Tag - inflation

 
 

INFLATION

Consumer prices excluding fresh food gained 2.8% in October from a year earlier in the Tokyo area, with subsidies for water having run their course.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 31, 2025
Faster Tokyo inflation supports BOJ rate hike case and boosts yen
Consumer prices excluding fresh food gained 2.8% in October from a year earlier in the capital.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said on Thursday that the central bank has no timeline in mind for the next rate increase.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 30, 2025
BOJ keeps policy rate at 0.5% as lack of U.S. data makes forecasting difficult
The central bank stuck to a wait-and-see approach owing to continued uncertainty.
LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Takayuki Kobayashi speaks at an online meeting with policymakers of the party’s prefectural chapters, at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 30, 2025
LDP to propose economic measures by mid-November
LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Takayuki Kobayashi vowed to reflect the opinions of regional organizations in the measures as much as possible.
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 29, 2025
U.S. treasury chief Bessent signals support for Bank of Japan independence
The U.S. treasury secretary’s comments come as Abenomics is back in fashion with Japan’s leaders.
Some Bank of Japan policy board members have started to dissent from the wait-and-see approach of their colleagues.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 28, 2025
Bank of Japan expected to sit this one out and keep benchmark rate at 0.5%
Even though inflation remains high, so too does uncertainty.
Sanae Takaichi’s selection as Japan’s first female prime minister marks a historic breakthrough for women in politics, but her leadership faces significant challenges from political fragility and critics, both at home and abroad.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 26, 2025
Takaichi’s rise to power and the ‘glass cliff’
Her appointment could prove to be a “glass cliff” as she encounters hypercriticism and the inherent challenges of a shaky coalition.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivers her first policy speech in the Lower House in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 24, 2025
Takaichi focuses on economic and security concerns in first policy speech
Over half of the new prime minister’s speech was dedicated to economic policies, and she described the fight against inflation as the top priority for her administration.
The cost to raise a child totaled ¥16.32 million through junior high school graduation and ¥21.72 million through high school, according to a survey on mothers nationwide.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 24, 2025
Child-rearing costs in Japan soar when a child reaches junior high school
The total cost to raise a child was ¥16.32 million through junior high school graduation and ¥21.72 million through high school, according to the survey.
Food inflation was highlighted as one of three factors to watch in deciding the timing of the central bank’s next rate hike.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 24, 2025
Japan’s faster inflation highlights need for Takaichi response
New Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has made confronting the cost of living crunch a priority.
Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino speaks at a news conference on Thursday. She said the union is looking to make wage hikes a normal occurrence.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 23, 2025
Japan’s unions seek minimum 5% wage hike in upcoming pay talks
Sanae Takaichi’s tenure and the central bank’s policy path could be affected if Japan can’t keep up its wage-hike momentum.
Japan reported its first bird flu outbreak of the season on Wednesday, raising concerns that egg prices could rise further.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 23, 2025
Bird flu outbreak in Hokkaido raises concerns over rising egg prices
About 459,000 laying hens at poultry farm in Hokkaido will be culled to prevent further infections.
Bank of Japan building in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Oct 20, 2025
BOJ board hawk calls for rate hike as Japan’s price norm shifts
“I believe that now is a prime opportunity to raise the policy interest rate,” Takata said in a speech to local business leaders in Hiroshima.
The average price of rice was down for the fourth straight week, but it remained above ¥4,000 for the sixth week in a row.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2025
Average price of rice in Japan falls for fourth straight week
The price dropped ¥63 from the previous week to ¥4,142 per 5 kilograms, but remained above the ¥4,000 mark for the sixth week in a row.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (left) speaks during a news conference in Washington on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 17, 2025
Ueda keeps door open for BOJ rate hike as decision nears
Financial markets reflect a narrow chance of a rate hike at the end of this month.
A survey showed that some potential homebuyers in Tokyo are delaying purchases while others are wary of missing out on opportunities posed by rising home prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 17, 2025
Tokyo homebuyers split on purchase plans as living costs soar, survey shows
Some are delaying purchases while others are wary of missing out on opportunities posed by rising home prices.
Bank of Japan building in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Oct 16, 2025
BOJ’s most hawkish member calls for rate hike amid price risks
Tamura’s latest remarks suggest little shift in his stance even after Japan’s political landscape turned murky in recent weeks.
Amid the election of Sanae Takaichi as Liberal Democratic Party president, and possibly the next prime minister, Japan's economy shows signs of recovery, but weak wages, a conservative corporate culture and currency issues raise doubts about a true economic thaw.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 13, 2025
Hypothermia in the land of the rising Sanae
Of late, the country has suddenly given every impression of heat. There are good reasons to believe hypothermia is over.
The average price of rice decreased for the third consecutive week, but remained above ¥4,000 for the fifth week in a row.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2025
Average price of rice down in Japan for third straight week
The average price decreased for the third consecutive week, but remained above ¥4,000 for the fifth week in a row.
Then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and then-Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Sanae Takaichi mark a win by a party candidate in the July 2013 Upper House election. There is ongoing debate over whether Takaichi's economic approach will mirror the former prime minister's Abenomics.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 10, 2025
The ‘Takaichi trade’ isn’t Abenomics 2.0, and that’s OK
Party leader Takaichi has been left with one of the poorest positions imaginable. The LDP is a minority in both houses of parliament.
Among respondents in a recent survey who have been affected by inflation, 91.3% said price increases had impacted their food expenses.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 9, 2025
Over 80% of households in Japan feel impact of rising prices, survey shows
Over half of respondents said their cost of living had increased, with average monthly living expenses rising by ¥9,636.

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