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December 07, 2025
 

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Erica Yokoyama
An electronics store in the Akihabara area in Tokyo. Domestic consumption has expanded for three straight quarters, albeit at a subdued pace.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 5, 2025
Japan¡¯s household outlays fall in sign of fragile domestic demand
Private spending is a key component in the central bank's goal of achieving a virtuous economic cycle in which wage gains help fuel demand-led price increases.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks at a meeting in Nagoya on Monday.
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2025
Key Japan officials would go along with a BOJ December rate hike
The comments come amid heightened speculation that the BOJ will increase the benchmark rate to 0.75% at the end of its next policy meeting on Dec. 19.
Japanese firms' capital expenditure on goods excluding software edged down 0.3% from the previous quarter in the three months through September.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 1, 2025
Japanese firms scale back investment as tariff headwinds hit
Capital expenditure on goods excluding software edged down 0.3% from the previous quarter even as corporate profits jumped by the most in two years.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 28, 2025
Japan to issue more short-term debt to fund Takaichi¡¯s stimulus
The Cabinet has approved a ?18.3 trillion extra budget to fund the largest round of fresh spending in a stimulus package since the scaling back of pandemic restrictions.
The extra budget, totaling about ?18.3 trillion ($117 billion), will be funded by ?11.7 trillion in additional bond issuance, according to a document seen Thursday.
BUSINESS
Nov 27, 2025
Japan to issue $75 billion in new bonds to fund stimulus
The extra budget, totaling about ?18.3 trillion ($117 billion), will be funded by ?11.7 trillion in additional bond issuance.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has said that overall new bond issuance for this year will remain below last year¡¯s level, even with the announcement of the largest round of extra spending since the easing of pandemic restrictions.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 26, 2025
Sanae Takaichi seeks to fund stimulus without spooking markets
The prime minister last week unveiled Japan¡¯s largest round of extra spending since the easing of pandemic restrictions.
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.
The Japanese government is mulling an extra budget for the current fiscal year which will be larger than last year¡¯s, according to local media reports.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 15, 2025
Japan plans bigger extra budget this fiscal year, reports say
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s government is mulling an extra budget for the current fiscal year which will be larger than last year¡¯s.
Real cash earnings fell 1.4% in September, marking the ninth consecutive monthly decline in line with analyst forecasts.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 6, 2025
Japan¡¯s wage growth stays firm, keeping rate hike bets alive
Nominal wages rose 1.9% from a year earlier, accelerating from August, the labor ministry reported Thursday, coming in line with economist expectations.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama issued her first clear warning on currency moves in noting the government is monitoring the yen with a strong sense of urgency.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 31, 2025
Japan¡¯s Katayama warns on FX as yen hits eight-month low
The yen traded around an eight-month low after the Bank of Japan left interest rates unchanged, with markets unconvinced by Gov. Kazuo Ueda offering hints a rate hike is coming.
Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino speaks at a news conference on Thursday. She said the union is looking to make wage hikes a normal occurrence.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 23, 2025
Japan¡¯s unions seek minimum 5% wage hike in upcoming pay talks
Sanae Takaichi¡¯s tenure and the central bank's policy path could be affected if Japan can¡¯t keep up its wage-hike momentum.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (left) speaks during a news conference in Washington on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 17, 2025
Ueda keeps door open for BOJ rate hike as decision nears
Financial markets reflect a narrow chance of a rate hike at the end of this month.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato meet in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 16, 2025
Japan¡¯s Kato calls for G7 unity over China¡¯s rare earth curbs
"Japan is deeply concerned about these measures,¡± Kato told reporters in Washington on Wednesday, referring to China¡¯s latest trade measures.
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.
August¡¯s unemployment figures showed a slight tempering of Japan's job market, but the data still points to overall firmness amid an ongoing labor shortage.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 3, 2025
Japan¡¯s jobless rate edges up to highest in over a year
August¡¯s figures showed a slight tempering of the job market, but the data still points to overall firmness amid an ongoing labor shortage.
Industrial production in Japan dropped 1.2% from the previous month, following the same pace of decline from July, according to the economy ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 30, 2025
Japan¡¯s output falls as U.S. tariffs drag on global outlook
The data reflect ongoing caution among manufacturers as the U.S. continues to threaten additional tariffs to narrow its trade deficit.
Hard-line conservative lawmaker Sanae Takaichi has consistently been a public favorite in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party¡¯s leadership election scheduled for Oct. 4.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 20, 2025
Japan may see its first female PM despite limited progress on?gender gap
For a country that has seen limited progress on gender equality, a win by Takaichi could represent a watershed moment.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato takes part in an online meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers on Friday.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2025
Japan pushes back on U.S. call for tariff hikes over Russian oil
Tokyo is cautious about joining efforts to raise tariffs on countries trading with Russia as Japan itself has continued importing LNG from its neighbor.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato reaffirmed in a joint statement their commitment to allowing markets to determine currency exchange rates and not targeting them for competitive advantage.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 12, 2025
U.S. and Japan pledge not to manipulate forex for competitive advantage
Tokyo has spent close to $150 billion in the last three years trying to prop up the yen with the last move in July last year.
Kono Taro, Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker and former digital transformation minister, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 9, 2025
BOJ should raise rates to strengthen yen and curb inflation, says Taro Kono
The comments come days after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba¡¯s decision to resign raised questions about the outlook for economic policies.
Trump security strategy demands more from Japan while unveiling ¡®burden-sharing network¡¯
U.S. President Donald Trump makes a speech aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during his visit to the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Oct. 28.
Spotlight shines on humanoid robots at Tokyo show
A representative from Noitom Robotics demonstraties remote robot operation at the iREX International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo on Friday.
Japan¡¯s bear-related casualties hit record on escalating attacks
Bear bells are displayed for sale at a souvenir shop at Shirakawa-go, a popular tourist spot and one of Japan's UNESCO World Heritage sites, in the village of Shirakawa, Gifu Prefecture, on Nov. 15.
Suspected ³Ù´Ç°ì³Ü°ù²â¨± masterminds in Tokyo-area robberies arrested
Takuya Saito, 26, is one of four men arrested by Japanese police on Friday on suspicion of masterminding a series of robberies in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Average price of rice in Japan hits new record high
In the week ended last Sunday, the average price of rice sold at about 1,000 supermarkets across Japan rose by ?23 from the previous week to ?4,335 per 5 kilograms.
Trump security strategy demands more from Japan while unveiling ¡®burden-sharing network¡¯
U.S. President Donald Trump makes a speech aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during his visit to the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Oct. 28.
Will Takaichi bank on her high approval ratings to call a snap election?
While media polls show a high support rate for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s Cabinet, the support for the LDP is not as great, meaning there¡¯s no guarantee of a coattail effect if a snap poll is called.
¡®Black Box Diaries¡¯ is Shiori Ito¡¯s unflinching case for the truth
¡°Black Box Diaries¡± documents Shiori Ito¡¯s legal case, while also showing her thoughts and feelings through journal style videos she recorded herself.
Kashima or Kashiwa: J. League title chase goes down to the wire
Kashima's Yuma Suzuki (center) takes a shot during a game against Kashiwa in March.
2025 was the year Japan¡¯s box office returned
In 2025, ¡°Demon Slayer¡± and ¡°Kokuho¡± broke box-office records, while films such as ¡°Renoir,¡± A Pale View of the Hills¡± and ¡°Two Strangers, Two Seasons¡± garnered acclaim on the international film festival circuit. The year¡¯s biggest loss was the death of Tatsuya Nakadai, an highly regarded actor who had worked with nearly all of the top directors of Japanese cinema¡¯s postwar golden age.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Yumi Matsutoya began her decades-long career under her maiden name, Yumi Arai, but Japanese fans might know her better as ¡°Yuming.¡±
Yumi Matsutoya¡¯s human touch in an AI age
By Patrick St. Michel

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