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July 03, 2026
 

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Akemi Terukina
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party pledged during February’s general election campaign to speed up discussions on suspending the tax on food for two years.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 16, 2026
LDP still considering cutting sales tax to zero for food
The ruling party pledged during February’s general election campaign to speed up discussions on suspending the tax on food for two years with a view to going ahead with it.
Japan is home to 27 registered crypto exchange providers, including BitFlyer.
BUSINESS
Jun 11, 2026
Japan moves to regulate crypto like stocks in market growth push
The bill would classify crypto assets as financial instruments, making them subject to lower taxes and stricter trading rules and opening the door to new products like ETFs.
Kazuo Ueda, governor of the Bank of Japan, speaks during a news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on April 28.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2026
Panel urges BOJ to take cautious approach to rate hikes
Gov. Kazuo Ueda may face pushback if he seeks to raise the benchmark rate next month.
Yuichiro Tamaki, head of opposition party the Democratic Party for the People, says the government should present a five-year road map toward achieving a primary surplus by around 2030.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 20, 2026
Japan’s opposition DPP presses for 5-year road map to primary surplus
Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki said that while a deficit is acceptable in the near term, Japan should aim for a surplus by around 2030.
Rengo's tally showed that the average wage gain secured by labor unions stayed above the group's 5% target for a third straight year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 17, 2026
Japan’s wage growth holds momentum after small firms reach deals
The development comes even after results from smaller firms were factored into the tally, an outcome that will keep the Bank of Japan on track for a near-term interest rate hike.
Olivier Blanchard, professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 27, 2026
Japan invites Blanchard to panel in bid to boost global outreach
Sanae Takaichi’s administration wants to showcase its so-called responsible fiscal approach, even as it increases spending.
Labor unions under Rengo have so far secured an average pay increase of 5.26% in wage negotiations with employers, according to an initial tally.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 23, 2026
Japan’s key labor union wins wage hike topping 5% for third year
The development will likely keep the central bank on track for another interest rate hike in the coming months.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s economic strategy aims to boost the nation’s growth potential by offering public support to cutting-edge industries.
BUSINESS
Mar 10, 2026
Japan’s investment targets include AI, quantum computing and drones
The list includes 27 technologies already under early stage review, such as physical artificial intelligence systems, regenerative medicine, quantum computing and marine drones.
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.
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.
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.”
Akihiro Kaneko, president of the Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers’ Unions, has expressed concern over the Bank of Japan’s anticipated rate hike Friday possibly weighing on companies’ ability to raise wages in the coming fiscal year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 17, 2025
Japan’s auto union chair fears BOJ hike may impede wage momentum
A sharp drop in the yen after the expected hike on Friday could affect corporate sentiment.
The Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers’ Union plans to seek a slightly more ambitious wage hike in the upcoming negotiations than last year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 12, 2025
Japan’s auto union seeks higher wage gains as BOJ watches trends
The Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers’ Union (JAW) will aim for a minimum ¥12,000 ($77) monthly base wage increase.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at a Lower House Budget Committee meeting on Nov. 7. Although Takaichi has refused to recant her comments on Taiwan, she said in parliament later last month that she learned her lesson and will avoid speaking about specific scenarios.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 12, 2025
Takaichi’s Taiwan comment that sparked China spat apparently unscripted
The discrepancy between the prepared response and the prime minister’s actual comment suggests she veered off-script from official policy.
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito says he hopes to visit China soon to help ease tension between Beijing and Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 11, 2025
Japan-China spat lacks immediate off-ramp despite Komeito talks
Tetsuo Saito, the head of former ruling coalition partner Komeito, says he’s spoken several times with China’s ambassador.
Tomoko Yoshino, chair of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, known as Rengo, during an interview in Tokyo, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 25, 2025
Japan’s union chair urges government to step up inflation fight
“We really expect the government to bring prices under control,” said Tomoko Yoshino, chair of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, known as Rengo.
Japan Innovation Party co-leader Fumitake Fujita said on Wednesday that a Bank of Japan rate hike amid government calls for more corporate investment would likely send a mixed policy message.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 6, 2025
JIP cautions against mixed message of a BOJ hike
Such a move could seem contradictory amid calls for more investment in the private sector, Japan Innovation Party co-leader Fumitake Fujita says.
Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on July 20.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2025
CDP doesn’t rule out cooperation with LDP
Noda’s comments come as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party prepares to elect a new leader, who will need opposition support in order to govern.
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya (center) with other parliament members from the party
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2025
What’s driving the far-right voters who shook Japanese politics
Sanseito’s slogan is “Japanese First,” and it campaigned on a mix of tax cutting, vaccine skepticism and restrictions on immigration and foreign investment.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 3, 2025
Ishiba meets with BOJ’s Ueda to discuss economy and markets
The pair’s first meeting since February suggests Ishiba is trying to show market participants that his government and the BOJ will be coordinating closely.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
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.
Why is the yen so weak and what can Japan do about it?
Japan spent ¥11.7 trillion ($73 billion) between late April and late May to prop up the weak yen.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
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."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
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.

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
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