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June 16, 2026
 

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Keiko Ujikane
The pharmaceutical industry is among the most strained sectors, with profits squeezed by drug price cuts and rising costs amid Middle East tensions, according to Shunji Horitani, president of the Japanese Federation of Energy and Chemistry Workers¡¯ Unions.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 10, 2026
Wage gains at Japan¡¯s smaller firms at risk as Iran war drags on
Many of such companies lack the pricing power to fully pass rising costs on to customers because of intense competition and entrenched business practices.
Inflation-adjusted wages increased 1% in March from a year earlier, slowing from a revised 2% gain in February, according to the labor ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 8, 2026
Japan¡¯s real wages rise for third month to keep BOJ on hike path
It remains unclear whether higher wages will lift consumption.
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.
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.
Minimum hourly wages in Japan's 47 prefectures are set to average ?1,121, up by a record ?66 from the previous year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2025
Japan to hike minimum wage by record amount, backing BOJ¡¯s rate hikes
A record 6.3% increase takes the minimum wage to an average of ?1,121 per hour across the country¡¯s 47 prefectures, the largest increase since 1978.
Akihiko Ogino, president and CEO of Daiwa Securities Group, says Japan should press ahead with diversity initiatives as he attends the Tokyo Pride parade in the capital's Shibuya area on Sunday.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2025
Top banker vows loyalty to DEI at Tokyo Pride Parade as Trump¡¯s pushback rages
Few Japanese executives have spoken out on U.S. backlash to DEI, though many firms seem to be quietly maintaining their initiatives.
Nominal cash earnings rose 2.1% from a year earlier, decelerating from a revised 2.7% pace in February and below a median economist forecast of 2.5%, according to the labor ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2025
Japan¡¯s nominal wage growth slows, backing case for BOJ caution
Nominal cash earnings rose 2.1% from a year earlier, decelerating from a revised 2.7% pace in February and below a median economist forecast of 2.5%.
A Japanese class at a job placement company in Hanoi in 2022. The number of foreign workers in Japan hit a record high in 2024.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2025
Japan¡¯s foreign workforce hits fresh record as labor crisis deepens
Japan had a record 2.3 million foreign workers as of October 2024, marking a 12.4% increase from the previous year.
Japanese firms' capital expenditure rose 1.9% in the three months through June from the previous quarter.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2024
Japan¡¯s firms lift outlays in sign of modest domestic demand
Capital expenditure on goods excluding software rose 1.9% in the three months through June from the previous quarter.
Japanese workers' base pay increased 2.5% in May from a year ago, the fastest growth since 1993.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 8, 2024
Japan base pay jumps most since 1993 in positive signal for BOJ
Base pay increased 2.5% in May from a year ago, the fastest growth since 1993.
Japan's core inflation slowed for a second straight month in April due to milder food inflation.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 24, 2024
Japan¡¯s inflation cools as BOJ waits for wage gains to kick in
Consumer prices excluding those for fresh food rose 2.2% year on year in April, matching analysts¡¯ estimates and marking a 25th month of staying above the BOJ¡¯s 2% target.
Japan's core inflation slowed in March and an index gauging broader price trends fell below 3% for the first time in over a year, as analysts try to gauge when the Bank of Japan will move again.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 19, 2024
Japan¡¯s inflation cools ahead of BOJ policy board meeting
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.6% in March from a year ago, cooling from February¡¯s 2.8% gain.
Japan¡¯s latest growth figures are set to confirm it slipped to become the world's fourth-largest economy last year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 13, 2024
Japan GDP set to confirm slip to world¡¯s fourth-largest economy
Figures for the calendar year are almost certain to show the value of output falling behind Germany¡¯s in dollar terms.
Japan's core consumer prices rose 2.5% in November from a year earlier, marking the slowest pace of increase in over a year in a sign of easing cost-push pressures in the world's third-largest economy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 22, 2023
Japan¡¯s cooling inflation also offers encouraging signs for BOJ
Consumer prices excluding fresh food items rose 2.5% from a year earlier as falls in energy costs deepened and gains in processed food prices eased.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 6, 2023
Weak Japan wage results offer little for Kishida or BOJ
Real cash earnings for Japan¡¯s workers dropped 3.0% from a year earlier in April, slipping for the 13th month as overtime pay showed weakness.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 14, 2023
Japan deepens diversity lag with no women among BOJ nominees
The nominations came amid heightened expectations that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was looking to choose the first female deputy governor in the Bank of Japan¡¯s 140-year history.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2023
Japan to lag again on diversity if women shut out of BOJ race
Not a single woman¡¯s name is doing the rounds as a potential replacement for Haruhiko Kuroda as central bank governor in the world¡¯s third-largest economy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 25, 2022
Fueled by weak yen, Tokyo inflation hits fastest pace since 1982
The continued acceleration in core inflation challenges Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda¡¯s view that the current cost-push inflation is only temporary.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2022
Tumbling yen spells inflation opportunity for Bank of Japan
The cost-push inflation the weaker yen is amplifying likely offers Japan its best chance to secure stable inflation in years.
BUSINESS
Sep 29, 2021
Japan¡¯s GPIF, world¡¯s top pension fund, won¡¯t invest in China¡¯s sovereign debt
As Chinese debt is being added to the FTSE Russell global bond index, the Japanese fund will instead use a version of the World Government Bond Index that excludes Chinese government bonds.
One part of U.K. is enjoying a Brexit boost 10 years after vote
The Belfast harbor estate, Northern Ireland.
Japan coach takes responsibility for Wataru Endo going home
Japan's head coach Hajime Moriyasu attends a press conference ahead of Japan's 2026 World Cup football tournament Group F football match against the Netherlands in Dallas on Saturday.
Emperor Naruhito seeks public backing for an imperial family plan
Emperor Naruhito speaks at a news conference about his upcoming visit to the Netherlands and Belgium, in Tokyo on Thursday.
The challenge of being neurodivergent in Japan¡¯s culture of conformity
Social camouflaging can help neurodivergent people navigate social situations, but researchers say the effort often comes with significant emotional and mental strain.
The $66 billion train seen fixing Australia¡¯s housing crisis
A train crosses Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia. Many people don't believe the bullet train vision, which has a history of false starts, will materialize.
Japan displays resilience in hard-fought stalemate with Netherlands
Koki Ogawa (right) and others celebrate Japan¡¯s second goal against the Netherlands at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday.
The search for Osamu Dazai¡¯s memory in his hometown Mitaka
Cafe Phosphorescence, owned by Osamu Dazai fan Miyuki Daba, is located about 15 minutes away from where the novelist used to live.
How Kojima made a destination out of denim
Across Kojima, production facilities handle different stages of denim-making, from sewing and washing to finishing and quality control.
Newcomer to hallowed Niigata sake scene is already winning awards
Tomomi Duquette is the owner of Snow Satoyama Sake, one of just three breweries that have opened in Niigata Prefecture since 1953.
TV Tairiku Ondo channels the chaotic creativity of youth
The members of TV Tairiku Ondo ¡ª (from left) Harea Togari, Ryuji Chiyotani, Kotaro Suzuki and Hiroto Yanagawa ¡ª met as high school students in Sapporo and went viral in 2024 with an energetic 90-second track.

Podcast

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

Longform

Social camouflaging can help neurodivergent people navigate social situations, but researchers say the effort often comes with significant emotional and mental strain.
The challenge of being neurodivergent in Japan¡¯s culture of conformity
By Tomoko Otake

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