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December 08, 2024
 

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Daniel Moss
South Korea¡¯s currency recovered while its stocks fell Wednesday as investors braced for prolonged political uncertainties following a brief decree of martial law by President?Yoon Suk Yeol.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2024
Capitalism is the unsung hero of South Korean democracy
Capitalism, with its economic pressures and global integration, has been crucial in fostering democracy in South Korea.
Beijing¡¯s long-standing line has been a commitment to keep the yuan "basically stable.¡± But U.S. President-elect Donald Trump¡¯s return ¡ª and his threat of tariffs ¡ª may test that.
COMMENTARY
Nov 27, 2024
China will send a weaker yuan to the Trump front
Beijing¡¯s long-standing line has been a commitment to keep the yuan "basically stable.¡± But Trump¡¯s return with his tariff threats may test that.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda can point to Washington all he wants, but his inability to settle on a consistent message is part of what ails his nation's currency.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 18, 2024
The yen pays the price for a timid Bank of Japan
Ueda can point to Washington all he wants, but his inability to settle on a consistent message is part of what ails his nation's currency.
While China's recent initiatives signal a willingness to address economic challenges, the road ahead remains difficult as the country's policymakers have yet to offer a clear road to success.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 3, 2024
A stimulus is good, but China still faces a hard slog
Beijing is back in investors' good books. To justify the euphoria, it needs some meaty goals.
Looming interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and a new hawkishness on the part of the Bank of Japan can make a claim for the yens recent movements.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 13, 2024
Epic yen rally is a lesson in the lost art of FX intervention
Japan's own proactive currency interventions have played a crucial role in the yen's recent recovery.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda "predictably unpredictable" actions and policy shifts highlight the need for improved communication, reflecting modern central banking practices.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 28, 2024
How long can the BOJ get away with rate shocks?
The BOJ¡¯s shifting policies and Kazuo Ueda¡¯s unpredictable approach reflect the need for better alignment with modern central banking practices.
The yen¡¯s depreciation is largely down to the gap in interest rates between the U.S. and Japan. Therefore, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is, to all intents and purposes, ¡°Mr. Yen.¡±
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 1, 2024
There¡¯s a new 'Mr. Yen' in town
No matter what the Bank of Japan or the Finance Ministry do, ultimate control over the yen's value lies in the hands of U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Monitors show the rate of the yen against the U.S. dollar at a foreign exchange brokerage in Tokyo on Monday. Traders are falling out of step with the Bank of Japan, expecting hawkish steps that are instead met with a cautious approach.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 24, 2024
Traders are out of step with the BOJ¡¯s Ueda
Time and time again, traders predict that the Bank of Japan will take bold next steps, but these rarely come. That's because Gov. Ueda is, most of all, cautious.
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda has talked about the potential need for a monetary policy response given foreign exchange rates¡¯ impact on the economy. Last month, the yen touched its weakest level in 34 years, ?160 per dollar, before rebounding.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 20, 2024
BOJ Gov. Ueda finally toughens message on the weak yen
Though most of the factors behind the flailing currency lie outside of Japan, the central bank and Finance Ministry have some agency in determining events. They should use it.
Soldiers and police stand guard outside a South Korean Army boot camp in Yeoncheon county before the arrival of K-pop's BTS band member Jin, in December 2022. South Korea's economic success is often overshadowed by its cultural exports.
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2024
A surprise South Korean boom is going unnoticed
Despite its robust economic performance, South Korea often takes a backseat to neighboring giants like Japan and China.
The root cause of yen weakness lies in the U.S., not Japan, with the currency falling to its weakest since around 1990.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 1, 2024
Japan should leave its currency bazooka at home
The root cause of yen weakness lies in the U.S., not Japan. That makes the latter's options very limited.
Ideal or not, the reality of the world is that one currency, the U.S. dollar, is first among equals.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2024
Asian currencies can't fight the dollar on a rampage
Markets tend to reflect economic performance. And ideal or not, the reality of a world is one currency, the U.S. dollar, is truly first among equals.
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda takes questions during a news conference.?The bank's monetary policy overhaul announced last week was known by some Japanese media before it was made public.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 25, 2024
The BOJ has sprung a leak. Japan must investigate.
The bank's policy of disclosing information selectively to certain media is harmful and needs to be looked into, as slip-ups in other countries show.
The Bank of Japan's recent decision to abandon negative interest rates is seen more as a symbolic shift.
COMMENTARY
Mar 21, 2024
BOJ finally ditches negative rates, but this is no liftoff
It's the end of an era for the Bank of Japan as negative interest rates are phased out.
Customers make a toast at an eatery in Tokyo. Many view ÐÇ¿ÕÎÞÏÞ´«Ã½ economy as being on the rise, and that of regional powerhouse China as declining. But how accurate is this narrative?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2024
Japan is back, China is over. The trouble with narratives.
The idea that Japan and China's roles have flipped, with the former on the rise and the latter in decline, obfuscates important facts and trends.
Shi Pong Hsu, 75, makes coffee in a Singapore coffee shop. The city-state's government projects that almost a quarter of its population will be 65 or over by 2030.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2024
Singapore is bracing for a super-aging society
Japan and South Korea may be the poster children for low birthrates, but Singapore is confronting its own decline. Its solution? Bonuses for nurses.
What is the BOJ hoping to achieve through tighter policy? The bank's governor, Kazuo Ueda, dissented in 2000, arguing then a hike was premature ¡ª and he was right. Why the change now.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 29, 2024
Selling a rate hike during recession is tough. Good luck, Ueda.
What sounded like a statement of the obvious by Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda last week ¡ª that a country where prices are rising by 2% is, in fact, experiencing inflation ¡ª has more to it than meets the eye.
BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda at a news conference in Tokyo on Jan. 23. In it, he delivered a consistent message about the bank's intentions moving forward.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 29, 2024
BOJ's Ueda finds his mojo as rate message cuts through
After some growing pains, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda finally delivers a clear message on the bank's intentions. He should keep at it.
The health of China's economy will always be a factor in how other Asian economies fare, and some of those are doing OK despite their larger neighbor¡¯s woes.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2024
The latest indignity for China¡¯s flawed recovery
Neighbors whose economic fortunes were supposed to be tied to the heft of China¡¯s rebound from the pandemic seem to be doing pretty well without it.
Activists protest outside the offices of the Australian Immigration Department in Sydney in February 2016
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2024
The danger of talking down immigration Down Under
Australians are facing an economic dilemma Down Under amid an unsettling debate over immigration policies.
Miho Nakayama, known for 'Love Letter' and a decadeslong music career, dies at 54
Miho Nakayama
A $105 trillion inheritance windfall is on the way for U.S. heirs
About $105 trillion is projected to be passed down from older generations over the next quarter century, according to research firm Cerulli Associates, an amount roughly equal to global gross domestic product in 2023.
Japan's soft power soared to new heights in 2024
Japanese creatives, athletes and activists saw their efforts recognized on the world stage in various ways this year. At the Oscars (left) Takashi Yamazaki and his team took a prize for ¡°Godzilla Minus One,¡± while later in the year Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada (center) took Emmys for their work in ¡°Shogun.¡± Shohei Ohtani (right) was arguably the biggest Japanese star of the year.
Japan's honorific language can be challenging for native speakers, too
People walk around an outlet mall in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture. At stores across Japan, clerks use a form of polite language called "manyuaru keigo," literally, ¡°manual honorifics,¡± named for the service manuals they study it from.
Police may be able to use fake IDs to investigate yami baito
A Metropolitan Police Department flyer on high-paying illegal work advertised on social media, known as yami baito
What constitutes fatal dangerous driving in Japan?
Critics have said that drivers who were speeding well over the speed limit or those who were extremely drunk were not indicted for dangerous driving because of its vague definition.
Japan's soft power soared to new heights in 2024
Japanese creatives, athletes and activists saw their efforts recognized on the world stage in various ways this year. At the Oscars (left) Takashi Yamazaki and his team took a prize for ¡°Godzilla Minus One,¡± while later in the year Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada (center) took Emmys for their work in ¡°Shogun.¡± Shohei Ohtani (right) was arguably the biggest Japanese star of the year.
Lightning strikes twice for Shun Ikeda at All Japan Championships
Shun Ikeda holds the trophy after winning his second consecutive amateur yokozuna title on Sunday at Tokyo¡¯s Ryogoku Kokugikan.
Yoon¡¯s gambit a tempest in a teapot for financial markets
A screen displays market data at Hana Bank in Seoul on Wednesday.
U.S. Space Force launches first unit in Japan
Activated on Wednesday, U.S. Space Forces Japan ¡ª a component similar to the one established at South Korea¡¯s Osan Air Base in 2022 ¡ª will operate out of Yokota Air Base in the city of Fussa, western Tokyo, with a staff of about 10.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

People in cities across Japan will pop into their local convenience store for any number of products they believe will help them with a night of drinking.
Hangover cures are everywhere in Japan ¡ª but do they work?
By Thu-Huong Ha

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