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December 23, 2024
 

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JAPANESE ECONOMY

A couple looks out onto the Fukuoka nightscape. Due to its distance from Tokyo and its close proximity to South Korea and China, professor Tomoya Mori believes that Fukuoka is one of the few metropolitan regions of Japan that will see some form of growth in the decades to come.
JAPAN / Society / Perspectives
May 20, 2024
Why half of Japan's cities are at risk of disappearing in 100 years
Professor Tomoya Mori believes depopulation will alter the urban landscape of Japan in an unexpected way.
Toyota President Koji Sato announces the company's earnings results in Tokyo on May 8.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 17, 2024
Japan firms brace for earnings slumps after marking record profits
Companies are concerned over the weak yen, global conflict and inflation hitting personal spending.
The rate of the U.S. dollar against the yen is displayed on an electronic stock board outside a securities firm in Tokyo earlier this month.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 17, 2024
Majority of Japanese firms say weak yen hurts profits: survey
About half of surveyed companies said a yen trading around ¥110 to ¥120 to the dollar would be appropriate.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
May 17, 2024
BOJ could raise rates as soon as June, ex-chief economist says
An increasing number of analysts have flagged the risk of a summer hike as the sinking yen raises the risks of the price trend moving higher.
Japan's gross domestic product shrank at an annualized pace of 2% in the three months through March.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 16, 2024
Japan’s economy contracts as consumers and firms cut spending
Gross domestic product contracted at an annualized pace of 2% in the three months through March.
Japanese companies are raising payouts to shareholders as the Tokyo Stock Exchange pressures firms to improve capital efficiency and valuations.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 15, 2024
Japan firms boost dividends and buybacks, aiding Topix amid TSE pressure
The moves come as the Tokyo Stock Exchange pressures companies to improve capital efficiency and valuations, and have spurred a rebound in the Topix index.
Gloomy economic conditions, especially weak consumption, raise questions over whether the Bank of Japan will be able to take further steps toward policy normalization.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 15, 2024
Japan GDP data expected to show contraction for first quarter
The preliminary data is expected to show that spending by consumers and companies fell, while net exports dragged on growth for the first time in a year.
The Japanese view of China is deteriorating, characterized by a fear of arbitrary detention and the belief the country, economically, is past its peak. The Chinese see Japan as declining and too reliant on the United States. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 15, 2024
Can Japan and China bridge their ever-widening ‘perception gap’?
Despite the fear, many of the worries Japanese have about visiting China are unfounded. Bridging the gap requires both nations to resume exchanges.
Investing in Japanese stocks becomes harder if the yen continues to weaken, head of Japan active investments at BlackRock warns.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 13, 2024
BlackRock warns weak yen deters foreigners from Japan stocks
The Nikkei 225 has declined more than 6% amid concerns the currency is becoming a liability for domestic consumer spending and import costs.
Katsunobu Kato, former chief Cabinet secretary and a ruling party veteran, says the Bank of Japan must keep a close eye on economic conditions and coordinate carefully with the government in working out when to raise rates.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2024
Japan on track to normalize monetary policy, says ruling party heavyweight
The weak yen has inflated import costs, hurting consumption and creating headaches for policymakers looking to shore up a fragile economic recovery.
Suspected intervention to drag the yen off a 34-year low against the dollar is already seen as unlikely to have a lasting effect if Japan continues alone.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 13, 2024
Yen’s fragility raises specter of a new currency war in Asia
A destabilizing slump in the yen could be the trigger that forces Japan’s neighbors to take extreme action.
Major Japanese companies are increasing ventures in the United States, with Toyota investing $13.9 billion in North Carolina alone.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 13, 2024
Japan’s gamble to hedge against U.S. political risks
As Japanese companies increasingly invest in U.S. states like North Carolina, friend-shoring ensures economic resilience in the face of political change.
A government white paper on small and medium enterprises said more than 60% of such firms plan to raise wages this year.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2024
Japan small firms raising wages amid labor shortages, government paper says
The white paper also pointed out that the labor productivity of Japan is lower than that of other members in the OECD.
For the first time in four years, Japan saw the number of corporate bankruptcies exceed 700 in April, Tokyo Shoko Research said Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 11, 2024
Japan corporate bankruptcies rise 28.3% in April
The number of bankruptcies is expected to rise as companies face increased pressure from higher borrowing costs.
People walk near the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on April 26.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 10, 2024
BOJ must avoid raising rates to combat weak yen, says ex-official
Higher borrowing costs would hit consumption and services inflation, said Tsutomu Watanabe, an expert on price trends.
People in a shopping district in Tokyo in March
BUSINESS / Economy
May 10, 2024
Japan’s households cut outlays as inflation remains sticky
Real outlays decreased 1.2% in March from a year before, falling for the 13th consecutive month.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference after a two-day monetary policy meeting at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo on April 26.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2024
Many BOJ board members saw need for steady rate hikes in April, records show
Some saw the chance of a faster-than-expected pace of interest rate hikes on prospects of inflation durably staying or exceeding the bank's 2% target.
Masato Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on April 30.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2024
Japan’s reserves tally likely too early to reflect intervention
Officials continue to conceal whether they have taken action, forcing investors to make educated guesses about the market moves.
Real wages fell 2.5% from a year earlier in March, marking the 24th straight month of declines, exacerbated by a 9.4% drop in bonuses.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2024
Real wages fell for 24th month in March, dented by 9.4% decline in bonuses
Data for full-time workers that avoid sampling problems and exclude bonuses and overtime pay grew by 2.3%, above 2% for the seventh month.
Despite Shinzo Abe's numerous achievements as prime minister, including job creation and efforts to promote workforce gender equality, recent controversies surrounding his tenure, including ties to controversial groups and scandals within his political faction, have tarnished his image.
COMMENTARY
May 7, 2024
The economic legacy of Japan's longest-serving prime minister
Under Abenomics and the BOJ's monetary policy, employment rose more than under any other Japanese government in the 21st century.
Zelenskyy to replace Ukraine ambassador to Japan
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky delivers a speech during a handover ceremony of Self-Defense Force vehicles to Ukraine, at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo, in May last year.
Bankruptcies and suicides rise as Japanese struggle with mounting debt
Lawyers estimate that personal bankruptcies in Japan are on track to reach the highest since 2012 this year.
Honda and Nissan consider mutual production of vehicles, report says
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe at the Japan Mobility Show 2023 at Tokyo Big Sight in October 2023.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
For baseball fans, 2024 brought The Summer of Shohei Ohtani
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani reacts to a standing ovation from fans after hitting his 50th home run of the season, against the Marlins in Miami on Sept. 19.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
Is Japan finally ready to tap its abundant geothermal energy potential?
Steam rises from a geothermal plan in Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture. Despite its long history and potential, geothermal provided just 0.3% of Japan's overall energy mix in the fiscal year from April 2023
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.

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