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August 15, 2024
 

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SPENDING

The Bank of Japan released minutes from its June policy board meeting Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 5, 2024
Up rates before it’s 'too late,’ one BOJ policy board member said in June
Some members of the nine-member policy board mentioned that a weak yen could inflate import prices and put upward pressure on consumer prices.
A government white paper stressed the need to pay attention to the impact of interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan on personal consumption.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 2, 2024
Japan warns of weak yen impact on households in government white paper
A weak yen has become a source of concern for policymakers as it has dampened consumption by inflating the cost of importing fuel, food and raw material.
Fuel prices are displayed on a board at a gas station in Tokyo in September 2023. Fighting high prices is among the priority policy measures encompassed by a special spending quota for the fiscal year from April 2025.
BUSINESS
Jul 29, 2024
Japan to create priority policy spending quota in fiscal 2025
Priority measures include strengthening the country's defense capabilities, raising its birthrate and expanding investments in carbon reduction.
The Bank of Japan building in Tokyo on March 18. With the BOJ’s policy tightening, the difficulty of managing the country’s debt payments is expected to become worse.
BUSINESS
Jul 29, 2024
Japan expects to hit primary balance goal in fiscal 2025
The government initially aimed to achieve the goal in fiscal year 2011 but kept pushing it back for over a decade.
Workers of Save the Children Japan make preparations on July 11 in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, to deliver food to households facing financial difficulties.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 24, 2024
Japanese households worried about summer vacation food costs
A Save the Children Japan survey found that 89.4% of those applying for food aid said they lack enough money for adequate food due to rising prices.
Bank of Japan officials are divided over whether to raise interest rates at a policy meeting next week, people familiar with the matter say.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 23, 2024
BOJ is said to see weak consumer spending complicating rate call
Weak consumer spending has prompted the government to cut its fiscal year growth forecast to 0.9%, with central bank likely lowering its projection to 0.5%.
Covers for paper fans used for oshikatsu activities are sold at a Sanrio shop in Nagoya.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 22, 2024
60% of Japanese moms enjoy supporting their favorites through 'oshikatsu'
68.5% of mothers spend less than ¥50,000 a year on oshikatsu, with those who spend ¥50,000 or more and less than ¥300,000 accounting for 20.7%.
Visitors take photos of a tunnel of roses at Yokohama English Garden on Wednesday in Yokohama.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 18, 2024
Japan’s summer travel spending soars despite economic pressures
Households plan to spend the most in six years this summer as more people aim to travel despite rising inflation and a weakening yen.
Some regional smaller firms have decided to prioritize raising pay to retain or hire workers, even if they have not been earning sufficient profits, the Bank of Japan has said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 8, 2024
Bank of Japan sees wage hikes spreading across economy
The optimistic assessment may heighten the case for the central bank to raise interest rates as soon as its next meeting on July 30 and 31.
Japanese household spending unexpectedly fell in May as higher prices continued to squeeze consumers' purchasing power.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 5, 2024
Japan’s household spending falls, clouding growth outlook
The yen's slide is expected to further raise prices for imported raw materials, energy, and food.
The share of stocks and investment trusts in Japanese household assets rose to a record high of 19.7% at the end of March.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 27, 2024
Japan inflation spurs record shift to household assets in stocks
Households have been coping with a surge in inflation over the past two years.
Japanese household spending in April showed the first year-on-year increase since February last year, marking rises in such categories as education, rent and clothing.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 7, 2024
Japan’s households boost outlays for first time in 14 months
Real outlays rose 0.5% in April from a year ago, marking the first increase since February last year.
The draft of this year's long-term economic policy road map says consumption is stalling even though Japan's economy is continuing to recover moderately.
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2024
Draft economic policy road map warns of weak yen's impact on households
The reference to the weak yen's impact will likely keep the Bank of Japan under pressure to raise interest rates or slow its huge bond buying.
Japanese companies' capital expenditures on goods excluding software fell 0.5% in the three months through March from the previous quarter.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 3, 2024
Japan’s firms trim spending, reflecting headwinds to growth
Capital expenditures on goods excluding software fell 0.5% in the three months through March from the previous quarter.
Ever since the Bank of Japan ended its negative rate policy, calls for the government to strengthen its fiscal discipline have been growing, with the country being haunted by public debt that is about twice the size of its gross domestic product.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
May 30, 2024
Two cheers for the end of free money in Japan
Corporations are better prepared for more expensive money than they were in the past, with strong balance sheets and a better understanding of risk.
Service prices, a key component of Japan’s inflation data, may be sturdier than in the past.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 23, 2024
Steady and widening service price rises may spur BOJ’s next move
Service prices, a key component of Japan’s inflation data, may be sturdier than in the past.
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.
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.
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.
Kirin Beverage will raise the suggested retail price of its 1.5-liter Gogo no Kocha tea product to ¥432 from ¥400.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2024
Prices of 417 food items to go up in Japan in May
Although the figure fell for the fifth straight month, the rate of price increase averaged 31%, the highest since the monthly statistics began in 2022.
Japan to revise consumption tax exemption for overseas tourists
Tourists walk through Nakamise shopping street near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo in April
Japan's tourism industry hit by cancellations after megaquake alert
A beach closed due to a megaquake alert in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Friday to Thursday.
Focus shifts to incoming typhoon as Tropical Storm Maria dissipates
Newly formed Tropical Storm Ampil, which is forecast to approach eastern Japan this weekend, is seen on the left side of this satellite image.
Kishida to step down in September in bid to show ‘LDP has changed’
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Publisher finds surprise audience after translating history textbooks
Yamakawa Shuppansha president Takeshi Nozawa holds the publisher's textbook on Japanese history — used in high schools across Japan — alongside the new English version in Tokyo on May 23.
Economic security is about strengthening and sustaining growth, former minister says
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi says changes in the international balance of power, along with deepening economic interdependence, have led some countries to attempt to use their economic power to impose their will on others.
Ice bandanas, convenience store breaks: Running under Japan’s summer sun
Blistering heat is becoming a fixture of summer in Japan, but a few tweaks to your routine can make your outdoor runs bearable — if not enjoyable — until cooler temperatures return.
Japan issued its first-ever megaquake alert. What does that mean?
Naoshi Hirata (center), chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
France brings down the curtain on its Olympic party with Tom Cruise and Leon Marchand
Fireworks are set off during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday.
Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.

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