Tag - japanese

 
 

JAPANESE

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.
Retired management professor and trekker Jitendra V. Singh completed his goal of collecting all 46 prints in the series “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji” in 2023.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 23, 2024
One collector’s high mountain road to Hokusai
A professor’s 30-year dream of assembling a complete set of “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji,” the pinnacle of the artist’s career, leads to an auction.
Kaori Yamada grew up surrounded by bonsai her whole life and was expected to carry on her family's 170-year-old legacy when she became an adult.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 23, 2024
The bonsai master working to branch out an age-old craft
Kaori Yamada grew up surrounded by bonsai her whole life and was expected to carry on her family's 170-year-old legacy or otherwise end it.
“Blue Imagine” centers on a young actor (Mayu Yamaguchi) who finds support at a communal living space after she is sexually assaulted by a well-known director while participating in his actors’ workshop.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 23, 2024
'Blue Imagine' gives voice to victims of sexual abuse in the film industry
Urara Matsubayashi's debut feature finds the beauty in women coming together in solidarity to publicly speak out against abusers.
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.
Lawyers representing plaintiffs in lawsuits seeking damages for Minamata disease hold banners outside the Kumamoto District Court in the city of Kumamoto on Friday, criticizing the ruling as “unjust.”
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 22, 2024
Japan court rejects redress claims by unrecognized Minamata victims
Across Japan, nearly 1,800 individuals have filed similar lawsuits, with 1,400 cases consolidated in the Kumamoto district court.
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.
Mobile phones seized from an apartment room in Phnom Penh in relation to a special fraud case are shown at a police station in Saitama Prefecture in November.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 22, 2024
Arrests of 'tokuryū' gang members estimated to have topped 10,000
More than 10,000 members of so-called tokuryū criminal groups are believed to have been arrested in Japan in the three years through 2023, a National Police Agency (NPA) survey showed Thursday.
Shizuo Aishima's son speaks to reporters next to a photo of his father in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 21, 2024
Ohkawara execs to file criminal complaint against Tokyo police
The complainant's lawyer said that the execs hope to kick-start an internal investigation into the department’s misconduct.
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.
Artisan Suzanne Ross says Japanese lacquerware is a "treasure that belongs to the world."
JAPAN / Society
Mar 20, 2024
Wajima artisan’s livelihood, four decades in the making, upended by disaster
Lacquerware artist Suzanne Ross' life was upended by a massive earthquake. Now, she's determined to keep her craft alive.
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.
Princess Aiko heads to the graduation ceremony at Gakushuin University in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 20, 2024
Princess Aiko set to work with Red Cross following Gakushuin graduation
The princess studied for four years in the Department of Japanese Language and Literature, writing her thesis on a noted 12th-century poet.
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.
Tourists ride go-karts on a street in Tokyo's Asakusa area in October.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 19, 2024
Tokyo go-karts draw over 100 complaints in 2023
Common grievances include riders exiting karts at traffic lights for photos and disregarding red lights, according to the police.

Longform

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