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March 08, 2025
 

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Kazuaki Nagata

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Kazuaki Nagata
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a post-policy meeting news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Oct. 31.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 7, 2024
Trump victory might give Bank of Japan some room to maneuver
The Bank of Japan has been under pressure to keep monetary policy accommodative given the state of the economy and the tentativeness of the recovery.
During the Bank of Japan's September policy board meeting, some members pointed out that the central bank needs to more carefully communicate with the public to prevent a divergence between its views and those of investors.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 6, 2024
Bank of Japan board member moots Fed-style dot-plot projections
The dot plots show short-term rate projections of U.S. Federal Reserve officials.
Electronic monitors show stock prices rising in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 28, 2024
Yen takes a hit and Tokyo stocks jump as dovish opposition gains seats
Analysts said that the pace of interest rate increases could be slowed if opposition parties get more say in policymaking.
Investors already rattled by economic and monetary policy uncertainty are carefully watching Sunday's election.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 25, 2024
Tokyo stocks could 'plunge' if ruling coalition loses majority in Sunday vote
Investors are already rattled by monetary-policy tightening and geopolitical concerns.
Leaders of the three major business groups — Keidanren, Keizai Doyukai and the Japan Chamber of Commerce — meet Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Oct. 4 in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 24, 2024
¥1,500 minimum wage or bust, Japanese companies told
Managers unable to keep up with the minimum-wage increase schedule “are unfit for their positions,” Keizai Doyukai Chair Takeshi Niinami has said.
Ticket vending machines at a Tokyo Metro subway station. Tokyo Metro's network connects with nine of the 10 busiest stations in the capital.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 22, 2024
Tokyo Metro might be too much railroad for some investors
With over 80% of its operating profit coming from carrying passengers on trains, critics are concerned about its nonrailway business.
Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2024
Big wage increase sought by Japan’s largest union slightly underwhelms
For the 2025 spring wage negotiations, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation is aiming for a wage hike of "over 5%," the same goal as this year.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during a debate session with other political party leaders at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Saturday
BUSINESS
Oct 15, 2024
Japan’s sales tax likely to remain 10% as big parties avoid third rail
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba aims to fund social security programs without changing the current tax rate of 10%.
Yoshihiko Noda, head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, speaks during a party leaders' debate at the Upper House of parliament in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 11, 2024
Opposition party shakes up Japan’s rate debate with new inflation target
The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan calls for redefining the Bank of Japan’s inflation target to “above 0%” from the current 2%.
The Bank of Japan's surprise rate increase on July 31 led to Japanese stocks plummeting into bear-market territory, with the benchmark 225-issue Nikkei average falling 12.4% on Aug. 5 alone.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 11, 2024
Bank of Japan vows better messaging to avoid more market turmoil
There is "strong will" within the central bank to learn from what had happened during its last rate increase, BOJ Deputy Gov. Ryozo Himino.
Mindbody ClassPass CFO Tom Aveston speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in September.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2024
ClassPass lands in Japan with eye on domestic fitness market and visitors
The company, which provides access to gyms on a membership basis, started operating on Sept. 19 with 200 partner gyms and fitness studios, mainly in Tokyo.
Japan's real wages fell in August year-on-year after turning positive for the previous two months for the first time in more than two years.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 8, 2024
Real wages in Japan drop in August after two months of gains
Analysts say that real-wage growth could turn positive again in September, in part due to the reintroduction of electricity bill subsidies.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato attends an interview with media outlets at the Finance Ministry on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 7, 2024
Japan's new finance minister vows to finish the job as deflation czar
Katsunobu Kato's message indicates that financial conditions might remain accommodative for some time.
Labor union members rally and call for an increase of the average minimum wage in Tokyo in July.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 2, 2024
Japan’s new prime minister moots minimum wage moon shot
To achieve Ishiba’s target, increases of over 7% a year would be needed, which economists say would be a challenge.
An electronic stock board displays the 225-issue Nikkei average and the rate of the yen against the U.S. dollar outside a securities firm in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 1, 2024
Ishiba cool on Abenomics, pragmatic and a bit of a mystery
Analysts argue that the new prime minister will be more like former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida than former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
New Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba (right), economic security minister Sanae Takaichi (left) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Ishiba won the LDP leadership race on Friday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 27, 2024
Yen rallies as Ishiba beats Takaichi in LDP race
Ishiba has shown support for the BOJ’s rate policies and the independence of the central bank.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks at a news conference in Osaka on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 26, 2024
Small rate hike unlikely to hurt economy, BOJ policy board noted in July
The move came as a surprise and caused roller-coaster fluctuations in stock and currency markets.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Analysts polled ahead of Friday were in agreement that the BOJ would choose not to make any rate adjustments.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 20, 2024
Bank of Japan leaves rates unchanged as Ueda signals pause
The central bank on Friday kept the uncollateralized overnight call rate steady at 0.25% following a two-day meeting of its Policy Board.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s plant in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture. The chipmaker is building a second plant in the prefecture that is scheduled to commence production in 2027.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2024
Third TSMC plant in Japan remains up in the air 
Taiwan Minister of National Development Liu Chin-ching, who is on TSMC’s board, says it hasn't been decided yet.
The Bank of Japan is holding its policy board meeting this week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 17, 2024
Japan set to hold rates steady as yen rallies and LDP candidates stump
A rate hike by the Bank of Japan right after an expected cut by the Federal Reserve would cause more turbulence, UBS Securities' chief Japan economist says.
Cherry blossom season set to kick off on March 21 in Tokyo
A Weathernews forecast shows the cherry blossom season will begin on March 21 in Tokyo.
Tokyo responds to Trump remarks on 'interesting' Japan-U.S. security pact
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and U.S. President Donald Trump arrive for a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 7.
Nagoya High Court rules not recognizing same-sex marriage unconstitutional
Following the Nagoya High Court ruling on the same-sex marriage lawsuit, lawyers and others raise banners and boards that read "unconstitutional" and similar statements on Friday in Naka Ward, Nagoya.
Foreign single mothers struggle with language barriers and visas
Forbidden from seeing friends and forced to devote herself to housework, Reina (whose name has been changed), a 37-year-old Filipino national living in the city of Nagoya, became socially isolated.
At 102, world's oldest pharmacist celebrates her calling
Kesa Hatamoto, a 102-year-old Japanese woman who is recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest pharmacist, speaks during an interview on Jan. 28 in Tokyo's Meguro Ward.
Cherry blossom season set to kick off on March 21 in Tokyo
A Weathernews forecast shows the cherry blossom season will begin on March 21 in Tokyo.
‘Granny hobbies’ are the new self-care
Yarn shortages are a sign that hobbies like knitting and crochet are gaining in popularity.
Can Shiori Ito’s documentary open Japan’s black box?
Shiori Ito is the first Japanese director to have been nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature film. "Black Box Diaries," which tells the story of her quest for justice following her rape in 2015, hasn't been released in Japan.
Japanese stocks stalled at 1989 levels as investors weigh tariffs and rates
An electronic sign displays the benchmark Nikkei stock average on a street in Tokyo. The stock average has been range-bound between about 38,000 and 40,000 since hitting a new all-time high in July last year.
Redevelopment and resistance in historic Nishiogikubo
Tsuyoshi Mizukoshi, owner of a pub in Nishiogi’s commercial area, is a community organizer who is rallying local residents against the road development plan.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly
By Tomoko Otake

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