Tag - japanese-economy

 
 

JAPANESE ECONOMY

Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Jan. 24.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 31, 2025
BOJ's Ueda voices confidence conveying rate hike message to market
Ueda said the BOJ’s policy settings are still accommodative after recent rate hikes and that would remain the case as the central bank continues to support the inflation trend.
Prices of some 1,600 food items, including Ezaki Glico's chocolate snack Pocky, will be raised in February.
BUSINESS
Jan 31, 2025
Prices of 1,656 food items to increase in Japan in February
There are notable price hikes for chocolate confectioneries, flour products and frozen food using rice.
YouTuber Kazuki Nakata looks at his indoor farm at his home in Kawasaki on Monday. The 37-year-old now has nearly 90,000 subscribers eager to learn how to stretch out store-bought vegetables and grow new ones amid soaring produce prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 31, 2025
Japanese look for creative ways to fight soaring food prices
As the price of agricultural products has risen, Japanese have also been eating less of them.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food in Tokyo climbed 2.5% in January from a year earlier, the fastest pace since last February.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 31, 2025
Tokyo inflation hits fastest pace in a year, supporting BOJ view
Consumer prices excluding fresh food in the capital climbed 2.5% in January from a year earlier.
Bank of Japan Deputy Gov. Ryozo Himino speaks during an interview in June 2023.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 30, 2025
BOJ deputy signals more room to hike given negative real rates
The deputy governor cemented the BOJ’s message that the central bank is looking to hike rates further in the future.
The Finance Ministry raised its economic assessment for Hokkaido while 
keeping it unchanged for the remaining 10 of the country's 11 regions covered in the report.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 30, 2025
Japan's Finance Ministry raises its economic view for Hokkaido
On consumption, the ministry left its assessments unchanged for 10 regions, while upgrading its view for Hokkaido.
The latest projection underscores the growing financial strain Japan will likely face amid anticipated additional rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 30, 2025
Japan sees debt-service costs jumping 25% by 2028 as BOJ hikes
The latest projection underscores the growing financial strain Japan will likely face amid anticipated additional rate hikes by the central bank.
The Bank of Japan's phasing out of its fund-provisioning program underscores Gov. Kazuo Ueda’s determination to slowly but steadily proceed with the normalization of policy after more than a decade of radical monetary easing.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2025
BOJ to shrink balance sheet by around ¥77 trillion with end of loan program
All outstanding loans from the central bank's fund-provisioning program to stimulate bank lending are expected to be wiped off its books by March 2028.
Nidec announced its takeover bid for machine manufacturer Makino Milling Machine without first making a proposal. Such nonconsensual takeover bids are increasing.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 29, 2025
Japanese ministry opens door to taboo corporate takeovers
It used to be common for takeover bids to be launched after both sides reached an agreement in behind-the-scenes negotiations.
Many workers at small companies continue to fall behind as wages fail to keep up with inflation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 29, 2025
Smaller Japanese companies unlikely to meet wage-increase target for 2025
For this year’s spring negotiations, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation set hike targets of more than 6% for smaller firms.
People were more concerned about the direct and specific impact of the Bank of Japan's latest rate hike on their personal lives, according to an artificial intelligence-driven analysis of various platforms, including social media.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 29, 2025
Japan begins feeling the pain of BOJ rate hikes more concretely
As time goes on, the BOJ’s rate increases appear to be having a stronger impact on people’s everyday lives, shifting from more abstract concepts to more concrete effects.
Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda during a news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Oct. 31, 2014
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 29, 2025
BOJ policymakers divided over additional easing in Oct. 2014
The actions taken as a result of the meeting took market players by surprise, sending the yen lower against the dollar and Japanese stocks higher.
"The public and private sectors need to work as one to realize (Keidanren's) targets," Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at a joint meeting of the public and private sectors to expand domestic investment, held on Monday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 28, 2025
Keidanren sets ¥200 trillion capital spending target for fiscal 2040
The target was unveiled at a joint meeting of the public and private sectors to expand domestic investment.
Despite Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda’s efforts to explain his thinking, many struggle to grasp the BOJ's position as businesses face high costs and weak demand while consumers deal with rising prices and stagnant wages.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 28, 2025
The Bank of Japan’s communication challenges
Despite limited developments that would justify a policy shift since December, Japan's central bank nevertheless went ahead to raise interest rates.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks at a news conference following the central bank's policy meeting on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 28, 2025
BOJ watchers think next interest rate hike will be in six months
The central bank is likely to pause a while before bringing the rate up to 0.75%, the highest rate since 1995.
Brookfield Asset Management has bought a stake in Gajoen, a mixed-use luxury complex in Tokyo, and plans to ramp up real estate investments in Japan.
BUSINESS
Jan 27, 2025
Brookfield seeks to buy more property in Japan after $1.6 billion in deals
There has been a trend of increased foreign investor activity in Japanese real estate in recent years, buoyed by the weak yen and cheap financing.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda explains the central bank's decision on its interest rate hike during a news conference after a policy meeting on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Jan 27, 2025
BOJ may revert to fuzzy communication after Fed-style rates clarity
The BOJ fumbled its communication in December, surprising investors, but then telegraphed Friday's increase so unambiguously that the rate hike was 90% priced in.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a news conference after the central bank's policy meeting in Tokyo on Friday. The BOJ raised its rate by a quarter-point to 0.5% that day.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 26, 2025
Japan’s central bank drops the drama and wins on rates
The quarter-point increase, which took the main rate to 0.5%, was probably the most telegraphed this century.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on Friday
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 25, 2025
Central bank appears poised to break through 0.5% rate barrier this year
The central bank's board voted Friday to increase its target for its short-term policy rate to around 0.5% from around 0.25%.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference after a two-day monetary policy meeting at BOJ headquarters in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jan 25, 2025
BOJ’s clear guidance on rate hike calms markets but may backfire
For some economists, the latest move was too completely priced in, begging the question of how explicitly the BOJ intends to signal its plans in the future.

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