| May 17 | Welfare recipients hit another record |
 The number of people on welfare hit another record high of 2,097,401 in February, up 5,499 from the previous month, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Wednesday. (Yomiuri  ) |
| May 16 | BOJ misses JGB buying target for first time |
| The Bank of Japan fell short of its target for buying government bonds on Wednesday for the first time since introducing an asset-buying scheme in 2010, the latest sign it is pumping more cash than markets can swallow. (Reuters) |
| May 15 | Tide turning in Japan deflation fight, BOJ's top economist says |
| The Bank of Japan could reach its 1 percent inflation goal in two years as brighter growth prospects spur prices, the central bank's top economist indicated. (Bloomberg) |
| May 14 | Japanese self-employment hit hardest by the Great Recession |
| Many people have reported that the Great Recession took a toll on self-employment. As bad as this was, the situation was worse in Japan. As the figure below shows, the number of people in business for themselves in that country fell by 7.2 percent during the downturn. (Forbes) |
| May 11 | Current acct surplus hits 15-year low |
| Japan's current account surplus fell below 10 trillion yen for the first time in 15 years in fiscal 2011 that ended in March, its first decrease in three years, the Finance Ministry said Thursday. (Yomiuri) |
| May 10 | Economic index rises for 2nd straight month |
| The composite index of coincident economic indicators for March rose 1.3 points from the previous month, up for the second straight month, the Cabinet Office said Wednesday. (Yomiuri) |
| May 10 | Safer debt soars across world as euro storm builds |
| Political disarray in Greece and fresh fears about Spain's banks have triggered a scramble for the world's lowest-risk government bonds, with investors willing to accept returns of next to nothing in exchange for shelter from the euro zone storm. (Reuters) |
| May 09 | Japan's inclusion makes the Trans-Pacific Partnership a big opportunity |
| Representatives from the United States, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam will meet in Dallas this week to continue negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an ambitious new trade agreement that if done right could reap benefits for the United States. But one big issue confronting negotiating countries is who isn't in the negotiating room yet. (americanprogress.org) |
| May 08 | Large gold seen pointing to nation's weakening clout |
| Japan saw a large outflow of gold in fiscal 2011, which ended in March, prompting analysts to warn of the country's declining economic power. Gold exports jumped 61 percent from the previous year to some 135 tons in the year, according to recent trade data from the Finance Ministry. This was apparently because a surge in prices encouraged individuals to sell their gold items. (Japan Times) |
| May 04 | U.S., Japan debt more worrying that euro zone- IMF |
| U.S. and Japanese debt levels are as bad or worse than in the euro zone, IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard warned in a French newspaper interview on Thursday, saying countries should over time target debt-to-GDP levels of 40 percent or less. (Reuters) |
| May 04 | Bottom line for pension system |
| The incident in which AIJ Investment Advisors Co. lost most of ¥145.8 billion in pension assets through bad investments highlights problems related to the type of corporate pension fund known as kosei nenkin kikin. (Japan Times) |
| May 04 | ASEAN, 3 partners agree to boost Chiang Mai Initiative |
 Finance chiefs from the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their three dialogue partners--Japan, China and South Korea--reached an accord Thursday to boost their emergency dollar swap program to tackle potential ramifications from the European debt crisis, Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said. (Yomiuri ) |
| May 03 | Bank lending growing fast in Tohoku region |
| Bank lending is growing faster in the Tohoku region than in other parts of the country, according to data released by the Bank of Japan. At the end of March, the lending balance in the Tohoku region was 4 percent higher than a year earlier, against the national average increase of 0.9 percent, the central bank said Wednesday. (Yomiuri) |
| May 02 | What is up with the yen and why it may not last |
| The Japanese yen was hands down the best performing G10 currency in April, gaining about 3.3% against the dollar and 4.2% against the euro. It appeared to start the new month on a strong note, with the dollar falling to 2 month lows in early Asia. (Business Insider) |
| Apr 29 | As Japan strains to care for elderly, sacrifices begin |
 The ominous demographics of this aging nation have long been seen by Japanese as a distant concern, not a present-day one. But that mind-set is being called into question by a prime minister who says that a crisis requiring immediate sacrifices has already begun.
(Washington Post) |
| Apr 28 | Japan, ASEAN vow to complete trade 'roadmap' |
 Ministers from Japan and Southeast Asia agreed to complete a "roadmap" in August to double trade in 10 years between the world's third largest economy and the rapidly developing region.
(AFP ) |
| Apr 28 | Putting a number on Japan's happiness |
| Last November, Japan got a visit from the King and Queen of Bhutan, a nation known for its index of gross national happiness, or GNH. Not to be outdone, Japan's Minister of National Strategy, Economic and Fiscal Policy, Motohisa Furukawa, announced soon after that Japan would develop its own GNH index, the results of which might be used to boost another three-letter standard of a country's health - GNP. (Wall Street Journal) |
| Apr 27 | BoJ eases further as Japan's economy stands still |
 Japan's central bank on Friday announced another round of monetary easing in its latest effort to resuscitate the economy after figures revealed a still-weakening fiscal pulse.
The Bank of Japan said it would increase its asset purchase programme by 5 trillion yen ($62 billion) to 70 trillion yen and keep interest rates at their super-low levels between zero and 0.1 percent.
(AFP ) |
| Apr 27 | Japan in talks to buy South Korea debt to diversify reserves |
| Japan is in talks with South Korea about buying its government bonds, senior officials from both countries said, a further sign that Tokyo it is beginning to diversify its reserves away from the dollar after agreeing to buy government debt from China last month. (Reuters) |
| Apr 27 | Japan consumer prices rise as BOJ considers stimulus move |
| Japan's consumer prices rose in March, according to a report released as the central bank decides today on monetary policy. Prices excluding fresh food increased 0.2 percent from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said today in Tokyo. (Bloomberg) |
| Apr 27 | Japan eyes Indian youth and vigor |
| While Japan has a slowing economy and an aging population, India has just the opposite. That's why the number of Japanese companies in India has doubled in the last two years. Japanese businesses looking to expand are faced with problems at home, including a strong Yen, which makes exports expensive, and a weak economy, which means shrinking domestic demand. The result? Many Japanese businesses are looking to grow overseas, with India emerging as a favored destination. (CNN) |
| Apr 25 | Anti-TPP campaign befuddles Washington |
 Japan's agricultural lobby has taken its campaign against a global free trade agreement to the U.S., buying a full-page advertisement in Tuesday's Washington Post opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership. (Wall Street Journal ) |
| Apr 24 | Bank of Japan likely to ease, may buy longer-dated government bonds |
| The Bank of Japan is likely to ease monetary policy on Friday by boosting asset purchases by up to 10 trillion yen ($123 billion) and in doing so may extend the maturity of government bonds it targets to around three years, according to sources familiar with the central bank's thinking. (Reuters) |
| Apr 24 | If Japan is broke, how is it bailing out Europe? |
| If you want to understand Japan, try watching what people do rather than listen to what they say. More even than in other parts of the world there is a difference - and what people do is, of course, a far more useful insight into their true situation. (Forbes) |
| Apr 23 | Japan, Australia remain apart on farm trade liberalization |
| Japan and Australia began Monday in Canberra five-day talks on sealing a bilateral free trade agreement, with differences remaining over liberalizing trade in agricultural products. In the 15th round of the bilateral FTA negotiations launched in April 2007, Tokyo will likely maintain its cautious stance toward opening up the Japanese market to such farm items as beef, wheat, dairy products and sugar. (Mainichi) |
| Apr 23 | Tokyo's trade priorities |
| Achieving full free trade among its members by 2020 remains the stated goal of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) group, but few expect it to materialise due to the non-binding nature of the agreement. (Bangkok Post) |
| Apr 22 | Analysis: Walking fine line, BOJ head warns of risks of easing |
| Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa has been doing his best to keep in check expectations of major new stimulus by the central bank next week. Three times during a week-long tour of the United States, Shirakawa stressed that monetary easing alone cannot beat deflation and that too much stimulus, in the form of quasi-fiscal policy, could have drawbacks. (Reuters) |
| Apr 21 | Japan's IMF pledge makes it no. 1 fund contributor |
 Japan's pledge to lend the International Monetary Fund $60 billion as part of its resource drive makes the Asian country the fund's top contributor, taking the lead from the U.S.
The U.S. was one of the few countries in the Group of 20 largest economies that said it wouldn't contribute any cash to bolster the IMF's lending base. Japan, meanwhile, was one of the first non-European countries to commit money to the IMF.
(Wall Street Journal ) |
| Apr 21 | The Japanese debt crisis (part 2): When does Japan cross the event horizon? |
 The economic consequences of Japan's aging population are just beginning to manifest themselves, and dissaving - the act of spending down your life savings - isn't the only problem that arises. Social and healthcare spending also accelerate, often placing greater and greater burdens on the government. (SeekingAlpha) |
| Apr 20 | Japan 'no longer rich country' by 2050: Think tank |
| Japan could fall out of the league of developed nations by 2050 as a shrinking and greying population as well as slowing productivity make its economy contract, a think tank has warned. (Economic Times) |
| Apr 19 | Japan exports jump, but trade still in red; corp mood dips |
 Japan's exports rose in March from a year earlier for the first time in six months, mainly on the strength of U.S. sales, but high fuel imports pushed the trade balance back into deficit and manufacturers remain cautious about business in months ahead.
(Reuters ) |
| Apr 19 | Poverty a growing problem for women |
| The poverty rate rose to a record 16 percent in 2009 and the number of welfare recipients reached an all-time high of 2.09 million this January, according to the government. But what is even more shocking is the finding a recent study that about 1 in 3 women in Japan aged between 20 and 64 who live alone are living in poverty. (Japan Times) |
| Apr 19 | India overtakes Japan to become third-largest economy in purchasing power parity |
| Its economy may be in the grips of a slowdown, its polity paralysed and markets morose, but all this hasn't prevented India from overtaking Japan to become the world's third-largest economy in purchasing power terms. (India Times) |
| Apr 18 | Bank of Japan deputy signals further easing as rate review nears |
| The Bank of Japan is ready to ease monetary policy further if necessary to help the economy recover and escape deflation, a deputy governor said on Wednesday, giving the strongest signal yet for additional stimulus since its surprise February action. (Reuters) |
| Apr 18 | IMF boosts Japan's growth estimate |
 The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday raised its growth estimate for Japan and the world economy this year and in 2013, due partly to eased risks in the eurozone, while prodding Japan and the United States to take additional monetary easing steps to support growth.
In its semiannual World Economic Outlook report, the IMF projected the Japanese economy will grow 2.0 percent this year in terms of inflation-adjusted gross domestic product, up 0.4 percentage point from its January estimate.
(Japan Times ) |
| Apr 18 | Japan poised for era of sustainable inflation, Nomura say |
| Japan is poised to exit more than a decade of deflation as a strengthening yuan bolsters China's buying power, fueling Japanese production and buoying prices, according to Nomura Holdings Inc. (8604) Demand from China will propel continuous gains in Japanese consumer prices next year as companies ramp up production with factories now running at about three quarters of capacity, Takahide Kiuchi, Nomura's chief economist, said in an interview on April 13. (Bloomberg) |
| Apr 17 | Japan says to provide $60 billion in loans to IMF |
| Finance Minister Jun Azumi said on Tuesday that Japan would provide $60 billion in loans to the IMF amid renewed concerns about Europe's debt woes, a move that it hopes will encourage other countries to contribute resources. Group of 20 finance leaders major economies will meet this week in Washington to discuss a plan to raise new resources for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to contain the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis. (Reuters) |
| Apr 17 | BOJ chief watching risk of bank system impact from Europe |
 Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said on Monday he was continuing to monitor the risk that Europe's debt woes could affect Japan's banking system, just as renewed fears about the euro zone spooked financial markets.
"Japan's financial system has maintained stability as a whole, but close watch is still needed on risk factors such as a spillover from Europe's situation," Shirakawa said at a gathering of trust banks.
(Japan Today ) |
| Apr 17 | 'Made in Japan' engineers find second life in China |
| Their technical skills helped Japan's corporate giants sweep all before them in the 1980s, and now thousands of ageing Japanese engineers are finding a new lease of life in booming China. "My profession is going out of business in Japan," said 59-year-old Masayuki Aida, who made moulds for a Tokyo-based firm for 30 years but has spent most of his 50s in Dongguan, a gritty manufacturing hub in southern China's Pearl River Delta. (Reuters) |
| Apr 17 | Japan has not suffered from 'crushing' deflation |
| A NYT article that reported on the declining importance of manufacturing to Japan's economy at one point referred to: "the crushing deflation that has burdened Japan's domestic economy for nearly two decades." Actually, Japan has experienced modest inflation rather than deflation for most of the last two decades. Even when prices did fall, the rate of decline has been slow, exceeding 1.0 percent only in 2009, in the wake of the world financial crisis. (businessinsider.com) |
| Apr 16 | Japan's neglected infrastructure needs fix |
| Japan's aging roads, bridges and other public infrastructure are in need of a huge rebuilding effort after years of neglect, according to the Nikkei newspaper editorial on Monday, which warning of a "slow disaster" in the making after public funds during the past two decades were channeled into trophy projects -- sometimes derided in western media as bridges to nowhere - often with little regard for their use or viability. (MarketWatch) |
| Apr 16 | Trade deficit a reminder Japan needs to brace for economy's fifth stage |
| Japan's ¥2.49 trillion trade deficit in 2011 - its first in 31 years - tells you where the economy's development stands in relation to the balance of trade. Let's review how the trade balance has fluctuated in each stage of the nation's postwar development and look at some of the challenges ahead. (Japan Times) |
| Apr 14 | Deflation isn't always so bad -- just ask Japan |
| Milton Friedman would be aghast at economist Nicholas Smith's take on Japan's deflation. The Nobel laureate is probably best known for his argument that inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon. When too much money chases too few goods, prices surge. Japan, of course, is beset with the flipside of this dynamic. Too little cash chasing too many goods is thought to be at the root of an economic funk that's now entering a third decade. (Bloomberg) |
| Apr 14 | Japan tops China in 2011 foreign direct investment |
| Japan's foreign direct investment in 2011 more than doubled from the previous year to 115.6 billion dollars, surpassing China, according to a report by the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development released Thursday. Japan was the second-largest provider of outward foreign direct investment behind the United States. This came after the nation plunged to seventh place in 2010, falling behind China for the first time, which rose to fifth place with a 20.3 percent year-on-year increase. (Yomiuri) |
| Apr 13 | Japa determined to match China in IMF deal |
| Japan is determined to match China in its contribution to the International Monetary Fund's efforts to combat the European debt crisis, in another sign of Asia's two largest economies vying for influence on the global stage Japanese officials have not made clear Tokyo's funding commitment, mindful of U.S. calls against being too generous toward Europe. But officials from the Group of 20 leading industrial and developing nations have said Japan is well-prepared to pitch in, and will decide on an amount once China sets its own. (MarketWatch) |
| Apr 13 | Japan govt vows renewed drive to beat deflation |
| Japan's government vowed on Friday to do whatever is needed to overcome deflation, signalling a renewed drive for structural reforms and deregulation to boost the economy rather than relying primarily on aggressive monetary easing by the central bank. Economics Minister Motohisa Furukawa, speaking after the inaugural meeting of a ministerial panel tasked with devising long-term solutions to deflation, told reporters the government will do whatever it takes to pull Japan out of deflation as soon as possible. (Reuters) |
| Apr 13 | Japan's use of oil may surge by 300,000 barrels a day |
| Japanese utilities will use 300,000 more barrels of oil a day in 2012 than before last year's nuclear crisis unless it restores some of its atomic reactors, according to the International Energy Agency. Japan will also need an additional 23 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas to meet demand if utilities can't access idled reactors, the IEA said today in a report. (Bloomberg) |
| Apr 13 | WTO says global exports expected to slow further in 2012 due to series of economic shocks |
| Europe's sovereign debt crisis and the aftershocks of events such as the Japan earthquake and Arab Spring are expected to slow the growth in global exports to just 3.7 percent in 2012, the World Trade Organization said Thursday. That comes after a slowdown to 5 percent in 2011 and 13.8 percent in 2010, the global trade body said in its annual report. (Washington Post) |
| Apr 12 | Japan govt: economy picking up, exports better |
| Japan's government stuck to its assessment that the economy is slowly recovering on Thursday but raised its view on exports, saying overseas shipments are showing signs of stabilising on a moderate pickup in the United States and some return in Asian demand. It said in a monthly report that the pace of decline in consumer prices has eased but Japan remains in mild deflation, a slight change from the previous report when it just said the economy was in mild deflation. (Reuters) |
| Apr 11 | Japan machinery orders show surprise rise as capex recovers |
 Japan's core machinery orders
unexpectedly rose in February in a sign that capital expenditure
is likely to steadily increase as the country rebuilds its
earthquake-battered northeast coast. Core machinery orders, which help gauge the strength of
capital spending, rose 4.8 percent in February from the previous
month, beating the median forecast for a 0.8 percent decline. (Reuters ) |