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August 11, 2026
 

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Erica Yokoyama
Nominal wages in Japan climbed 3.4% in June from a year earlier, following a revised 3.3% increase in May, according to the labor ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 5, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ nominal wages rise again, backing BOJ rate hike case
June¡¯s 3.4% rise extended the run of gains exceeding 3% to five months, the longest such streak in 34 years.
The clearest rationale for the United States to join Japan on Friday in purchasing yen comes from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent¡¯s consistent signals of concern about Japanese reverberations into the $31 trillion Treasuries market.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 4, 2026
Bessent¡¯s yen rescue to boost U.S. pressure on Japan trade and rates
Analysts described a range of U.S. interests at stake in helping Japan pull the yen back from near four-decade lows against the dollar.
The government has lowered its fiscal 2026 real growth forecast to 0.9% from the previous estimate of 1.3% made in January, the Cabinet Office said Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 30, 2026
Japan trims economic outlook as elevated oil prices weigh on growth
The government has cut its projection for real growth in fiscal 2026 to 0.9% from the January forecast of 1.3%.
Japan's Labor Ministry advisory panel on Tuesday recommended raising the nationwide average minimum hourly wage by 4.9% to ?1,176 for the current fiscal year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 29, 2026
Ministry panel recommends 4.9% minimum wage boost, supporting BOJ rate hike path
The new wage floor, which would apply to over 50 million workers, is expected to gradually take effect starting in October.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama has cited proposals to promote investment in Japanese government bonds, including possibly making them eligible for the nation¡¯s tax-free Nippon Individual Savings Account program and easing inheritance tax rules.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 14, 2026
Japan finance chief floats JGBs in tax-free accounts and GPIF portfolio review
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama¡¯s remarks were seen as part of stepped-up efforts to attract cash to domestic markets as the yen weakens.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama has encouraged households and pension funds to buy more yen-denominated assets.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 10, 2026
Yen gains after finance minister urges pension funds to invest more at home
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama¡¯s remarks caught markets off guard, leading to a jump in the yen and a drop in bond yields.
Japan's nominal wages rose 3.2% in May from a year earlier, marking a fourth straight month of wage growth of at least 3%.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 7, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ nominal wage rises top 3% again in longest streak since 1992
Employers are showing they are committed to raising pay despite difficulties related to the Middle East conflict that have disrupted supply chains and boosted inflation.
Workers at 5,368 companies affiliated with Rengo have secured an average wage increase of 5.01%, according to the group¡¯s final tally released Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 3, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ 2026 wage talks result in third year of gains above 5%
Workers at 5,368 companies affiliated with Rengo, the country¡¯s largest labor union group, have secured an average wage increase of 5.01%.
Increasing bankruptcies in Japan suggest the smaller firms that employ most of Â鶹´«Ã½ workers are finding it difficult to withstand the yen¡¯s prolonged weakness.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 2, 2026
First-half bankruptcies reach highest level since 2022 as weak yen takes toll
Data suggests smaller firms that employ most of Â鶹´«Ã½ workers are finding it increasingly difficult to withstand the currency¡¯s prolonged weakness.
Atsushi Mimura, Japan's vice finance minister for international affairs, during an interview in Tokyo on Wednesday
BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ forex chief flags contact with U.S. and intervention impact
Mimura¡¯s remarks indicate that he continues to see intervention as a useful tool to stem excessive moves in the currency market.
The government kept its view that the economy is "recovering moderately,¡± signaling its expansion still has room to run.
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2026
Japan nears longest postwar growth even as households struggle
The government kept its view that the economy is ¡°recovering moderately,¡± signaling the expansion still has room to run.
Sales at department stores in Japan climbed strongly from a year earlier, likely helped by robust tourist spending.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 29, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ retail sales rise for third month on wage gains and subsidies
The 1.9% month-on-month advance was led by sales of vehicles, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
Industrial espionage, chip smuggling and drug trafficking are exposing Japan's growing economic security vulnerabilities.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jun 29, 2026
Chinese spies and smuggled drugs fuel Takaichi¡¯s security push
Across a range of industries, Â鶹´«Ã½ economic-security vulnerabilities have been on display in a slew of recent incidents.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in April
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 25, 2026
Japan unveils multiyear framework as part of budget reform
The mechanism is expected to start next fiscal year and will be used to fund measures including investments in economic security and crisis preparedness.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aims to put her stamp on Â鶹´«Ã½ growth strategy as technological change and geopolitical tensions reshape economic priorities.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 24, 2026
Japan unveils $2.3 trillion investment plan for next 14 years
The roadmap marks a key step in Takaichi¡¯s effort to put her stamp on Â鶹´«Ã½ growth strategy as technological change and geopolitical tensions reshape economic priorities.
Japan's core consumer prices, excluding fresh food, in May rose 1.4% from a year earlier, matching the lowest level since 2022.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 19, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ inflation holds steady as subsidies restrain energy
Core consumer prices, excluding fresh food, rose 1.4% year on year in May, in line with economists¡¯ expectations and matching the lowest level since 2022.
Corporate goods prices rose again in May, signaling stronger inflationary pressure across Â鶹´«Ã½ supply chains as the war in Iran keeps energy prices elevated, with input prices up 0.9% from a month earlier, the Bank of Japan said Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 10, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ producer prices jump again on elevated energy costs
The measure of input prices for Japanese firms rose 0.9% in May from a month earlier, and April¡¯s increase was revised higher, the Bank of Japan says.
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 Â鶹´«Ã½ 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.
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.
Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Atsushi Mimura speaks to reporters in Tokyo on May 1 following reports of Japan's possible intervention in the currency market.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 5, 2026
Japan likely sold Treasurys to fund yen intervention
Treasury sales may not go down well in Washington where officials have become increasingly focused on the stability of the U.S. government bond market.
America¡¯s cyberforces grapple with cluster of deaths by suicide
The U.S. Cyber Command building (center) stands on the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital's largest summer o-Bon festivals.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.
Speaking Japanese at the movies with ¡®Chiikawa¡¯
A "Chiikawa The Movie" poster is seen at Toho Cinemas in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.

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

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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