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July 12, 2026
 

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FINANCE MINISTRY

The Moritomo documents, totaling more than 170,000 pages, were voluntarily submitted by the Finance Ministry to prosecutors.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 18, 2025
Japan shows fifth set of Moritomo papers to ex-official’s widow
The Moritomo documents, totaling more than 170,000 pages, were voluntarily submitted by the ministry to prosecutors.
Japan's exports gained 6.1% in November from a year earlier, according to the Finance Ministry, beating economists' forecasts.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 17, 2025
Japan’s exports to U.S. rise for first time since Trump’s April tariffs
A turnaround in shipments to the U.S. helped power the biggest gain in overall exports since February, paving the way for a widely expected interest-rate hike later this week.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama (fourth from left) delivers a greeting at the first ministerial meeting on Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Office to review tax measures, subsidies and funds, in an effort inspired by the U.S. "department of government efficiency."
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 2, 2025
Japan holds first meeting on DOGE-inspired waste cut
The government has established a department of about 30 people in the Cabinet Secretariat to find and eliminate wasteful spending in a DOGE-inspired style.
Japanese firms' capital expenditure on goods excluding software edged down 0.3% from the previous quarter in the three months through September.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 1, 2025
Japanese firms scale back investment as tariff headwinds hit
Capital expenditure on goods excluding software edged down 0.3% from the previous quarter even as corporate profits jumped by the most in two years.
Medical sector organizations including the Japan Medical Association are calling for a drastic fee hike to deal with inflation and wage increases.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 29, 2025
Japan to accelerate talks over revision to medical service fees
According to a health ministry survey, about 60% of general hospitals in the country posted red ink in fiscal 2024.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 28, 2025
Japan to issue more short-term debt to fund Takaichi’s stimulus
The Cabinet has approved a ¥18.3 trillion extra budget to fund the largest round of fresh spending in a stimulus package since the scaling back of pandemic restrictions.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has said that overall new bond issuance for this year will remain below last year’s level, even with the announcement of the largest round of extra spending since the easing of pandemic restrictions.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 26, 2025
Sanae Takaichi seeks to fund stimulus without spooking markets
The prime minister last week unveiled Japan’s largest round of extra spending since the easing of pandemic restrictions.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama (left) and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a meeting in Tokyo on Oct. 27. Katayama seemed dismissive of concerns that the new “Office for Administrative Reform and Promotion of Efficiency” would cause widespread havoc similar to that seen in the United States.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 25, 2025
Japan gets its own bureau of government efficiency, but no Elon Musk in sight
Concerns of DOGE-like chaos were dismissed, with the finance minister stressing the importance of cutting back on wasteful spending.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama speaking on Wednesday. On Friday, she said that intervention on the currency markets is a “possible option.”
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 21, 2025
‘Sell Japan’ trade takes a breather as verbal intervention dialed up slightly
The stimulus package that so worried the market came in within expectations
Japan's exports grew 3.6% to ¥9.76 trillion thanks to an increase in shipments of semiconductors and gas turbines to other Asian countries.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 21, 2025
Japan posts trade deficit for fourth straight month in October
Japan’s exports to the United States declined 3.1% to ¥1.75 trillion, falling for seven months in a row, apparently because of U.S. President Donald Trump’s steep tariffs.
The yen has deepened recent lows against the dollar as the 'sell Japan' trade gains steam ahead of big fiscal stimulus.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 20, 2025
Yen and Japanese bonds continue to retreat as verbal intervention lacking
Ahead of superbig fiscal stimulus, officials choose not to talk up the currency.
The yen has been weak against the U.S. dollar in recent weeks, with some analysts expecting the retreat to continue.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 19, 2025
Yen rout brings talk of ¥160 to the dollar and possible intervention
New administration hit by triple whammy of falling stocks, bonds and currency
Finance minister Satsuki Katayama answers questions from reporters in a group interview on Oct. 24.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 16, 2025
The challenges awaiting Japan’s new finance minister
Satsuki Katayama’s shattering of another glass ceiling last month puts her in charge of selling Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s “responsible and proactive fiscal policy.”
The yen has fallen about 4.5% against the dollar so far this quarter, the most among its Group of 10 peers.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 13, 2025
Japan’s slumping currency intensifies debate over intervention
As the yen slumps toward levels that previously drew authorities into the market, traders are increasingly skeptical that direct intervention will work this time.
The yen-dollar exchange rate is displayed outside a securities firm in Tokyo on Oct. 27. The yen slid about 4% against the dollar in October.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 4, 2025
Goldman and BofA see no immediate intervention risk as yen nears 155
The yen weakened further after BOJ held rates steady last week, with little guidance offered on future hikes.
Executives of six ruling and opposition parties discuss scrapping the add-on levy for gasoline during their meeting in the parliament building on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 2, 2025
Japan sees no stable funding for costly policy plans
Six ruling and opposition parties broadly agreed Friday to scrap the add-on levy for gasoline on Dec. 31 and for gas oil on April 1 next year.
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 29, 2025
U.S. treasury chief Bessent signals support for Bank of Japan independence
The U.S. treasury secretary’s comments come as Abenomics is back in fashion with Japan’s leaders.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama briefs reporters after her first in-person meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday night.
BUSINESS
Oct 27, 2025
U.S. and Japan finance chiefs hold first meet as Nikkei passes 50,000 mark
Bessent also exchanged views with Katayama on the $550 billion investment Japan pledged to the U.S.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama speaks at a news conference in Tokyo last week.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Oct 27, 2025
Japan’s first female finance chief is a veteran on banking policy
Satsuki Katayama joined the Finance Ministry in 1982 and reached a higher position in the influential Budget Bureau than any woman before her.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama is scheduled to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 24, 2025
Katayama talks taxes and debt without saying too much
In comments Friday, Japan’s new finance minister steered clear of controversy and commitments.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
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.

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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