China’s humming factories threw a lifeline to an economy struggling with weak demand in the second quarter. That’s given policymakers space to fight deflation — if they choose to do more than just hitting growth targets. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/07/16/economy/china-growth-xi-deflation/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #china #inflation #xijinping #globaleconomy #trade #tariffs
The proportion of people in Japan who think their living conditions are better than a year before has dropped to the lowest level in over 15 years. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/07/16/economy/living-conditions-index-lowest-level-in-15-years/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #boj #japaneseeconomy #surveys #inflation
Bank of Japan officials are likely to consider raising at least one inflation forecast at a policy meeting this month, after food-related prices rose more than expected, people familiar with the matter have said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/07/14/economy/boj-food-price-inflation-outlook/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #boj #japaneseeconomy #inflation #economicindicators #food
The Bank of Japan could face political pressure to keep interest rates low as opposition parties favoring tax cuts and loose monetary policy are expected to gain influence after the July 20 Upper House election. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/07/14/economy/boj-rate-hike-upper-house-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #boj #2025upperhouseelection #shigeruishiba #ldp #consumptiontax #japaneseeconomy #inflation
The labor ministry held an advisory panel meeting on Friday to kick off talks to draw up guidelines for each prefecture to raise its minimum wage for fiscal 2025. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/07/11/minimum-wage-talks/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #wages #jobs #inflation
The Bank of Japan could revise its inflation view upward this month, according to Junko Koeda, one of the central bank's newest board member. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/07/09/economy/new-boj-board-member-price-outlook/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #boj #inflation #rice #tariffs #us #japaneseeconomy #food #junkokoeda #kazuoueda
Real wages in Japan fell 2.9% year on year in May, the fifth straight month of declines and the biggest drop in nearly two years. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/07/07/economy/wage-stats-july/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #wages #japaneseeconomy #jobs #inflation #economicindicators
Japan will release its stockpiled rice for use in processed foods and beverages such as miso, rice crackers, sake and shōchū distilled spirits, starting in August. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/05/japan/stockpile-rice-processed-foods-august/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #shinjirokoizumi #agriculture #rice #food #inflation
For more than half a century, the Japanese government has encouraged rice farmers to grow less of the crop so that prices remain relatively high and stable. Now the country is preparing for a reversal. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/05/japan/rice-production-reversal/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #rice#maff #agriculture #ldp #shigeruishiba #niigata #inflation
Japan’s surprisingly strong inflation is increasing the possibility that the Bank of Japan will raise its interest rate by the end of the year, a former central bank official says. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/07/04/economy/expert-inflation-strong/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #inflation #boj #japaneseeconomy #tsutomuwatanabe #kazuoueda
Around 80% of lower-income families with children in Japan said that their household finances are much worse than last year, a survey by nonprofit group Kidsdoor has shown. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/04/japan/society/struggling-families-in-tougher-situation/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #poverty #surveys #aid #children #inflation
Household spending rose the most since the summer of 2022 amid persistent inflation, helping to support an economy that’s weighed down by U.S. tariffs. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/07/04/economy/may-household-spending-rise/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #inflation #economicindicators #japaneseeconomy #inflation #us #tariffs #internalaffairsministry #tourism #boj
Japan’s annual wage negotiations concluded with the largest pay increase in 34 years, an outcome that supports the central bank’s view that a cycle of higher wages and prices is emerging. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/07/03/companies/japan-2025-wage-hike-biggest-in-34-years/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #companies #wages #japaneseeconomy #inflation#rengo
Large Japanese companies are surprisingly optimistic in the second-quarter "tankan" survey despite U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/07/01/economy/tankan-july-2025/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #boj #tankan #surveys #japaneseeconomy #inflation #carmakers #manufacturing #tariffs #donaldtrump #us
Japan's 195 major food makers are slated to raise the prices of 2,105 products in July, up about fivefold from a year earlier, research company Teikoku Databank said Monday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/06/30/economy/japan-food-prices-rise-july/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #food #inflation #japaneseeconomy #economicindicators #surveys
Any measures to ease inflation in Japan must be speedy and shouldn’t impede the government’s ability to fund social services, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Sunday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/29/japan/politics/easing-japans-inflation/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #shigeruishiba #japaneseeconomy #inflation
Private-sector rice imports to Japan are soaring as domestic rice prices remain high, with May imports up 125 times compared to the average last year. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/28/japan/foreign-rice-imports-up/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #rice #trade #tariffs#maff #shinjirokoizumi #inflation
Apartment rents in Tokyo are rising at the fastest pace in 30 years, in the latest sign for the Bank of Japan that the nation’s inflation trend is spreading deeper through the economy. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/06/26/economy/tokyo-apartment-rents-up/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #housing #realestate #economicindicators #japaneseeconomy #inflation #boj
Bank of Japan board members discussed inflation running at a faster pace than expected while they continued to see the need for vigilance over high uncertainties related to U.S. tariffs. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/06/25/economy/boj-inflation-faster-than-expected/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #boj #inflation #japaneseeconomy
Japanese bento shop bankruptcies could hit a record in 2025 as inflation, weak economic growth and work-at-home arrangements lead to a decline in sales, lower profits and losses. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/06/24/companies/bento-bankruptcies/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #companies #surveys #bankruptcy #bento #japaneseeconomy #economicindicators #rice #inflation