author

 
Menu
Search
 
June 30, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Erica Yokoyama
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.
Japan's core machine orders in December rose 19% from the previous month, rebounding from an 11% slide in November.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2026
Record rise in orders for Japanese machinery points to solid investment
Core machine orders rose 19% from the previous month, rebounding from an 11% slide in November, the Cabinet Office has reported.
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.
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.”
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.
Japanese workers’ real wages fell 0.1% from a year earlier in December, the labor ministry said Monday, extending declines to every month of 2025 amid persistent inflation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 9, 2026
Japan’s real wages drop extends to full year as prices advance
The decline bolsters the case for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to continue down a more expansionary fiscal path after she secured a sweeping election victory.
Voter frustration over soaring living expenses led to major setbacks for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the last two national elections.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 6, 2026
Soaring food bills pose risk to Takaichi’s election prospects
Surveys show inflation is among the most important issues for voters ahead of Sunday’s polls, with about 54% citing it as their biggest concern, according to a Nikkei survey.
A supporter holds a flyer for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is also president of the Liberal Democratic Party, alongside an English vocabulary book at an LDP election rally in the city of Saitama on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 4, 2026
How Sanae Takaichi won over disillusioned young voters
So far, the prime minister’s strategy of presenting herself as different from previous leaders seems to have struck a chord with Japan’s youth.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama speaks at a news conference at the ministry in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 3, 2026
Katayama says Takaichi wasn’t emphasizing weak yen merit
Takaichi’s comments suggested she was trying to preserve speculation over government intervention risks.
Monthly figures released Friday by the Finance Ministry confirmed that Japan didn’t spend any money on direct intervention to bolster the yen in the four weeks up to Jan. 28.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 31, 2026
Japan gets breathing room for yen by leaning on U.S. fear factor
Monthly figures released Friday by the Finance Ministry confirmed that Japan didn’t spend any money on direct intervention to bolster the yen.
A board showing the yen's exchange rate with the U.S. dollar in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 30, 2026
Japan business leader calls on government to act more on yen rate
The comments came as the weak yen continues to hurt smaller firms by pushing up import costs and narrowing room for wage increases.
Japan’s largest trade union federation, Rengo, was seeking a wage increase of at least 5% as wage talks between unions and employers kicked off Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 27, 2026
Japan business lobby warns of tariff impact as wage talks start
The head of Japan’s biggest business lobby said he expects businesses to maintain wage hike momentum to a certain extent during the talks despite some “clearly very tough factors.”
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.
Core inflation rose 3.1% for all of 2025, marking the fourth consecutive year in which consumer price index gains exceeded the Bank of Japan’s 2% inflation target.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2026
Japan’s inflation slows on subsidy effect ahead of BOJ decision
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.4% in December from a year earlier, with the pace decelerating from 3% in November.
A mine containing rare earth minerals in China's Inner Mongolia province.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2026
Japan seeks support as fears rise over China’s rare earth grip
Tensions have continued to rise between Asia’s two biggest economies, dragging out a dispute that began in early November.
Outlays by households adjusted for inflation gained 2.9% in November from a year earlier, with the advance driven by outlays on cars and communications, according to the internal affairs ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 9, 2026
Japan’s household outlays rose ahead of Takaichi’s stimulus plan
Outlays by households adjusted for inflation gained 2.9% from a year earlier, with the advance driven by outlays on cars and communications, the internal affairs ministry reported.
Base pay in Japan increased 2% in November from a year earlier, according to the labor ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 8, 2026
Japan’s base pay growth holds steady, but nominal wage increases slow
The mixed signals come two weeks before the Bank of Japan next meet to decide policy.
The Bank of Japan’s headquarters in Tokyo. The central bank on Dec. 19 raised its policy rate to 0.75%, the highest since 1995.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 29, 2025
Summary of BOJ’s December meeting hints of further rate hikes
Some members of the central bank’s board signaled that Japan’s real interest rate remains very low.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 17.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 27, 2025
Japan set to see first primary balance surplus in 28 years in 2026
Securing a primary balance surplus has been a government goal for more than two decades.
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.
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.
LGBTQ+ families are building lives Japanese lawmakers still struggle to see
Haru Ono founded Nijiiro Kazoku in 2010 after forming a same-sex stepfamily. She said the impetus for founding the organization was that she couldn’t find much reliable information out there for families such as hers in Japan.
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

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

New Logistics Consortium baton to accelerate trucking efficiency
New Logistics Consortium baton to accelerate trucking efficiency

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER