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August 11, 2026
 

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Takashi Umekawa
The lack of movement in the yen following Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama's warning speaks to the diminishing power of verbal intervention if it isn¡¯t backed up with further action.
BUSINESS
Jul 18, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ ¡®decisive action¡¯ threat does little to scare yen bears
The lack of movement in the yen speaks to the diminishing power of verbal intervention if it isn¡¯t backed up with further action.
The parliament building in Tokyo. Close attention to policy wording shows how sensitive the issue of possible government influence on Japan's central bank has become.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 8, 2026
Government tweaks phrasing on BOJ in draft policy plan
The draft of Â鶹´«Ã½ economic and fiscal agenda adds a reference to inflation, calling for appropriate monetary policy that contributes to stable price increases.
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.
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
Â鶹´«Ã½ 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 Â鶹´«Ã½ 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 Â鶹´«Ã½ 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
Â鶹´«Ã½ 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.
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.
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.
How Â鶹´«Ã½ racehorses find second careers away from the track
TCC Therapy Park is supported financially by racing organizations as well as donations from members of the public.
Will Takaichi¡¯s consumption tax cut break the LDP?
Despite months of debate, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi failed to gain consensus within the Liberal Democratic Party on a two-year reduction of the consumption tax.

Podcast

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