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July 08, 2026
 

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INFLATION

A stock index board in the Lujiazui financial district of Shanghai. The oil shock and the AI boom have revived inflationary pressures among factories in the world’s second-biggest economy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 10, 2026
China’s inflation split widens as AI and war stir up factory prices
Years of weak demand and excessive supply have contributed to bruising competition among Chinese industrial firms that’s keeping a lid on consumer prices.
Corporate goods prices rose again in May, signaling stronger inflationary pressure across Japan’s 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
Japan’s 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 Japan’s 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.
Former Bank of Japan Gov. Hideo Hayakawa
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 9, 2026
BOJ may raise rate in June and October, former official says
The BOJ is widely expected to raise its benchmark interest rate a quarter percentage point, in what would be the first adjustment since December.
Daiwa Real Estate Asset Management is raising rents for office space and apartments to offset higher interest rates.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 9, 2026
Daiwa Real estate unit aims to raise rents to fight higher rates
The company has also started expanding its team of rent negotiators to help improve the terms of lease agreements for properties in Daiwa’s real estate portfolio.
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.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers a question during a House of Representatives budget committee session in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 5, 2026
Takaichi still highly popular despite slide in approval ratings
The lower ratings in two of three recent media polls come amid concerns over rising prices and the availability of crude oil-derived naphtha due to the Middle East conflict.
The won fell on Wednesday and was a whisker away from 1,536.95 per dollar, the lowest level since 2009.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 4, 2026
South Korea pledges action to curb volatility as won nears 2009 low
South Korea joins authorities in Indonesia and the Philippines in stepping up measures to defend currencies as elevated oil prices hurt the region’s importers.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at a Lower House plenary session in Tokyo on Wednesday. Takaichi has described the supplementary budget as being designed to “minimize risks” from the increasingly uncertain situation in the Middle East.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 4, 2026
Lower House passes ¥3.11 trillion extra budget to ease Mideast war impacts
The budget will create a new reserve fund to respond to developments in the conflict while aiding impacted energy users and replenishing the existing reserve fund.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a party leaders' debate at the Lower House of parliament in Tokyo on May 20. A pledge to cut the consumption tax on food products is quickly becoming a policy headache for the prime minister.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 4, 2026
Consumption tax cut is quickly turning into a headache for Takaichi
Translating the pledge from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration into policy has proven more complicated than many lawmakers anticipated.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda’s remarks Wednesday at a forum in Tokyo indicate there is a good chance of a rate hike this month.
BUSINESS
Jun 3, 2026
Ueda says BOJ needs to keep raising rates to contain inflation
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda’s remarks Wednesday at a forum in Tokyo indicate there’s a good chance of a rate hike this month.
The Iran war highlights how geopolitical instability can become politically useful, allowing leaders to consolidate support and exert pressure on rivals even as ordinary citizens pay the human and economic price.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2026
The politics of chaos in the Iran conflict
As long as chaos remains politically and economically rewarding, such conflicts will remain difficult to contain.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Cabinet has endorsed a ¥3.1 trillion extra budget to fund measures meant to cushion households from inflation tied to Middle East turbulence.
BUSINESS
Jun 3, 2026
Japan unveils ¥3.1 trillion extra budget to cushion Mideast impact
While the government has yet to specify the usage of that fund, it is expected to be used initially to cap costs for gasoline.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Tokyo last month.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2026
Takaichi administration considering 1% tax on food from next April
A tax cut to 1% would require less time to update cash register systems and could be implemented sooner than her campaign pledge of zero percent.
Yen underperformed all its Group-of-10 peers in May despite record spending by Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 1, 2026
Yen defies record intervention as wait for BOJ hike raises risks
The currency underperformed all its Group-of-10 peers in May despite record spending by Japan, putting it in danger of weakening to 160 against the dollar before June 16.
Capital expenditure excluding software fell 3.5% from the previous quarter in the three months through March, according to the Finance Ministry.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 1, 2026
Japan’s firms cut spending over Iran stress despite record profits
Capital expenditure excluding software fell 3.5% from the previous quarter in the three months through March, the Finance Ministry reported Monday.
Some manufacturers are passing on increased costs for packaging materials and energy to consumers amid the uncertain situation in the Middle East.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 29, 2026
Prices for over 1,000 food items in Japan set to rise in June
Seasoning accounted for the largest share of products set to see higher prices, followed by processed food.
The Bank of Japan will probably increase its benchmark rate next month, according to Makoto Sakurai, who served on the central bank's board from 2016 to 2021.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 29, 2026
BOJ will probably raise rates in June, former board member says
The central bank’s policy will fall into a state of being behind otherwise, says Makoto Sakurai, who served on its board from 2016 to 2021.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has priced a ¥300 billion ($1.9 billion) dual-tranche Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bond deal, adding to a growing pipeline that underwriters estimate could push Japanese bank issuance of the special bond to a record high this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 29, 2026
Japanese banks see hybrid bond boom to fund regulatory capital
The issuance of Additional Tier 1 bonds, which are considered among the riskiest forms of bank debt, could rise to a record high in Japan this year.
The Bank of Japan's headquarters in Tokyo. Tokyo inflation cooled to its slowest pace in nearly two years in May, but BOJ policymakers are wary of prices picking up due to the war in Iran.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 29, 2026
Tokyo inflation slowdown unlikely to derail BOJ rate hike
The consumer price index excluding fresh food rose 1.3% in May from a year earlier in the capital.
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Prior to launch, Japan ‘strongly urged’ China to reconsider missile test in Pacific
A missile is fired from a Chinese Navy nuclear-powered submarine on Monday.
Suspected Asian fraud ring exec served fresh warrant in Japan
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Osaka Prefectural Police have issued arrest warrants for three people, including a suspected fraud network leader, over alleged immigration and residency violations.
Japan might be giving the currency market the silent treatment
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama has issued verbal warnings recently using the same language and the same tone, saying authorities “will take appropriate action at any time, as necessary.”
Japanese teen arrested for booting users off streaming service
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a 15-year-old boy for allegedly creating a malicious program and canceling subscription accounts on the Bandai Channel.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
‘Defense,’ not ‘warfare,’ stressed as pacifist Japan beefs up capabilities
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 7.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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