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December 07, 2025
 

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Makiko Yamazaki
Nobumitsu Hayashi, head of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), is interviewed in Tokyo last week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 1, 2025
91²Ö¿â JBIC shifts financing focus to economic security projects
JBIC's role has expanded in response to China's growing influence and rising geopolitical risks, evolving into a tool of economic statecraft.
Labor unions in Japan have already made clear they will again demand bumper pay hikes, as real wage growth has remained negative despite hefty increases in recent years.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 24, 2025
Early signs for 2026 wages bolster case for near-term BOJ rate hike
Sustained wage growth would underpin private consumption, giving 91²Ö¿â central bank confidence to raise rates without derailing 91²Ö¿â economic recovery.
Sanae Takaichi, the newly elected leader of Japan's ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party, attends a news conference after the LDP presidential election in Tokyo on Oct. 4.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 18, 2025
91²Ö¿â fractured politics could ensnarl Takaichi's economic plans
Sanae Takaichi may have found the political support she needs to become 91²Ö¿â next prime minister ¡ª but the new cross-party alliances come with risks.
Hideyuki Okamoto, ice pop maker Akagi Nyugyo's marketing team leader, says the public is more accepting of price hikes as he holds the company's flagship Garigari-kun ice pop.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Jul 29, 2025
Enough apologies: How Japan is shaking off its price hike phobia
A shift in consumer mindset about such increases is driven by the biggest pay hikes in three decades and has given companies more confidence to pass on rising costs.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato listens to a question during an interview at the Finance Ministry in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 18, 2025
91²Ö¿â finance minister is 'deeply concerned' over impact of Trump's tariffs
The minister also voiced concern over volatile market moves that Trump's tariffs triggered, saying they could hurt 91²Ö¿â economic recovery.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba gives instructions to Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa (third from left) and others at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 11, 2025
Japan braces for talks on yen and BOJ in trade negotiations with U.S.
Ryosei Akazawa, who is heading the task force, is reportedly set to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent next week.
A potential foreign acquisition of Japanese retail giant Seven & I would be "heavily related" to national security, Japan's economy minister Ryosei Akazawa said on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2025
Japan flags foreign takeover of 7-Eleven owner as a security issue
His public comment is the first by a senior Japanese official over security issues raised by a $47 billion buyout offer by Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard.
Small businesses in Ino, a town in Kochi Prefecture known for its paper industry, show how a labor shortage is a growing threat to smaller companies that provide seven out of every 10 jobs in Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 24, 2024
Small businesses with low wages struggle to tackle labor shortages
A worker shortage is threatening firms that are otherwise robust, including those that have invested in automation and creative hiring.
The entrance of the Sodegaura LNG Terminal, operated by Tokyo Gas, in Sodegaura, Chiba Prefecture
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Dec 18, 2024
91²Ö¿â draft climate strategy spurs calls for bolder cuts in carbon emissions
The government last month presented a draft plan to aim for a 60% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 from 2013 levels.
Nobuhiro Ito, who runs casting-maker Ito Tekko, which employs about 100 people, in front of his company's factory in the city of Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 13, 2024
BOJ's rate hike plans clouded by small firms' wage woes
Next year's wage prospects are crucial for sustaining a consumption-led recovery ¡ª a prerequisite for further rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.
Business sentiment among large manufacturers in Japan improved for the first time in two quarters, the Bank of Japan's tankan survey for December showed Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 13, 2024
Japan business mood improves slightly, but global risks cloud outlook
The Bank of Japan tankan survey results come ahead of a two-day policy meeting next week, when its board will debate whether to lift rates from the current 0.25%.
Masato Kanda, then-vice minister of finance for international affairs, in January 2022
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2024
As pain from weak yen deepens, 91²Ö¿â ex-currency chief Masato Kanda warns of action
Kanda's warning came as the Japanese currency weakened to a three-month low of near ?155 to the dollar.
Tokyo's Ginza shopping district. In its revised estimates, the Cabinet Office cut its inflation-adjusted GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal year ending in March 2025 to 0.7% from 0.9% projected in July.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 1, 2024
Japan cuts growth forecast again for current fiscal year on weak exports
In its revised estimates, the Cabinet Office cut its inflation-adjusted GDP growth forecast for the year ending in March 2025 to 0.7% from 0.9% projected in July.
Infcurion offers technology powering a range of payments services such as digital wallets and credit cards.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 11, 2024
Japanese payments company Infcurion says planning IPO in 2025
Infcurion, founded in 2006, offers technology powering a range of payments services such as digital wallets and credit cards.
Big nonmanufacturers' mood has improved, the Bank of Japan's <i>tankan</i> survey shows, underscoring the strength of domestic demand.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 1, 2024
Big manufacturer sentiment steady in third quarter, tankan survey shows
While the survey found optimism among manufacturers, nonmanufacturers expect conditions to worsen in the months ahead.
7-Eleven's parent company this month rejected a $38.5 billion offer from Circle-K owner Couche-Tard, citing concerns about price.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 17, 2024
7-Eleven parent's new security rating won't affect a buyout, minister says
The finance minister's comments appeared aimed at easing investor concerns about the move.
Masato Kanda, Japan's former top currency diplomat, led massive bouts of yen-buying intervention in the currency markets in 2022 and 2024.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 10, 2024
Japan nominates ex-currency diplomat Kanda to head ADB
Since its 1966 founding, the ADB's top post has always gone to a Japanese national, making Kanda a strong candidate.
Digital transformation minister Taro Kono has described Japan's current fiscal state as an "emergency situation," saying the nation has to regain fiscal discipline.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2024
91²Ö¿â budget demands hit record as leadership race steps up
The race could complicate Tokyo's efforts to restore fiscal discipline.
Seven & I is currently categorized on the Finance Ministry's classification list as a company that conducts "designated," but not "core" businesses.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 3, 2024
Japanese companies cannot use national security cover to block takeovers, official says
Japanese companies cannot use a national security designation as a tool to thwart foreign takeovers, a senior Finance Ministry official said.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food climbed 2.7% in July from a year earlier, accelerating slightly from 2.6% in June.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 23, 2024
91²Ö¿â core inflation picks up, but demand-driven growth slows
The "core core" index, which is closely watched by the BOJ, dipped below the key 2% line for the first time since September 2022.
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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