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June 25, 2026
 

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Takashi Umekawa
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama says Japan is currently undergoing the greatest budgetary reform process since the end of World War II.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 9, 2026
Katayama says Japan undergoing biggest budget reform since 1945
The government plans to incorporate as much spending for one year as possible into the initial budget rather than rely on additional funding via supplementary packages.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during an Upper House budget committee meeting on May 11.
JAPAN / Politics
May 18, 2026
Takaichi calls for extra budget amid Middle East shock
The planned supplementary budget is expected to function as an emergency relief measure rather than a broad economic stimulus program.
MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking are all likely to gain access to Anthropic¡¯s artificial intelligence model, Mythos.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2026
Japan megabanks set to win Mythos access after Bessent visit
Mythos access could be granted to MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Mizuho Bank as early as the end of May.
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.
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.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at a news conference on Monday following a landslide victory of her Liberal Democratic Party in Sunday¡¯s Lower House election.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 12, 2026
Japan investors remain wary Takaichi will spur another meltdown
Worries that she would add to Japan¡¯s mountain of public debt prompted yields to spike last month to the highest levels in decades.
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.
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.
The Bank of Japan should take a cautious approach to raising interest rates further, a former BOJ policy board member has said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 25, 2025
BOJ needs caution on rates during growth push, ex-official says
The former board member said the government should fully utilize fiscal, monetary and tax policy to stimulate demand and realize a ¡°high pressure¡± economy.
The Finance Ministry in Tokyo¡¯s Chiyoda Ward
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 24, 2025
Japan budgeting for bond payments at 3% as debt servicing soars
The Finance Ministry will set a key rate used to calculate the country¡¯s likely interest payments on bonds next fiscal year at 3.0%, the highest in nearly three decades
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama says Japan has a ¡°free hand¡± to take bold action against currency moves during an interview in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 23, 2025
Japan has ¡®free hand¡¯ for bold action in FX market if needed
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama¡¯s remarks are her strongest warning yet to speculators following the yen¡¯s weakening even after a rise in interest rates.
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.
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 and other members of a government panel on economic growth strategy gather for their first meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 11, 2025
Takaichi eyes stimulus package to jump-start growth plan
Takaichi has signaled a shift toward more expansionary fiscal policy and said that Japan remains only halfway toward achieving stable inflation supported by wage growth.
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.
The Finance Ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. The ministry plans to seek a record 32.4 trillion yen in debt-servicing costs in its budget request for fiscal 2026.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 26, 2025
Finance Ministry seeks record budget for debt financing
The ministry¡¯s request would be the highest amount ever budgeted for debt-servicing costs, which already account for about a quarter of Japan¡¯s national budget.
Government Pension Investment Fund President Kazuto Uchida says there is no need to change the fund's portfolio even after a trade deal was reached between Japan and the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 25, 2025
Japan¡¯s top pension fund keeps strategy amid volatility
As it seeks to ride out the turmoil, the Government Pension Investment Fund aims to enhance portfolio rebalancing with futures and analyze correlations between different assets.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters in Washington on June 27.
BUSINESS
Jul 9, 2025
U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent to visit Japan next week for Expo
The visit comes after Donald Trump stated his intention to raise tariffs on all Japanese imports to 25% ¡ª slightly higher than the 24% rate initially announced in April.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato (right) speaks during a news conference in Milan on Sunday.
BUSINESS
May 5, 2025
Finance chief Kato walks back idea of U.S. Treasury sales as trade chip
Japan held roughly $1.13 trillion in Treasury Securities at the end of February ¡ª making it the biggest overseas holder of U.S. debt.
"It does exist as a card,¡± said Kato, speaking on a TV Tokyo program Friday, when asked if Japan¡¯s stance of not selling U.S. Treasury holdings could be a negotiation tool.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 2, 2025
Japan¡¯s Kato says U.S. Treasury holdings could be negotiation card
The comments come amid negotiations between Japan and the U.S. after President Donald Trump ramped up his global tariff campaign.
Double barrage of storms to hit Japan this week
A map depicting the paths of Typhoon Mekkhala and Tropical Storm Higos
Japanese companies get serious about workplace DEI
People working in human resources departments participate in a workshop in Tokyo in January. The participants played a card game in which they took on roles of people with various disabilities.
Two Japanese held in China for allegedly smuggling export-restricted goods
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara speaks during a news conference on Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Consumer affairs watchdog raises alarm over air conditioner repair scams
The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan has issued a warning over a rise in air conditioner repair scams.
China accuses Japan of ¡®harassment¡¯ during far-seas aircraft carrier training
China's Liaoning aircraft carrier takes part in a military drill in the western Pacific in April 2018.
Remembering the wrestlers who rarely make the headlines
Tsurugisho throws salt at a one-day sumo event at the Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.
China¡¯s mineral squeeze testing Japan¡¯s military buildup
Samples of rare earth luminescent materials displayed at an exhibition on China¡¯s manufacturing achievements at the National Museum in Beijing in March
Stepping up, not aside: Japan¡¯s retirement-age tour guides
Yoichi Miura (third from left) now divides his time between his import business and guiding international visitors across Japan.
Japan-South Korea detente persists ¡ª but breakthrough remains elusive
While Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung have kept relations from sliding backward, experts say they have struggled to turn stability into concrete steps forward.
Japan¡¯s AI goldrush faces backlash as data centers sprout up in urban areas
Erin and Munekazu Tanikawa look out from their balcony at the construction site of a planned 52-meter-tall data center that would dominate their surroundings, in the city of Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, last month.

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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