Tag - boj

 
 

BOJ

BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 19, 2026
BOJ stands pat amid growing Middle East uncertainty
The decision to maintain its policy rate at 0.75% was widely expected by the market and central bank watchers.
The Bank of Japan building in Tokyo. The House of Representatives has confirmed the government's nominations of 22 people at 11 institutions.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 19, 2026
Japan Lower House OKs two reflationists as BOJ policymakers
The House of Councillors is expected to confirm the batch of nominations on Monday.
Japan’s long-term growth will depend on leveraging its well-educated workforce, expanding digital capacity, and strengthening advanced sectors like AI and power semiconductors, while strategically investing in productivity.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2026
From stimulus to structure: Japan’s next economic agenda
With a shrinking population and a rapidly aging society, the country is moving away from the demand-deficient conditions that characterized much of the post-bubble era.
Yamano Music's main store in the Ginza district of Tokyo’s Chuo Ward is the most expensive commercial land site in Japan, according to data released Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2026
Japan’s average land price rises for fifth straight year
The average land price in Japan as of Jan. 1 rose 2.8% from a year earlier, up for the fifth straight year, the land ministry said Tuesday.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo in January.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 17, 2026
BOJ likely to sit tight as Middle East conflict clouds economic outlook
Though a rate hike is unlikely this month, if the yen’s depreciation continues, pressure on the bank to act will likely grow at the next meeting in April.
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.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda has pledged to closely monitor developments as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran reverberates across the region.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 4, 2026
Middle East conflict could affect Japan’s economy significantly, says BOJ’s Ueda
Japan’s reliance on Middle Eastern oil has hovered around 90%, the economy ministry has said, with much of that oil traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.
Japan Post Insurance CEO and President Kunio Tanigaki
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 4, 2026
Japan Post Insurance to shift to high-yield bonds, CEO says
The life insurer expects the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates again as soon as April.
Bank of Japan Deputy Gov. Ryozo Himino has said he is closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East as the outlook for the economy became murkier after the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 2, 2026
BOJ deputy chief refrains from signaling rate hike in March
“I want to closely monitor the situation” in the Middle East, Bank of Japan Deputy Gov. Ryozo Himino said in a speech to local business leaders in Wakayama Prefecture.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is said to be considering stepping down early to deny euroskeptic leaders the chance to influence who follows in her role.
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
Feb 27, 2026
Under pressure from populist politicians, central bankers face tricky trade-off
How can central banks defend their independence and their credibility without appearing political themselves?
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.
Former Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Tuesday. Kuroda has warned that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's spending plans could stoke an inflationary upswing.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 25, 2026
Former BOJ chief Kuroda calls for rate hikes and tighter fiscal policy
Former Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda has warned that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s spending plans could stoke an inflationary upswing.
An electronic quotation board displays the foreign exchange rate of the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar in Tokyo on Feb. 9.
EDITORIALS
Feb 20, 2026
Takaichi’s next challenge: a stronger yen
Takaichi’s mandate and her vision promise stability and consistency in economic policymaking, with a focus on restoring growth. A stronger yen will help achieve those objectives.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2% from a year earlier in January, the smallest gain since January 2024, after the gauge climbed 2.4% in the previous month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 20, 2026
Japan’s CPI cools to slowest pace in two years on distortions
Temporary factors and food prices drove the slowdown.
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.
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda after a BOJ policy meeting in January
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 16, 2026
Takaichi-Ueda meeting most notable for what might not have been said
The prime minister not putting pressure on the central bank’s governor could prove to be significant.
Etsuro Honda, an economic adviser to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during an interview Thursday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 14, 2026
Takaichi expecting additional BOJ rate hike — but not in spring — adviser says
Etsuro Honda, an economic adviser to the Japanese leader, said he believes a hike of 0.25 percentage point will come “in the not-so-distant future.”
Naoki Tamura, a member of the Bank of Japan's policy board
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 13, 2026
BOJ hawk Tamura flags spring as possible timing for rate hike
Naoki Tamura’s remarks suggest that Gov. Kazuo Ueda will probably face increased opposition if he decides to stand pat at the next policy meetings through April.

Longform

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