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July 12, 2026
 

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INFLATION

Volunteers prepare daily meals for people at Souk el Tayeb in Beirut on Tuesday.
WORLD
Mar 18, 2026
45 million more face hunger threat from extended Mideast war, U.N. says
The war, now in its third week, and its shockwaves on food and fuel costs could price families out of staple foods far beyond the region, the U.N.’s World Food Program said.
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.
Real wages have been falling in Japan for a number of years despite high nominal increases.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 6, 2026
Unions seeking wage increases this year of almost 6%
The spring offensive results are likely to be in line with last year’s.
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.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food in the Tokyo area rose 1.8% from a year earlier in February, the smallest gain since October 2024, indicating Japan’s price growth has entered a cooler phase.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 27, 2026
Tokyo CPI falls below BOJ’s target, complicating rate hike message
The data poses a communication challenge for the Bank of Japan as it looks to proceed with interest rate hikes.
In the Tokyo metropolitan area, the average price of new condominiums in 2025 jumped 17.4% from the previous year to ¥91.82 million.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 26, 2026
Japan’s average new condo price hit record high in 2025
The average price climbed 7.8% from the previous year to ¥65.56 million per unit, led largely by growth in the Tokyo area.
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.
The tax-inclusive price of McDonald's Big Mac in Japan will be raised from ¥480 to ¥500.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 24, 2026
McDonald’s to raise menu prices in Japan starting Wednesday
The fast food chain said the price hikes reflect higher material, energy and labor costs.
Rising prices are making Japanese consumers more frugal, slowing the recovery of domestic tourism despite record per-trip spending and strong inbound travel.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2026
Recovery stalling in Japan’s domestic tourism
The annual tourist figure was around 600 million before the COVID-19 pandemic but tumbled below 300 million in 2020, when an emergency was declared over the pandemic
"In Japan, they’re going through generational change and it’s generational change in corporate governance. It’s in interest rates, it’s in government policy,” Apollo Global Management’s Marc Rowan said in an interview in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 22, 2026
Apollo’s Rowan sees Japan ready to roar: ‘There’s a new swagger’
Japan’s comeback is notable because of the depth and duration of the country’s struggles.
U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 22, 2026
Trump, once unstoppable, hits snag after snag ahead of major U.S. address
On Friday, the Supreme Court delivered a sharp rebuke of his use of tariffs, which he slapped on countries often arbitrarily via a simple order on social media.
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.
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.”
Bags of rice at a supermarket in Yokohama. Japan's staple food law stipulates that releases of government-stockpiled rice be used to cover "supply shortages due to falling production."
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2026
Rice prices remain high in Japan even after stockpile releases
The country’s staple food law stipulates that releases of government-stockpiled rice be used to cover “supply shortages due to falling production.”
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.
The biennial comprehensive fee review is a major policy tool for the government, showing the direction of the nation’s health care as the population ages and medical needs surge and diversify.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 13, 2026
Japan health panel adopts medical fee changes to raise wages and cope with inflation
By tweaking fees here and there, the government seeks to keep health care costs relatively low while meeting new medical needs.
A heap of dried cocoa beans. High prices of cocoa beans are influencing consumers' purchases of chocolates for Valentine's Day gifts, a recent survey shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 12, 2026
Fewer women and girls to give Valentine’s Day gifts amid high chocolate prices
The high price of cocoa beans, the basic ingredient for chocolate, have made many choose lower-priced items and reduce the number of gifts they purchase, a recent survey shows.
Copper cathode sheets at a mining complex in Morenci, Arizona. Japan's producer prices of nonferrous metals surged 33% in January due to soaring copper prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 12, 2026
Japan producer prices rose 2.3% in January, BOJ reports
The pace of increase in the producer price index, which measures the costs of goods traded between companies, slowed from a 2.4% gain the previous month.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference at the Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 11, 2026
Ruling bloc’s election victory may affect BOJ monetary policy
Sanae Takaichi favors fiscal expansion and monetary easing, while the central bank is seeking to continue raising interest rates to normalize its monetary policy.
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.

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