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June 30, 2026
 

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JAPANESE ECONOMY

Higher crude oil and naphtha prices have pushed up the costs of packaging and raw materials, leading to price increases mainly for processed foods, including instant noodles, and bread products.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 30, 2026
Japan to see price hikes for 2,566 food items in July
Higher crude oil and naphtha prices have pushed up the costs of packaging and raw materials, leading to price increases mainly for processed foods like instant noodles.
Japan's industrial production in May climbed 0.5% from the previous month as manufacturers were able to cope with the fallout from the war in Iran.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 30, 2026
Japan’s factory output rises as Iran fallout stays manageable
The government says it can secure enough crude oil through March 2028 by cultivating alternative procurements to the Strait of Hormuz.
Apps like Miraima allow users to wager on real-world events and win points that can be converted into monetary rewards such as gift cards.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jun 29, 2026
Prediction markets emerge in Japan, with shopping vouchers
New homegrown startups are finding ways to skirt regulations.
Draft guidelines list expressways and some shinkansen lines as key areas of focus for infrastructure development.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2026
Japan to stop focusing on public works cost effectiveness
The government will shift its focus to an overall assessment that places an emphasis on basic functions to protect lives and livelihoods, under annual guidelines due next month.
Japanese regional banks are rolling out loans backed by companies' growth potential and other intangible assets instead of real estate or personal guarantees.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 29, 2026
Japanese banks offer loans secured by future growth potential
The system is designed to make it easier for companies to get loans without putting up land, factories or other assets as collateral or individual managers as joint guarantors.
Sales at department stores in Japan climbed strongly from a year earlier, likely helped by robust tourist spending.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 29, 2026
Japan’s retail sales rise for third month on wage gains and subsidies
The 1.9% month-on-month advance was led by sales of vehicles, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a meeting on the Middle East conflict in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2026
Japan to draw up energy-related package by end of August
Industry minister Ryosei Akazawa has been tasked with drawing up an action plan to address the energy risks that became apparent amid the Middle East conflict.
The government is considering delaying its goal of raising Japan's average minimum hourly wage to ¥1,500 until the first half of the 2030s.
BUSINESS
Jun 26, 2026
Japan mulls delaying minimum wage hike
Japan’s average minimum hourly wages in fiscal 2025, which ended in March, stood at ¥1,121, up 6.3% from the preceding year.
The yen has been trading well within intervention territory for about a week.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 26, 2026
Yen’s decline makes perfect sense to some analysts
They have started to wonder whether there is really much at all holding the currency up.
The consumer price index excluding fresh food for the Tokyo area, considered a leading indicator for nationwide price trends, rose 1.6% in June from a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 26, 2026
Tokyo inflation picks up, keeping BOJ on track for further hike
The consumer price index excluding fresh food rose 1.6% in June from a year earlier in Japan’s capital.
A draft of the government's economic blueprint urges the Bank of Japan to align its decisions with Prime Minister Sanae ​Takaichi's drive to reflate growth.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 25, 2026
Japan’s government blueprint nudges BOJ to fuel demand, clouding rates path
The draft urges the Bank of Japan to align its decisions with Prime Minister Sanae ​Takaichi’s drive to reflate growth.
Bank of Japan board member Naoki Tamura is a widely known hawk on the board who frequently calls for interest rates to be raised to a more normal setting.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 25, 2026
Rate hikes needed every few months, hawkish BOJ board member says
While the remarks suggest another rate hike may come earlier than BOJ watchers expect, they also show there is some caution around raising rates again in July.
A draft by a tax panel calls for reducing the consumption tax rate to 1% for food for two years from April 2027.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 25, 2026
Interim draft on two-year food tax cut presented
The proposal calls for reducing the tax rate to 1% for food for two years from April 2027.
Japanese liquefied natural gas-related stocks stand to benefit from the Middle East supply risk.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 25, 2026
Japan’s LNG stocks seen to benefit from Middle East supply risk
The country’s firms are an indispensable part of every stage in the LNG supply chain, which includes plant contractors and turbine suppliers.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aims to put her stamp on Japan’s growth strategy as technological change and geopolitical tensions reshape economic priorities.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 24, 2026
Japan unveils $2.3 trillion investment plan for next 14 years
The roadmap marks a key step in Takaichi’s effort to put her stamp on Japan’s growth strategy as technological change and geopolitical tensions reshape economic priorities.
Samples of rare earth luminescent materials displayed at an exhibition on China’s manufacturing achievements at the National Museum in Beijing in March
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 24, 2026
China’s mineral squeeze testing Japan’s military buildup
The restrictions are exposing vulnerabilities in Japan’s defense-industrial supply chains while also providing the clearest test yet of Tokyo’s push to bolster economic security.
A GMO AI and Robotics humanoid robot performs a dance at an international exhibition at Tokyo Big Sight in December.  REUTERS
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jun 24, 2026
Japan’s manufacturing sector and the race for physical AI
Turning industrial strength into leadership in the next AI frontier.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 24, 2026
BOJ summary affirms rate hike stance as inflation risks mount
The summary came out as the yen remained close to the weakest level since 1986 against the dollar amid growing bets on the Federal Reserve raising rates this year.
Some see Japanese equities as an attractive way to diversify away from U.S. stocks while still benefiting from the global artificial intelligence rally.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 24, 2026
AI boom sees investors shift from Japan’s value to growth stocks
Investors had classified Japan’s equities as low-growth value stocks, but the rising prominence of high-growth firms suggests a meaningful shift in the investment narrative.
Barclays’ markets business in Japan includes rates, foreign exchange and structured credit.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 23, 2026
Barclays weighs return to cash equities in Japan as market booms
Barclays has been hiring equities specialists in Tokyo.
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.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
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."
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.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

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

Longform

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What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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