News On Japan

Japan Producer Prices Rise 6.3% to Highest Level in Over Three Years

TOKYO - Japan's corporate goods prices rose 6.3% in May from a year earlier, marking the fastest pace of increase in more than three years as higher oil and petrochemical costs linked to tensions in the Middle East pushed up wholesale prices.

The Bank of Japan said on June 10th that the preliminary Corporate Goods Price Index (CGPI), which measures prices of goods traded between companies, stood at 134.5 in May.

The annual rate of increase accelerated from 5.3% in April, exceeding market expectations and reaching its highest level since March 2023, the strongest growth in three years and two months.

Rising crude oil and naphtha prices, driven by worsening conditions in the Middle East, contributed significantly to the increase. Compared with a year earlier, prices for petroleum and coal products climbed 13.8%, while chemical products rose 13.4%.

The data highlights mounting cost pressures on Japanese businesses as higher energy and raw material prices continue to filter through supply chains.

Source: テレ東BIZ

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Japan’s World Cup campaign ended in the cruelest possible fashion on June 29, as Gabriel Martinelli scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to give Brazil a 2-1 victory over the Samurai Blue in their knockout match in Houston. Japan had led in the first half and were still level at 1-1 in the final moments, but Martinelli’s late strike sent Brazil into the Round of 16 and eliminated Japan from the tournament.

Strong earthquakes have continued to shake parts of Japan in recent weeks, with 11 temblors measuring lower 5 or above on the Japanese seismic intensity scale recorded across the country since April 2026.

A Kintetsu Railway train derailed inside Kyoto Station on the morning of June 29, forcing partial suspensions on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line for the rest of the day and causing long delays that hit commuters, students and tourists.

A section of stone wall at Hikone Castle, one of Japan’s few surviving original Edo-period castles and a National Treasure whose main keep remains intact more than 400 years after its construction, collapsed after heavy rain caused by Typhoons No. 7 and No. 8, Hikone city officials said.

Japan advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup after a 1-1 draw with Sweden on June 25, finishing second in Group F and setting up a Round of 32 clash with Brazil in Houston.

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