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July 03, 2026
 

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BOJ

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
Japan’s 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%.
Products at the Oshikatsu Expo in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Jul 3, 2026
Inside Japan’s $25 billion consumer market built on fan devotion
From collecting Hello Kitty goods to manga figurines, what was once considered a niche hobby has evolved into a fan-merchandising economy estimated to be worth ¥4.1 trillion.
Japanese companies issued ¥1 trillion ($6.2 billion) worth of convertible bonds in the first half, the highest amount since 2004, as rising interest rates boosted demand for cheaper financing.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 3, 2026
Japan’s convertible bonds regain favor as rates continue to rise
Japanese companies issued ¥1 trillion ($6.2 billion) worth of convertible bonds in the first half, the highest amount since 2004.
Until recently, economists generally saw the Bank of Japan hiking rates about every six months, but now markets are pricing in a solid chance that another increase could come by October.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 2, 2026
Sinking yen and robust economy support BOJ case for earlier rate hike
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has indicated her preference for monetary easing, helping push the yen to its weakest level against the dollar since 1986.
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 — albeit an extreme one — for some investors.
Japan spent ¥11.7 trillion ($73 billion) between late April and late May to prop up the weak yen.
BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2026
Why is the yen so weak and what can Japan do about it?
The yen has tumbled past a 40-year low against the U.S. dollar, prompting the Japanese government to vow “appropriate action at any time.”
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Confidence among large manufacturers rose to the highest level since 2018, supporting the BOJ’s stance to keep raising interest rates.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 1, 2026
Japan’s manufacturer mood improves to highest level since 2018
Inflation expectations climbed, supporting the Bank of Japan’s stance to keep raising interest rates.
Ayano Sato in Tokyo on Tuesday
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2026
Takaichi’s new BOJ board pick signals tame view on inflation
Ayano Sato begins her five-year term just two weeks after the BOJ raised its benchmark interest rate to the highest level in 31 years.
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.
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 30, 2026
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
The market remains skeptical about the effectiveness of government efforts to prop up the yen, and pressure on the currency has been steady.
The yen has been trading well within intervention territory for about a week.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 26, 2026
Yen’s decline makes perfect sense to some analysts
They have started to wonder whether there is really much at all holding the currency up.
The consumer price index excluding fresh food for the Tokyo area, considered a leading indicator for nationwide price trends, rose 1.6% in June from a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 26, 2026
Tokyo inflation picks up, keeping BOJ on track for further hike
The consumer price index excluding fresh food rose 1.6% in June from a year earlier in Japan’s capital.
A draft of the government's economic blueprint urges the Bank of Japan to align its decisions with Prime Minister Sanae ​Takaichi's drive to reflate growth.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 25, 2026
Japan’s government blueprint nudges BOJ to fuel demand, clouding rates path
The draft urges the Bank of Japan to align its decisions with Prime Minister Sanae ​Takaichi’s drive to reflate growth.
Bank of Japan board member Naoki Tamura is a widely known hawk on the board who frequently calls for interest rates to be raised to a more normal setting.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 25, 2026
Rate hikes needed every few months, hawkish BOJ board member says
While the remarks suggest another rate hike may come earlier than BOJ watchers expect, they also show there is some caution around raising rates again in July.
New U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh holds a news conference after a Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington on June 17.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2026
Warsh Fed era heralds a new trial for Asian currencies
The Warsh era has arrived. In his first news conference, the chair described it as a new chapter for the Fed. Asia needs to read in quickly.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 24, 2026
BOJ summary affirms rate hike stance as inflation risks mount
The summary came out as the yen remained close to the weakest level since 1986 against the dollar amid growing bets on the Federal Reserve raising rates this year.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama attends a budget committee session in April.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 23, 2026
Katayama-Bessent call pulls yen back as it approaches four-decade low
The currency strengthened so fast that some traders suspected that intervention was underway.
The yen is near 39-year lows again and has been trading above ¥160 to the dollar for about a week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 22, 2026
Yen continues to test fresh lows as Nikkei 225 hits new highs
Verbal intervention in the currency market has been more tempered than in the past.
Toichiro Asada disagreed with his peers on the biggest risks facing the economy as he voted against the Bank of Japan’s most recent interest rate hike.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 22, 2026
Dissent by Takaichi’s BOJ pick hints at case for faster hikes
Toichiro Asada, the first policy board member appointed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, left little doubt about his commitment to monetary stimulus.
The yen traded above the ¥161-to-the-dollar mark all day Friday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 19, 2026
Yen nears four-decade low, and Katayama issues warning
The finance minister’s comments were not as strong as those made in April before intervention.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

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