"Gunpla," as fans of Gundam plastic models call them, are growing in popularity overseas.
Trade

From steel to Gundam: Japan's changing exports

Forget TVs and steel, today's mix includes high-quality lipstick, rice and figurines

27 May 2022
Coffeeshops in China are having to raise prices as the country depends on imported beans. 
Currencies

Slumping yuan a new strain for Chinese consumers and airlines

Exporters' bottom lines set to benefit from weakened currency

26 May 2022
By calling inflation "transitory" last month, Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda, left, sounded like his opposite at the U.S. Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, last year. (Source photos by Tomoki Mera and Reuters) 
Market Spotlight

How 'transitory' is Japanese inflation?

From flour to fridges: Price pressures loom, but BOJ and experts say they won't last

16 May 2022
Thailand lost nearly all of its tourist traffic from before the pandemic.
Currencies

Thai baht hits 5-year low as China curbs foreign travel

Beijing's COVID clampdown dims recovery outlook for Thailand's tourism industry

14 May 2022
China's yuan has fallen sharply during its sudden economic slowdown caused by zero-COVID lockdowns and U.S. rate hikes.
Currencies

Chinese yuan on slippery slope as signs of rate cut emerge

Monetary policy torn between bolstering economy and preventing capital flight

11 May 2022
Electric vehicles, like this one from Nissan Motor, are said to contain 10,000 capacitors each. TDK will expand production of the component. (Photo by Yohei Muramatsu)
Electronics

TDK to build $380m EV component factory in Japan

Shift to onshore production prompted by supply chain woes and weak yen

10 May 2022
A volatile exchange rate is just one uncertainty Japanese automakers will likely have to contend with in the year ahead. (Source photos by Koji Uema and Yasuaki Sako)
Automobiles

Extreme uncertainty: What the year holds for Toyota, Nissan and Honda

Japan's automakers face volatile yen, soaring costs and more supply chain woes

8 May 2022
Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda looks to prevent rampant speculation every time the bank engages in fixed-rate bond-buying operations.
Comment

Can the Bank of Japan win the battle to keep interest rates low?

Central bank betting high resource prices, not low yen, mostly causing inflation

3 May 2022
The rapid weakening of the Japanese currency has weighed on domestic households. (Photo by Koji Uema)
Economy

Weak yen and oil rally to cost Japanese families $460 this year

Offshoring has diminished the benefit of currency's decline for manufacturers

29 April 2022
Japan's central bank maintained an ultraloose monetary policy at its latest meeting despite a falling yen. (Photo by Karina Noka)
Finance

Reluctant BOJ likely to change forward guidance this year: survey

Small adjustment seen as easiest step after bank holds the line on easing, analysts say

29 April 2022
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, left, barely acknowledged concern over the weakening yen expressed by Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki during a G-7 meeting on April 21.
Comment

Halting yen slide is Japan's problem in chaotic global economy

World puzzled about Tokyo fretting over issue of its own making

28 April 2022
Yen and dollar notes: An attractive and developed economy earns a strong currency.
Opinion

Global indifference to plunging yen should alarm Tokyo

Weak currency says more than you think about Japan's economic plight

27 April 2022
A supermarket in Tokyo. As a number of factors conspire to push Japan's consumer prices higher, wage hikes have been slow.
Economy

Japan inflation accelerates on rising material and energy costs

CPI hits 0.8% in March, but 2.2% when impact of cut in mobile fees excluded

22 April 2022
Myanmar began requiring this month that all foreign currency entering the country be converted to kyat.
Currencies

Myanmar exempts foreign investments from currency conversion rule

Diplomats and U.N. agencies also on exemption list

22 April 2022
The yen has slumped against a broad range of currencies. (Photo by Takuya Ikeda)
Currencies

As yen slides, Japan clings to near-zero interest rates

BOJ's latest defense of ultraloose policy puts it further behind inflation-fighting curve

21 April 2022
The yen weakened past 129 against the U.S. dollar during early morning trading on April 20. (Photo by Suzu Takahashi)
Currencies

Yen falls to 129 per dollar as BOJ warning remains powerless

Japan-U.S. yield gap widens, promoting sell-off

20 April 2022
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has cited steep price increases for imports as a main cause of accelerating inflation while noting that "exchange rates have had an impact."
Currencies

Weak yen vexes Team Kishida as inflation looms over election

Currency barely budges from 20-year low after comments from BOJ's Kuroda

19 April 2022
The Japanese yen hits a fresh 20-year low against the U.S. dollar. 
Currencies

Sinking yen can be 'bad' for Japan, finance chief says in rare remark

But Tokyo lacks effective ways to reverse currency's decline

16 April 2022
The yen touched a nearly 20-year low in Tokyo trading on April 13.
Currencies

Yen could tumble to 130 against dollar by year-end: analyst poll

Rising resource prices set to worsen Japan's trade deficit

15 April 2022
People walk past the Russia Central Bank headquarters in Moscow.
Currencies

Russia boosted yuan holdings over dollar just before invasion

Shift in foreign currency reserves made to minimize fallout from sanctions

14 April 2022
The Japanese currency was trading at more than 126 yen to the dollar on April 13, its weakest level in two decades.
Markets

Yen falls to 20-year low on rising U.S. Treasury yields

Japanese currency hits weakest level against dollar since May 2002

13 April 2022
BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda won plaudits 20 years ago for his criticism of China's cheap yuan policy, but his fight to end Japan's deflation has been less successful.
Comment

BOJ Gov. Kuroda's 20-year fight to end deflation grinds on

Weak yen, U.S. pressure leave Japan central bank chief on his own

11 April 2022
The kyat has weakened since Myanmar's military took control of the government in February 2021.
Currencies

Myanmar's forced currency conversions seen making few exceptions

Companies fear disruptions to payments for imports and exports

7 April 2022
The Japanese currency slid past 125 yen per dollar at one point, the weakest level since August 2015.
Currencies

Yen second only to ruble as worst-performing major currency

Japan's dependence on imported energy and food creates structural weakness

6 April 2022
The yen fell to a seven-year low on March 28, ten days after the Bank of Japan's governor predicted that no big decline was likely. (Source photos by Kosuke Imamura and Jiji) 
Market Spotlight

Yen slide breeds uncertainty over BOJ yield cap policy

Costs of ultraloose monetary policy are being counted by Japanese consumers

4 April 2022