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August 13, 2026
 

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Ruth Carson
Traders see little long-term relief from the Japanese government¡¯s repeated warnings that it will take bold action to stem the yen's decline.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 2, 2026
Traders plot worst-case scenario for yen if currency crisis hits
The yen sliding to a once-unthinkable ?200 to the dollar level is now a risk ¡ª albeit an extreme one ¡ª for some investors.
Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management warned that the Bank of Japan may need a larger or unscheduled rate hike, saying an expected increase this month may not be enough to halt the yen¡¯s slide and weakness in government bonds.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 5, 2026
Mitsubishi UFJ says Japan may need jumbo rate hike to boost yen
Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management said a larger or out-of-cycle Bank of Japan rate hike can¡¯t be ruled out, warning that an expected increase this month may not be enough to prevent further declines in the yen and Japanese government bonds.
Pacific Investment Management has bullish positions on Japan's 30-year sovereign bonds while taking bearish bets on the 10-year note on expectation that the gap between the two will narrow.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 20, 2026
Pimco favors Â鶹´«Ã½ 30-year bonds, says yield curve ¡®too steep¡¯
Â鶹´«Ã½ yield curve is the steepest in developed markets, reflecting investor concerns that the Bank of Japan has been too slow to raise interest rates.
An electronic screen displays the yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar, euro and other foreign currencies in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 16, 2026
Curious yen spikes have traders gaming Japan ¡®warning shots¡¯
Investors and strategists are debating whether Japanese authorities are trying to stem further weakness in the yen through smaller operations.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama speaks during a news conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 6, 2026
Yen rallies to build on gains spurred by recent intervention
Â鶹´«Ã½ currency rose as much as 1.8% to ?155.04 per dollar in Asia trading, its strongest level since Feb. 24, before paring the move to trade around ?156.37.
A Finance Ministry official cited an International Monetary Fund rule on Monday noting that three days of intervention count as a single market operation.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 5, 2026
Japan can intervene twice more before November under IMF rules, official notes
The comments came after the yen surged last Thursday following reported intervention by the authorities, and also saw a number of intraday rallies during days that followed.
Traders view the time-saving benefits of AI as increasingly essential for navigating markets whipsawed by a war that has upended energy supplies and left at least 4,000 dead.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 21, 2026
Traders overwhelmed by Iran news are turning to AI for help
Many say the time-saving benefits of AI are essential for navigating markets whipsawed by a war that has upended energy supplies and left at least 4,000 dead.
The yen climbed in early Monday trading, as investors are on heightened alert regarding intervention by the Japanese government, possibly with U.S. assistance.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 26, 2026
Yen extends gains as dollar pressure mounts
Attention is turning to Japan once again after a sharp rise in the country¡¯s bond yields unsettled global fixed-income markets last week.
The Bank of Japan still owns more than 50% of outstanding Japanese government bonds even as foreign investors storm into the market.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 9, 2025
Foreign traders seize on Japan bonds, sparking era of volatility
Overseas investors now account for roughly 65% of monthly cash JGB transactions, up from 12% in 2009.
The skyline of the City of London. Japanese investors bought the largest amount of U.K. sovereign bonds in over four years in October.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 8, 2025
Japanese purchases of U.K. gilts at highest since 2021 in October
They purchased a net ?418.6 billion of U.K. debt in October, the most since January 2021, Â鶹´«Ã½ latest balance-of-payments data has shown.
An employee counts Turkish lira banknotes at a currency exchange bureau in Istanbul. The lira has for years been one of the world¡¯s most volatile currencies, but offers carry traders interest rates that are hard to beat.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 20, 2025
Japan traders¡¯ fondness for Turkish lira prompts fears of intervention losses
The lira is one of the world¡¯s most volatile currencies and Tokyo is increasingly uneasy with the weakness of the yen, leaving day traders exposed on all sides.
For decades, investors have turned to the yen during market shocks, but that instinct is now under strain.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 9, 2025
Yen¡¯s haven status undercut by gold surge and BOJ rate-hike doubts
For decades, investors have turned to the yen during market shocks, from financial crises to geopolitical blowups.
A screen displays Japan's 10-year government bonds and the rate of the yen against the dollar outside a securities firm in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 6, 2025
Goldman sees Japan bond ¡®shocks¡¯ spilling over to Treasurys
Global bonds feel the ripple from Tokyo as investors react to Sanae Takaichi¡¯s election win and looming fiscal stimulus.
Pacific Investment Management says Japan has become a key destination for global investors as a trade war prompts a reevaluation of capital flows into the U.S.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 11, 2025
Pimco sees Japan wooing capital as tariffs spur diversification
Japan is drawing inflows that seek to benefit from ¡°once-in-a-generation structural reforms¡± in equities and rising rates in fixed income, said the co-head of Pimco in Japan.
"It does exist as a card,¡± said Kato, speaking on a TV Tokyo program Friday, when asked if Â鶹´«Ã½ stance of not selling U.S. Treasury holdings could be a negotiation tool.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 2, 2025
Â鶹´«Ã½ 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.
Yields on Japanese government bonds have climbed to the highest since 2006 as traders expect the Bank of Japan to keep hiking interest rates this year while peers from the U.S. to Australia ease monetary policy.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 18, 2025
Pimco takes profit on Japan bond trade as interest rates rise
The American investment management firm has turned ¡°overall neutral¡± on Japanese government bonds.
In the run-up to the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, the yen is again the top performer during periods of extreme market stress, analysts say.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 29, 2024
Embattled yen still popular haven amid U.S. election uncertainty
Â鶹´«Ã½ record ?3.02 trillion current-account surplus, deep yen liquidity and relatively low inflation help make the yen attractive as a store of value.
Speculative investors flipped to a net long position on the yen just before Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the nation wasn¡¯t ready for further interest rate hikes, data shows.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 8, 2024
Hedge funds warming to yen caught out by biggest drop in 15 years
Many bought the yen just before cautious comments by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on rate hikes and strong U.S. nonfarm payrolls data.
Then yen strengthened on Monday beyond ?140 per dollar ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting this week that is widely expected to see officials cut interest rates.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 16, 2024
Yen strengthens beyond ?140 per dollar for first time since 2023
The currency appreciated as much as 0.6% versus the dollar to ?139.96 on Monday, its strongest level since July last year.
U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 26, 2024
Powell¡¯s pivot leaves traders debating size and path of rate cuts
Bond traders are now focusing in on bets over the size of the first U.S. interest rate reduction and the future path of easing.
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
¡®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.
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
Potential health care workers hoping to find work in Japan take Japanese language instruction in Jakarta. Not all applicants for permanent residency should be expected to reach this level of proficiency.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®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.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
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.

Podcast

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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