Takata said.
Japan's household spending dropped 2.7% in July from the previous month, as persistent inflation continued to erode purchasing power.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2023
Japan’s households cut back spending as Kishida considers measures
Weak data indicate an economy struggling to build momentum as inflation outpaces wage gains and consumer spending remains below pre-pandemic levels.
Workers unload sacks of onions from a truck at a wholesale market in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, on April 5.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 4, 2023
How these grocery staples became emblems of inflation in Asia
From war to disease to the effects of climate change, global food prices have been shaken by various factors in recent years.
Japan's economic output ran above full capacity in April-June for the first time in nearly four years, a government estimate showed, suggesting that conditions for ending its policy of ultralow interest rates could be falling into place.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 2, 2023
Japan's economic output runs above capacity in signal for BOJ
The data suggests that conditions for Japan to end its policy of ultralow interest rates could be falling into place.
The price for regular gasoline is ¥192 per liter at a gas station in the city of Nagano on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Sep 1, 2023
Extended gasoline subsidy risks harming Japan's net-zero efforts
The politically tricky decision on ending the program could hamper the shift to EVs and efforts to reach climate change goals.
Bank of Japan board member Toyoaki Nakamura says it is uncertain whether smaller companies can earn enough profits to keep hiking wages next year and beyond.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 31, 2023
BOJ policymaker warns against premature monetary tightening
Tightening monetary policy before rising prices are accompanied by higher wages would hurt domestic demand and corporate profits, Toyoaki Nakamura said.
A gasoline station in Tokyo on Wednesday advertises its regular gasoline price as ¥186 per liter.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 30, 2023
Kishida announces extension of measures to bring gas prices down
The subsidy program will be extended until the end of the year and will be beefed up starting next week.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. A board member with the central bank Naoki Tamura has hinted that officials might be able to confirm some time early next year they’ve hit the goal needed to usher in policy change.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2023
Leading BOJ hawk hints at chance of policy shift in early 2024
"The achievement is finally and clearly within sight after a decade of large-scale monetary easing aimed at attaining it,” board member Naoki Tamura said.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2023
Kishida under pressure to spend even as debt costs rise
The prime minister pivoted away from his previous stance Tuesday by scrapping September-end plans to stop subsidies that cap gasoline prices.

Longform

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