Tag - japanese-economy

 
 

JAPANESE ECONOMY

An electronic stock board in Tokyo on Thursday. Signs that deflation has ended are driving investors to bet ever more on Japan’s economic growth.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 23, 2024
Japan’s stock boom gets broader support than just exporters
Signs that deflation has ended are driving investors to bet ever more on Japan’s economic growth.
The record high, which reflects rising prices, was the worst since the subject was added to the poll in 2008, according to a Cabinet Office official.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 23, 2024
Record 63% in Japan feel financially uncomfortable, government survey finds
The result, which reflects rising prices, was the worst since the subject was added to the poll in 2008, according to a Cabinet Office official.
Hedge funds have been consistently short the yen since 2021, according to CFTC, with the trade remaining popular in recent months on expectations that the BOJ’s pursuit of policy normalization will nonetheless remain accommodative.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 23, 2024
Hedge funds boost bearish yen bets after BOJ’s dovish hike
The yen fell more than 1% against the dollar following the conclusion of the central bank’s meeting Tuesday, and is now set for a second weekly drop.
Shoppers in Tokyo on Tuesday
BUSINESS
Mar 22, 2024
Historic day for BOJ will take some time to be felt by people in Japan
With future rate hikes likely, the yen and mortgages could still see a more substantial impact.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. More than a quarter of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg said the bank will raise the policy rate again in October while 23% said the hike will come in July.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 22, 2024
BOJ watchers see next rate hike by October and risk of faster moves
More than a quarter of 47 economists surveyed said the bank will raise the policy rate again in October, while 23% said the hike will come in July.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference on Tuesday after the central bank ended its ultra-aggressive monetary stimulus program and scrapped the world's last negative interest rate.
EDITORIALS
Mar 22, 2024
The BOJ's rate hike is both more and less than it seems
There are some fears that the BOJ's return to a positive interest rate environment threatens weak companies.
Consumer prices in Japan rose 2.8% in February from a year ago, with the pace speeding up from 2% in January, even though there have been pockets of weakness in consumer demand.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 22, 2024
Japan’s speedier inflation pace keeps BOJ’s next move in focus
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.8% in February from a year ago, with the pace speeding up from 2% in January.
The Bank of Japan's recent decision to abandon negative interest rates is seen more as a symbolic shift.
COMMENTARY
Mar 21, 2024
BOJ finally ditches negative rates, but this is no liftoff
It's the end of an era for the Bank of Japan as negative interest rates are phased out.
Japan’s exports grew for a third consecutive month in February on the back of robust shipments of vehicles.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 21, 2024
Japan’s exports rise for third straight month led by autos
The economy is projected to record another small expansion in the current quarter, as the weak yen is expected to continue offering support to exporters.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. A survey by Bloomberg indicates a majority of analysts surveyed doesn’t expect another rate hike as a base case, but plenty of others are warning that the BOJ may not be finished.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 20, 2024
Investors and economists split on whether BOJ will raise rates again
By moving in March instead of the consensus view of April, Gov. Kazuo Ueda secured space to raise borrowing costs again if data supports the case.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (center) and Deputy Govs. Ryozo Himino (left) and Shinichi Uchida (right) attend a news conference at the bank headquarters in Tokyo in April 2023
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 20, 2024
How the Bank of Japan's plan for a smooth stimulus exit unfolded
The decision was complicated by differences between BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda's two deputies, as well as the governor's wavering on the exit timing.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 19, 2024
Japanese business groups welcome BOJ's first rate hike in 17 years
"I think the BOJ has caught the indications that a virtuous cycle between wages and prices has started," Keidanren Chairman Masakazu Tokura said.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a news conference after a policy meeting at the bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2024
BOJ introduces first rate hike in 17 years following pay gains
The negative rates policy, the last one in the world, had been a symbol of the Bank of Japan's ultraloose monetary stimulus lasting over a decade.
The Bank of Japan will decide whether to end its negative interest rate policy at its policy board meeting, which ends on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2024
BOJ’s Ueda faces decision time on rate hike
With the end of Japan's negative rate being a near certainty, the only question that remains is whether it comes on Tuesday or at the end of April.
Japan's core machinery orders fell 1.7% in January from the previous month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2024
Japan core machinery orders fall more than expected
Core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as a leading indicator of capital spending in the six to nine months ahead, fell 1.7% in January.
Customers make a toast at an eatery in Tokyo. Many view Japan’s economy as being on the rise, and that of regional powerhouse China as declining. But how accurate is this narrative?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2024
Japan is back, China is over. The trouble with narratives.
The idea that Japan and China's roles have flipped, with the former on the rise and the latter in decline, obfuscates important facts and trends.
Call loan brokers at Tokyo Tanshi in Tokyo in November. After decades of setting its benchmark rate near zero, the Bank of Japan is poised to tighten, spurring new opportunities for veteran traders after decades of setting its benchmark rate near zero.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 17, 2024
Japan’s $4 trillion offshore funds will ignore first BOJ hike
Only 40% of 273 respondents said the BOJ's first interest-rate hike since 2007 will prompt investors to sell foreign assets and repatriate the proceeds.
A woman takes pictures with Kawazu cherry blossom trees, one of the earliest to bloom in Japan, in Tokyo's Sumida district on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 15, 2024
Economic impact of hanami expected to double this year
Higher tourist numbers and prices, along with a depreciation of the Japanese currency, are among factors contributing to the larger economic impact.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2024
Government OKs bill for new foreign worker training system
The new system is expected to begin as early as 2027 if the legislation is enacted.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 15, 2024
Japan’s labor unions win big pay raises for members
The preliminary figure for the average hike stands at a 33-year high of 5.28%, according to Japan’s largest labor organization.

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Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.