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July 12, 2026
 

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Erica Yokoyama
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama says Japanese authorities are watching the foreign exchange market “with the utmost sense of urgency” as the yen nears 160 to the dollar on Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 16, 2026
Japan’s Katayama says authorities ready to take bold steps on yen as needed
The finance minister’s remarks come as the yen trades near its weakest levels against the dollar this year with markets remaining volatile due to conflict in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s economic strategy aims to boost the nation’s growth potential by offering public support to cutting-edge industries.
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2026
Japan’s investment targets include AI, quantum computing and drones
The list includes 27 technologies already under early stage review, such as physical artificial intelligence systems, regenerative medicine, quantum computing and marine drones.
Real wages increased 1.4% from a year earlier in January, the fastest increase since May 2021.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 9, 2026
Japan’s real wages advance for first time in 13 months
Real wages increased 1.4% from a year earlier in January, exceeding economists’ median forecast of a 0.9% gain, the labor ministry reported Monday.
Some 466 unions affiliated with UA Zensen are seeking a pay raise of 6.46% for regular workers on a weighted average, according to a tally released Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 5, 2026
Japanese labor union group sets more ambitious pay goal as BOJ watches
The push by UA Zensen, which represents unions across the retail, restaurants, materials and service sectors, follows other labor groups’ ambitious targets.
Capital expenditure by Japan’s big companies rose 4% from the previous quarter in the three months through December, government data shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 3, 2026
Japanese firms boost spending as Takaichi makes investment push
Capital expenditure on goods excluding software reportedly rose 4% from the previous quarter in the three months through December, after outlays were flat in the summer.
The government's interest payments on outstanding debt are projected at ¥21.6 trillion in the year starting April 2029, up from the current year’s budgeted ¥10.5 trillion.
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2026
Japan sees interest payments doubling by 2029 as BOJ hikes rate
Interest payments are projected at ¥21.6 trillion ($139 billion) in the year starting April 2029, up from the current year’s budgeted ¥10.5 trillion.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has nominated a pair of university professors associated with reflationary economic policies to replace outgoing members of the Bank of Japan policy board.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 25, 2026
Takaichi’s reflationist BOJ picks push up long-term bond yields
The nomination of pro-reflation academics is likely to further fuel speculation that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is cautious of the central bank raising interest rates quickly.
Japan's core machine orders in December rose 19% from the previous month, rebounding from an 11% slide in November.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2026
Record rise in orders for Japanese machinery points to solid investment
Core machine orders rose 19% from the previous month, rebounding from an 11% slide in November, the Cabinet Office has reported.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government is likely to propose replacements for two of the nine-member board at a parliamentary session as soon as next Wednesday, sources say.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 19, 2026
Takaichi’s first BOJ member picks could hint at her desired rate path
Following her landslide election victory, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has a chance to use her historic mandate to stack the board with reflationists.
The International Monetary Fund has issued a warning that a reduction of Japan's consumption tax would erode its fiscal space and add to fiscal risks.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 18, 2026
IMF urges Japan to avoid cutting sales tax amid higher expected borrowing costs
The fund described such a move as “an untargeted measure that would erode fiscal space and add to fiscal risks.”
Japan’s exports rose 16.8% in January from a year earlier, the fastest pace since November 2022, driven by strong chip shipments to China and auto exports to the EU, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 18, 2026
Japan’s exports rise most in three years as AI underpins chips
The value of overall exports gained 16.8% in January from a year earlier, the sharpest increase since November 2022, the Finance Ministry said.
Tatsuo Yamasaki, former vice finance minister for international affairs
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 13, 2026
Japan’s ex-FX chief sees yen firming as Takaichi’s stance clears
Tatsuo Yamasaki also largely ruled out the likelihood of the United States helping Japan with joint currency intervention.
Japanese workers’ real wages fell 0.1% from a year earlier in December, the labor ministry said Monday, extending declines to every month of 2025 amid persistent inflation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 9, 2026
Japan’s real wages drop extends to full year as prices advance
The decline bolsters the case for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to continue down a more expansionary fiscal path after she secured a sweeping election victory.
Voter frustration over soaring living expenses led to major setbacks for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the last two national elections.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 6, 2026
Soaring food bills pose risk to Takaichi’s election prospects
Surveys show inflation is among the most important issues for voters ahead of Sunday’s polls, with about 54% citing it as their biggest concern, according to a Nikkei survey.
A supporter holds a flyer for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is also president of the Liberal Democratic Party, alongside an English vocabulary book at an LDP election rally in the city of Saitama on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 4, 2026
How Sanae Takaichi won over disillusioned young voters
So far, the prime minister’s strategy of presenting herself as different from previous leaders seems to have struck a chord with Japan’s youth.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama speaks at a news conference at the ministry in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 3, 2026
Katayama says Takaichi wasn’t emphasizing weak yen merit
Takaichi’s comments suggested she was trying to preserve speculation over government intervention risks.
Monthly figures released Friday by the Finance Ministry confirmed that Japan didn’t spend any money on direct intervention to bolster the yen in the four weeks up to Jan. 28.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 31, 2026
Japan gets breathing room for yen by leaning on U.S. fear factor
Monthly figures released Friday by the Finance Ministry confirmed that Japan didn’t spend any money on direct intervention to bolster the yen.
A board showing the yen's exchange rate with the U.S. dollar in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 30, 2026
Japan business leader calls on government to act more on yen rate
The comments came as the weak yen continues to hurt smaller firms by pushing up import costs and narrowing room for wage increases.
Japan’s largest trade union federation, Rengo, was seeking a wage increase of at least 5% as wage talks between unions and employers kicked off Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 27, 2026
Japan business lobby warns of tariff impact as wage talks start
The head of Japan’s biggest business lobby said he expects businesses to maintain wage hike momentum to a certain extent during the talks despite some “clearly very tough factors.”
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama speaks during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 23, 2026
Finance chief Katayama watching yen rate ‘with sense of urgency’
Katayama was speaking after the yen gyrated sharply at the conclusion of a press briefing by Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

Podcast

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

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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