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July 01, 2026
 

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FINANCE MINISTRY

Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama speaks during a news conference after a Cabinet meeting on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 27, 2026
Government adopts ¥8.5 trillion stopgap spending package
Parliament is expected to approve the first stopgap budget in 11 years on Monday.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks with Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama during a plenary session of the House of Councilors in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 25, 2026
Takaichi prepares provisional budget as the nature of debate shifts
The development has provided ammunition for the opposition to accuse the Takaichi administration for political mismanagement.
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.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama speaks in parliament on Feb. 20.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 14, 2026
Japan and South Korea ready to act against forex volatility, ministers say
Finance Ministers Satsuki Katayama of Japan and Koo Yun-cheol of South Korea “expressed serious concern over the recent sharp depreciation of the Korean won and the Japanese yen.”
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.
Etomidate, a designated drug, concealed in air cargo from India
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 18, 2026
Japan’s customs seized second-highest amount of illegal drugs in 2025
Customs officers seized 3,211 kilograms of illegal drugs last year, the first time since 2019 that annual seizures exceeded 3 metric tons.
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.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who also concurrently serves as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, on Tuesday in Tokyo after a campaign speech for the Lower House election
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 1, 2026
Takaichi talks up weak yen even as Japan works to counter currency decline
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi later ‍softened her stance, saying she did not have a preference for the currency’s direction.
The Finance Ministry on Thursday upgraded its economic assessment for tourism in Okinawa, with one hotel industry official there saying there was no significant impact from group cancellations following Chinese government notices advising against visits to Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 29, 2026
Finance Ministry raises economic view on Hokuriku and Okinawa
The ministry said in a quarterly report that Japan’s economy is “recovering at a moderate pace,” adopting the same assessment for the 10th straight quarter.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. is “absolutely not” intervening in the dollar-yen market.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 29, 2026
Traders highlight risks for Japan going solo on yen intervention
Hopes were dented after Bessent said on Wednesday the U.S. is “absolutely not” intervening in the dollar-yen market.
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.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama in Washington on Monday
BUSINESS
Jan 14, 2026
Japan warns speculators after yen sets fresh 18-month low
“We won’t rule out any means and will respond appropriately to moves that are excessive, including those that are speculative,” said Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama.
The Finance Ministry, along with the trade ministry, the National Security Secretariat and other bodies, will propose a Japanese version of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to conduct a cross-ministerial review of foreign investments in Japanese companies.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 8, 2026
Japan to beef up foreign investment oversight with own version of CFIUS by year-end
The Finance Ministry is aiming to double the number of its employees working in investment screening operations from the current workforce of about 60.
Noritaka Okabe, CEO of JPYC, has said that stablecoin issuers can become major buyers of government bonds.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 5, 2026
Stablecoins likely to be a factor, not a game changer, in Japan’s bond market
Issuers might not buy up enough long-term debt to make a big difference.
The Finance Ministry in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 24, 2025
Japan budgeting for bond payments at 3% as debt servicing soars
The Finance Ministry will set a key rate used to calculate the country’s likely interest payments on bonds next fiscal year at 3.0%, the highest in nearly three decades
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama says Japan has a “free hand” to take bold action against currency moves during an interview in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 23, 2025
Japan has ‘free hand’ for bold action in FX market if needed
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama’s remarks are her strongest warning yet to speculators following the yen’s weakening even after a rise in interest rates.
The Moritomo documents, totaling more than 170,000 pages, were voluntarily submitted by the Finance Ministry to prosecutors.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 18, 2025
Japan shows fifth set of Moritomo papers to ex-official’s widow
The Moritomo documents, totaling more than 170,000 pages, were voluntarily submitted by the ministry to prosecutors.
Japan's exports gained 6.1% in November from a year earlier, according to the Finance Ministry, beating economists' forecasts.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 17, 2025
Japan’s exports to U.S. rise for first time since Trump’s April tariffs
A turnaround in shipments to the U.S. helped power the biggest gain in overall exports since February, paving the way for a widely expected interest-rate hike later this week.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama (fourth from left) delivers a greeting at the first ministerial meeting on Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Office to review tax measures, subsidies and funds, in an effort inspired by the U.S. "department of government efficiency."
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 2, 2025
Japan holds first meeting on DOGE-inspired waste cut
The government has established a department of about 30 people in the Cabinet Secretariat to find and eliminate wasteful spending in a DOGE-inspired style.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.

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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