The average price of rice sold at some 1,000 supermarkets across Japan in the week through Sunday dropped ¥63 from the previous week to ¥4,142 per 5 kilograms, the agriculture ministry has said.

The average was down for the fourth straight week, but it remained above ¥4,000 for the sixth week in a row.

Ahead of the release of the latest average prices on Friday, agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi told a news conference, "We're concerned that persistently high prices may lead consumers to increasingly turn away from rice."

The average price was pushed down by a higher sales share of blended rice, including government-stockpiled rice, which rose 4 percentage points from the previous week to 29%.

The average price of blended rice was ¥3,419 in the week to Sunday, down ¥171 from the previous week.

The sales share of brand rice, such as newly harvested rice, fell from 75% to 71%.

But since newly harvested rice was traded at high prices, the average price of brand rice climbed ¥29 to ¥4,440, up for the sixth straight week.

A separate survey of about 1,200 supermarkets showed that the average price went down ¥72 to ¥3,450. Meanwhile, a survey of about 6,000 drugstores and other retail shops found that the average price was ¥135 higher at ¥4,210.
 

 

 
Honda Motor Co. announced Thursday that it will sequentially release four new motorcycle models starting in November, including the new 110cc displacement Super Cub series motorcycle made to be compatible with a new moped license.

Their maximum output is limited to 4 kilowatts to comply with the new license category.

The Dio model will launch on Nov. 20, while the three Cub series models will launch on Dec. 11. Prices range from ¥239,800 to ¥401,5000.

Since April, the moped license, which previously only allowed operation of motorcycles under 50cc, permits the operation of motorcycles up to 125cc as long as their output is less than or equal to 4 kilowatts.

Stricter emissions regulations are to begin in November, and these four models will be the first domestic motorcycles to comply with the new category.

Major manufacturers plan to discontinue production of motorcycles under 50cc, citing the cost of meeting emissions regulations as unfeasible.
 
 

Many Japanese households remain underprepared for disasters, with emergency toilets in short supply particularly, a survey released by the Cabinet Office on Friday showed.

In the survey, respondents were asked to select multiple items that they keep in stock for at least three days to prepare for disasters.

The most common item was drinking water, with 69.8 pct of respondents reporting supplies of at least 3 liters per person per day.

Only 27.5 pct claimed to have portable or emergency toilets. The number of emergency toilets were flagged as insufficient after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula in central Japan in January last year.

The figure for food supplies, including canned foods and retort-pouched cooked rice, stood at 59.7 pct. Some 38.7 pct reported supplies of hygiene products such as antiseptic wipes and dry shampoo.
 
 

Japanese businesses showed off their food products at an event in Sao Paulo on Monday as demand for authentic washoku Japanese cuisine is growing in Brazil.
 
OK Corporation Co., a company based in Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, known for its tuna fishing port, will start selling the fish in Brazil this month that the company imports from Japan by freezing it in minus 60 C to inoxidize it.
 
There is a business opportunity, as tuna prices are high because of short supply, OK Corporation head Kenji Ogawa said at the event hosted by the Japan External Trade Organization.
 
Tradbras Importacao E Exportacao Ltda., a Brazilian unit of Japanese food manufacturer Kikkoman Corp., showed off rice grown in Niigata Prefecture.
 
Brazilians learned about Japanese foods’ high quality through trips to Japan, Tradbras President Masahiro Miura said.
 
The company started importing Niigata-grown rice earlier this year. It aims to sell the rice to retailers in addition to restaurants.
 
Brazil imports few Japanese fishery products, which occupy about 20% of Japanese food exports, Tetsuya Inoue, director general of JETRO’s Sao Paulo office, said, noting a large market opportunity for them.
 

New challenges will test Pokemon trainers' reactions in their virtual beast battles, as the near-30-year-old saga's latest installment hits Nintendo consoles on Thursday.

"Pokemon Legends: Z-A" will for the first time play out its matchups in real time, rather than the turn-by-turn play of previous titles going back to 1996.
Set in a vast city inspired by Paris, with landmarks recalling the Eiffel Tower or Arc de Triomphe, players will have to time their attacks or dodge incoming blows as their stable of fantasy creatures does battle in the arena.

The breath of fresh air is likely to be welcomed by fans and critics, who have complained of a lack of new ideas in Pokemon releases of recent years.
"Legends: Z-A" has been developed by Japanese studio Game Freak, the outfit that first brought the world of Pokemon to life.

Published by console giant Nintendo and The Pokemon Company, the new title is part of the "Legends" spin-off series that kicked off with "Arceus" in 2022.

Players can dive into "Legends: Z-A" on both the original Switch console and its Switch 2 successor.

Gameplay unfolds around the city setting in a familiar competition format, with players scaling the ladder towards creature-training glory.

Almost 490 million copies of Pokemon games for console and mobile devices have been sold in the series' near-three-decade history, according to figures from The Pokemon Company.

Originally inspired by Japan's summer tradition of insect gathering, the games centre on capturing and training "pocket monsters" resembling creatures from mice to dragons.

The beasts' often-cute appearance belies their fearsome powers, which players can deploy in battles against other trainers.

Characters from Pokemon games have been spun off into films, animated series and a plethora of merchandise.

The franchise racked up $12 billion in licensing revenue in 2024, according to specialist publication License Global -- or more than toy giant Mattel.
 

 

Tokyo’s financial markets are bracing for more uncertainty in the domestic political landscape following Komeito’s announcement that it had decided to end its 26-year coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party.

Tokyo markets were shaken on Friday, marked by an appreciating yen and sharp decline in Nikkei average futures.

The markets, shifting abruptly from recent highs and overheating, are on edge, suggesting the volatile situation is likely to continue into this week following the three-day weekend.

Uncertainty regarding the political landscape was the main factor suppressing the market on Friday.

Concerns about the future of the LDP-Komeito coalition grew when a meeting between the parties’ leaders was held Friday afternoon, causing the Nikkei-225 Stock Average to temporarily fall by more than 600 points.

When the market closed, it was 491.64 points lower than the previous day at 48,088.80 points. After Komeito announced its withdrawal in the evening, Nikkei futures on the Osaka Exchange fell to the mid-47,000 range.

The Nikkei average had previously surged by more than 2,800 points before the LDP presidential election, driven by anticipation for fiscal expansionary policies from now LDP President Sanae Takaichi.

Dubbed the “Takaichi Trade,” the index reversed course on Friday as selling spread across a broad range of stocks, driven by a reaction to and renewed concerns over the political situation.

Nearly 90% of the stocks listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market fell, resulting in a sweeping sell-off.

“The market did not anticipate Komeito ending the coalition,” said Naoki Fujiwara, a strategist at Shinkin Asset Management Co. “It was a surprise.”

Kohei Onishi of Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. referred to the possibility of a “black swan,” which refers to an unpredictable event.

“If the opposition parties form a grand coalition and Takaichi does not become prime minister, that would be a ‘black swan’ scenario,” Onishi said. He added that the market might become more volatile this week.

Political concerns also extended to interest rates and the yen exchange rate.
In the Tokyo bond market on Friday afternoon, the yield on the benchmark newly issued 10-year government bond rose to 1.7%, up 0.01 percentage points from the previous day’s closing value, amid falling bond prices. This marked the highest level in about 17 years.

The yen exchange rate in the Tokyo foreign exchange market also accelerated its buying momentum as news of Komeito’s withdrawal from the coalition spread, triggering widespread skepticism about the feasibility of the expansionary fiscal policies advocated by Takaichi.

The yen temporarily appreciated to ¥152.38 per dollar.

However, the market remained volatile and people began selling the yen and repurchasing the dollar as a result of speculation that it will be easier for the Democratic Party and the LDP to work together.
 
 

Having wrapped up recruitment activities and orientation for upcoming university graduates who will join the workforce next spring, many Japanese companies are now focusing on ensuring their young hires do not quit within a few years, a growing trend that has become a corporate headache.

Some firms are utilizing apps to track the emotional state of new employees, while others are allowing hires to apply for specific locations or departments instead of the long-standing practice of assignments being determined by companies.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 34.9 percent of university graduates who entered the workforce in spring 2021 left their jobs within three years, up 2.6 percentage points from the previous year.

In a multiple-choice survey on why young hires quit so soon, conducted online by Staff Service Holdings Co, the most common reason cited was "poor relationships with bosses or colleagues" at 26.3 percent, followed by "the company culture was not the right fit" at 26.1 percent.

Responses were collected in June from over 700 people aged between 18 and 25 who quit their full-time jobs within three years of being hired as fresh graduates.

Among measures to combat the high turnover is the Geppo app developed by Recruit Co. Electric parts and material manufacturer Nitto Denko Corp has been using it since 2019 for employees up to their third year on the job.

The app asks employees to list their well-being across five levels in three categories every month. The human resources department is notified of the results, which are quantified and prompt one-on-one meetings if the numbers deteriorate.

A Nitto Denko human resources official said the app helped facilitate honest conversations between the company and its workers, resulting in a significant reduction in the resignation rate of young employees.

Among major insurers, Sompo Japan Insurance Inc introduced a system that allows graduates to apply for their desired department upon receiving a job offer, while Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co launched an initiative enabling new hires to be posted overseas within five years of commencing employment if they wish to work abroad.
 
 

Tokyo stocks ended sharply lower Tuesday, with the Nikkei index briefly sinking over 3 percent, as selling was spurred amid political uncertainty in Japan after the junior coalition partner of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party decided late last week to end their alliance.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 1,241.48 points, or 2.58 percent, from Friday at 46,847.32. The broader Topix index finished 63.60 points, or 1.99 percent, lower at 3,133.99. Japanese financial markets were closed Monday for a public holiday.

On the top-tier Prime Market, the main decliners were electric appliance, nonferrous metal and securities house issues.

The U.S. dollar fell to the upper 151 yen range in Tokyo after Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said earlier in the day that Japan is closely monitoring excessive fluctuations and disorderly movements in the currency market, while sharp declines of Tokyo stocks also prompted buying of the safe-haven yen, dealers said.

At 5 p.m., the dollar fetched 151.96-98 yen compared with 152.37-38 yen in London at 4 p.m. Monday. The U.S. currency market was also closed Monday for a national holiday.

The euro was quoted at $1.1548-1549 and 175.49-53 yen against $1.1561-1563 and 176.14-22 yen in London late Monday afternoon.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond ended at 1.660 percent, down 0.030 percentage point from Friday's close, as the debt was bought on receding expectations that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates soon.

Stocks were sold almost across the board, with the benchmark Nikkei closing below the 47,000 line, as the Komeito party's announcement Friday that it was leaving the LDP-led coalition sparked political uncertainty, including over whether LDP leader Sanae Takaichi will become Japan's first female prime minister.

The Nikkei's drop came after the index surged over 2,000 points last week on hopes for expansionary fiscal policies after Takaichi became party leader.

While the LDP could form a new ruling coalition or opposition parties could field a joint candidate for prime minister, "expectations for expansionary fiscal policies are unlikely to fade suddenly," said Maki Sawada, a strategist in the Investment Content Department of Nomura Securities Co.

"Until uncertainties recede, the market may remain volatile, but hopes for fiscal stimulus are likely to continue supporting the market," she added.
However, Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Co., said, "There is concern over whether parties could reach a consensus on fiscal policy, and even if opposition parties were to form a coalition government, uncertainties would remain about its sustainability, which could weigh on the market."

Selling accelerated as investors unloaded exporter shares on the stronger yen. The market was also weighed down by worries that U.S.-China trade tensions could worsen.

Meanwhile, the benchmark price of gold set by Tokyo's Tanaka Precious Metal Technologies Co. hit an all-time high of 22,463 yen per gram after exceeding 22,000 yen for the first time in the morning, reflecting strong demand amid concern over U.S.-China trade tensions.
 
 

Japanese convenience store chain operator Ministop Co said Thursday it will resume sales of deli items prepared in in-store kitchens beginning this month, following a suspension after some shops were found to have falsified expiry dates.

The subsidiary of Japanese retail giant Aeon Co said it will also reexamine operation manuals and introduce surveillance cameras in kitchens to prevent any recurrences. Operations will first restart in stores verified by an in-house team.

The convenience store chain announced in August that some of its stores had faked the expiry dates of certain products, leading it to suspend sales of onigiri rice balls, bento lunches and other deli items the same month.

It investigated around 1,800 stores across the country, of which misconduct was discovered at 25 stores.

"Our revenue has been hit by the decline in customer traffic since we halted the sale (of some foodstuffs)," Masashi Hotta, president of Ministop, said at an online press conference, noting that the scandal is expected to have a negative impact of around 1 billion yen ($6.6 million).

"It will take some time before all stores will be fully operational," Hotta said.
 

 

Activist investors are likely to find more opportunities in Japanese real estate as unrealized gains are poised to swell under new Liberal Democratic Party leader Sanae Takaichi.

The prospect of faster inflation and rising asset prices under Takaichi, who’s almost certain to become the country’s next prime minister, is seen as favoring loose monetary policy that would probably further boost paper gains in corporate property. That’s a lure to activist funds looking to raise shareholder value.

The value of such assets for about 330 major listed companies has already grown to an aggregate ¥31 trillion ($203 billion), according to compiled data, due to rising land prices and property development. That’s an increase of 26% from five years ago, and some strategists project it will rise further.

Should fiscal spending expand while the Bank of Japan is restrained from hiking rates, "a scenario is conceivable where inflation progresses, boosting firms’ unrealized gains, and activists move in,” said Daisuke Uchiyama, a senior strategist at Okasan Securities.

At least seven firms, including Mitsubishi Estate and textile maker Katakura Industries, are sitting on unrealized property gains that exceed their market capitalization, the data showed.

Activists have increasingly been urging companies to sell property and expand shareholder returns. Just last month it was reported that Elliott Investment Management had taken a stake in Kansai Electric Power, urging it to get rid of non-core assets. Kansai Electric had unrealized real estate gains of ¥220 billion.

Another example is a move by City Index Eleventh, an investment firm linked to activist investor Yoshiaki Murakami, to take a holding in department store operator Takashimaya, which has paper gains of ¥130 billion on its property assets.

Corporate governance reforms are also compelling firms to reassess their asset holdings.

Significant unrealized gains on property are hidden assets following cash and cross-shareholdings, and "companies failing to utilize them are becoming more noticeable,” said Masayuki Kubota, chief strategist at Rakuten Securities. He expects activist pressure on such firms to grow.

Including a company’s real estate market value into its price-to-book ratio (PBR) drives the ratio lower. The smaller this adjusted PBR is, the greater the unrealized gains on its real estate holdings and the more undervalued the stock is likely to be.

The gap is particularly pronounced in sectors such as real estate, warehousing and land transportation, as well as in retail, textile, and information and communications, according to calculations.

This puts them in the crosshairs of activists looking to squeeze out more corporate value.

"We are likely to see companies in the retail, textiles and warehousing sectors getting targeted,” Okasan’s Uchiyama said. He added that firms that have actually responded to activists by selling real estate remains limited so far.

The PBR of Mitsubishi Estate falls to 0.7 times from 1.7 times when its ¥5 trillion of unrealized gains are taken into account. The real estate company’s market capitalization is ¥4.24 trillion. Adjusted ratios for railway firm Sotetsu, film maker Toho and retailer Marui are also significantly below their standard PBRs.

Mitsubishi Estate spokesperson Yusuke Iwamoto declined to comment on any investments or requests for engagement from activists.

Tetsuya Murakami, manager of the management strategy office at Sotetsu, said his company hadn’t received any requests from activists for specific asset sale proposals or related engagement. Katakura didn’t respond to requests for comment, while Toho and Marui said they were unable to respond immediately.

Many institutional investors also consider that companies should review their real estate holdings to improve balance sheet efficiency.

"If they support activists’ proposals, the impact will be significant,” said Bruce Kirk, chief Japan equity strategist at Goldman Sachs Japan.

Stocks with large property holdings, and where activists have got involved, such as Sumitomo Realty & Development, Tokyo Gas and warehouse firm Mitsui-Soko, have largely outperformed their respective Topix sector indexes over the past year.
 
 

Some 80 pct of households in Japan have felt the impact of rising prices on their family budgets, a survey conducted by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. in early September showed Thursday.

The online survey, which covered 5,484 people in their 20s to 60s from across the country who are working as regular employees, showed that 82.9 pct said their household budgets had been affected by inflation, up from 78.9 pct in the previous year's survey.

Of the respondents affected by inflation, 91.3 pct said price increases had impacted their food expenses, while 61.5 pct felt the impact on electricity bills.

Over half of the respondents answered that their cost of living had increased, with average monthly living expenses rising by 9,636 yen.

Regarding rice, whose prices have spiked in the country, 26.4 pct said they had avoided buying the staple due to the high prices. When asked what they considered to be a reasonable price for rice per 5 kilograms, 34.0 pct, the largest proportion, answered 2,000 yen or under.
 
 

Japanese stocks have hit a record for the ninth time in about six weeks, driven higher by a major transaction involving a Japanese company and on continued hopes for a rate cut in the United States.

Optimism surrounding the election of Sanae Takaichi as president of the Liberal Democratic Party has waned as uncertainty has taken hold, with political calculations becoming more complicated and her ascension to the prime ministership looking less like an absolute certainty.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index hit 48,597.08 — the new record — shortly before the closing bell on Thursday.

SoftBank Group led the rally, with its share price rising 11.43% a day after it announced a $5.4 billion purchase of Zurich’s ABB.

Other tech and electronics companies helped drive the index higher, with Panasonic gaining 6.58% and Tokyo Electric Power up 4.94%.

The benchmark finished the day up 1.77%, at 48,580.44. The yen remained weak, moving above ¥153 to the dollar in the afternoon.

The market has been enthusiastic about the shifting political landscape over the past month, sending the Nikkei index to three all-time highs this month, following six in September.

The election of fiscal and monetary dove Takaichi as the new ruling party leader boosted the market dramatically on Monday, with the benchmark gaining over 5% and hitting the 48,000 level for the first time ever.
The possibility of the Nikkei 225 reaching 50,000 has now emerged as a theme.

Volatility is expected in the coming days and weeks, as the economic outlook under Takaichi remains uncertain — especially as she works to pull together a workable government, and has encountered some setbacks.

“Stock prices aren’t determined solely by domestic politics. There’s a global financial trend driven by the Fed’s rate cuts underpinning everything,” said Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at Nomura Research Institute.

“As long as that doesn’t collapse, the tail wind will likely continue. If it does, then it wouldn’t be strange to see another 2,000-point rise within the year — meaning the Nikkei reaching 50,000 by year-end isn’t out of the question.”
 
 

Nissan Motor Co. said Wednesday that it will start accepting orders for the third-generation Leaf electric vehicle in Japan on Oct. 17.

The new model can travel 702 kilometers on a single battery charge, about 50 pct more than the second-generation Leaf. A battery can be charged from 10 pct capacity to 80 pct in around 35 minutes, some 30 pct faster than the previous model.

The Japanese automaker positions the Leaf as the next mainstay car, encouraging consumers to switch from gasoline-powered or gas-electric hybrid vehicles.

Nissan already launched the new model in the United States in late September and plans to do so in Europe in spring 2026.

The company has sold over 700,000 units of the Leaf globally since its first-generation model was released in 2010 as the world's first mass-market EV. The second-generation model was launched in 2017.
 
 

Qilin, a ransomware group with a track record of cyberattacks on major entities around the world, claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a hack on Japan’s Asahi Group, which disrupted production at the beer and beverage giant.

Asahi’s beer-making subsidiary, Asahi Breweries, said on Monday that it had restarted production at its six Japanese beer plants on Oct. 2. It first said it had been hacked on Sept. 29.

Qilin, which operates a ransomware-as-a-service platform that allows users to carry out attacks in exchange for a percentage of extortion proceeds, posted 29 images to its website on Tuesday of what the group claims to be internal Asahi documents.

The group said it had stolen more than 9,300 files, or roughly 27 gigabytes of data, according to the entry on its website.

The authenticity of the documents could not immediately be verified.
An Asahi spokesperson said in an email late Tuesday that the matter was still under investigation and the company declined to comment on Qilin's claims, or any details about extortion demands or negotiations.

Qilin did not respond to a request for comment.

Qilin has been a prolific ransomware service since first emerging in 2022 with 870 claimed attacks, according to data compiled by eCrime.ch, a cybercrime research platform.

The group was behind the June 2024 hack of British diagnostic services provider Synnovis, which officials said in June 2025 contributed to the death of a London hospital patient.
 
 

The surprising selection of Sanae Takaichi as president of Japan's ruling party may further push up the Nikkei stock index to the 50,000 threshold, aided by a weaker yen as prospects of an imminent interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan recede.

The upward momentum of the key index, however, may be short-lived due to political uncertainty as fiscal dove Takaichi may find it hard to implement economy-supporting policies with her Liberal Democratic Party leading a minority government.

Boosted by optimism about expansionary fiscal measures, the Nikkei surged 4.75 percent Monday to end at a fresh record high at 47,944.76, while the Japanese currency plunged by around 3 yen against the U.S. dollar to hit a two-month low in the 150 level.

Recent advances of the Nikkei came after it sank to the 31,000 level in April due to concerns about higher U.S. levies before recovering as a Japan-U.S. trade deal in July to reduce auto and other tariff rates helped improve investor sentiment.

"The yen fell to 150 against the dollar and a further drop would increase the likelihood of the Nikkei reaching 50,000, considering the impact of a weaker currency on corporate earnings," said Makoto Sengoku, senior equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory Co.

The yen could slide even more if concern about the U.S. economic outlook recedes due to additional monetary easing by the Federal Reserve and a U.S. government shutdown ends relatively soon, he said.

Solid corporate earnings are also likely to bolster the market, with the BOJ's latest Tankan survey showing confidence among major manufacturers improved for the second straight quarter.

"It's highly unlikely that corporate earnings will deteriorate and cause stocks to fall," said Koichi Fujishiro, senior economist at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.

The Japanese central bank is now seen as facing headwinds to pursue additional interest rate hikes at its policy meeting late October, as Takaichi has aired concern about the adverse impact of U.S. tariffs on the Japanese economy in the future.

Speculation about additional rate hikes had grown recently amid surging food and other prices, after two of the nine board members voted against leaving the policy rate unchanged at the last meeting in September.

"It is too early to assume deflation is over and feel relieved," she told a press conference Saturday after being elected as LDP chief, apparently signaling to the BOJ to be cautious about further rate increases.

"I will have to closely communicate with the BOJ" until inflation led by higher wages accompanied with expanding demand is achieved, she said.

Takaichi also said in a recent Kyodo News survey of LDP leadership candidates that the BOJ should keep intact its policy rate at around 0.5 percent, contrasting with the other four candidates, who refrained from commenting on whether it should raise or reduce rates.

Some analysts, meanwhile, warned the equities market may be dampened by the unclear political outlook given the ruling coalition of the LDP and Komeito lack a majority in either house of parliament.

"The sustainability of stock rises may not last so long" as it remains unclear how the ruling coalition will cooperate with other parties to implement policies, said Masahiro Yamaguchi, head of investment research at SMBC Trust Bank.

"The feasibility and scale of policies will become apparent if such issues are likely to be cleared, but it will take some time to reach that stage," he added.

Concerns over rising borrowing costs also linger, as expansionary fiscal policies such as more government spending and tax cuts would lead to further deterioration in Japan's fiscal health, which is already the worst among developed economies, brokers said.
 


 

Asahi has partially restarted production at all six of its breweries in Japan after it was forced to close them due to a cyber-attack.

Several major shops in Japan including 7-Eleven and FamilyMart had warned last week that they were running low on stocks of the beer after the hack affected Asahi Group's ordering and delivery systems in the country.

Asahi is the biggest brewer in Japan, but it also makes soft drinks and food products, as well as supplying own-brand goods to other retailers.

The partially restarted breweries produce best-seller Asahi Super Dry, but the firm is also restarting plants that produce food and soft drinks.

The cyber-attack is the latest to have affected operations at major firms, with carmaker Jaguar Land Rover still struggling to recover from an attack that shut down production.

Asahi Group also owns Fullers in the UK and global brands including Peroni, Pilsner Urquell and Grolsch. However, only Asahi's operations in Japan - which account for about half its sales - have been affected by the attack.

Asahi said the re-opened beer plants in Japan were "not yet fully operational", and that two of its soft drinks factories that have partially re-opened were also not running at full capacity.

It added there were a further five soft drinks factories that "will resume gradually in accordance with shipments"

All seven of its food plants have resumed operations, though they are also not yet fully operational.

Asahi said the production systems at the factories themselves had not been affected by the cyber-attack, but it had been forced to halt production because it could not process orders and shipments.

The company added that its breweries were producing only Super Dry, and that from 15 October it would resume shipments of 16 products, including its non-alcoholic beers Asahi Dry Zero and Asahi Zero, as well as Clear Asahi and whiskey Black Nikka Clear.

It said some product launches would also be postponed.
 
 

Matsudo High School, a public school in the town of Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, used to have a little campus store where students could buy bread, which in Japan encompasses snack-sized buns with sweet or savory fillings.

That’s still not a ton of variety, though, and in 2022 the store, having trouble making ends meet, closed. Following that, the only snack options in the school were a pair of vending machines, once again stocked with just breads.

In late September, though, a new shop opened inside Matsudo High, and it’s got a much, much, wider selection, because it’s a full-on Japanese convenience store.

https://youtu.be/D3Leq5UJKOQ

The store opened on September 25, and while it’s not huge, its floor space of 32 square meters (344 square feet) makes it as big as some convenience stores you’ll find out in Japanese towns or attached to train stations.

What’s more, this is a full-fledged branch of Yamazaki Shop, the chain of convenience stores operated by Yamazaki Baking Company, and is stocked with roughly 1,000 different items.

Since it’s located within the school building and isn’t accessible by the general public, obviously it doesn’t sell alcohol of tobacco products, but students can come in and get Japanese convenience store staples like onigiri/rice balls, bento boxed lunches, cup ramen, soft drinks such as tea and juice, and even sundry items like pens, stationery, and hand towels. It’s the first instance of a convenience store chain opening a branch inside a public high school in the prefecture.

The school does have a couple of stipulations for this unique branch. First, while self-checkout registers are becoming more common in Japanese convenience stores, all of the Matsudo High Yamazaki Shop’s sales have to be rung up by an employee, and the bread and rice balls they sell also must have been made that same day.

It also doesn’t operate under the 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week schedule that’s the norm for Japanese convenience stores, and is instead open only on weekdays from 10: 30 a.m. to 6 p.m., making it accessible to kids after class and extracurricular activities.

As for whether the Yamazaki Shop will prove more profitable than the school’s previous bread-only shop, the owner, who has a half-dozen other convenience store franchises, isn’t too terribly concerned, as he’s a Matsudo native who wants to do something nice for his hometown.

The school’s principal also says they also hope for the store to serve as an educational opportunity for programs in which students can learn about subjects such as marketing and distribution.
 

All Nippon Airways Co. plans to raise the mandatory retirement age for its employees from 60 to 65 starting in fiscal 2027 and proposed the measure to its labor union on Tuesday.

Amid increasingly serious labor shortages, ANA aims to better utilize the expert knowledge of veteran workers and pass on their skills to younger employees.

Currently, ANA signs reemployment contracts with employees every year after they reach 60. Those employees can continue to work for the company until they turn 65 as non-regular staff.

Under the planned system, the employees will continue to be regular-contract workers. However, limitations on job roles and other matters for employees aged 60 or over will remain.

In fiscal 2024, ANA hiked non-regular employees’ salaries from 40% to about 60% the level they had as 59-year-old regular-contract workers.

By making senior employees regular-contract workers, their salary levels will be further hiked to about 70%. For pilots and mechanics, whose roles are highly skilled and require national licenses, it will be possible for the level to be about 90%.

The number of ANA employees aged from 60 to 65 is predicted to be about 1,500 in fiscal 2027. The company therefore forecasts that its labor costs will be increased by several billions of yen as a result of its plan.

Going forward, the company will hold discussions with the labor union to make the plan an official decision.
 
 

Politics dominated currency markets on Monday as the Japanese yen weakened by the most in five months against the dollar with Sanae Takaichi looking set to become Japan's next prime minister, and the euro slid after France's new government quit.

Takaichi is a former economic security and internal affairs minister with an expansionary fiscal agenda for the world's fourth-largest economy. She won the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election at the weekend, putting her on track to become Japan's next prime minister.

Her victory caused traders to reduce bets that the Bank of Japan will hike interest rates this month and sent the yen tumbling across the board.


UNCERTAINTY OVER POLICY PRIORITIES IN JAPAN

The dollar at one point rose more than 2% to 150.47 yen, its highest level since early August. It was last up 1.7% at 149.91, and if sustained, that would be its biggest daily gain since May 12.

The euro hit 176.22 yen in Asian trade, its highest ever against the Japanese currency. It later pared those gains to be up 1.2% at 175.3 yen following the collapse of the French government.

Deutsche Bank had advised clients to position for yen appreciation, but they "are now getting out following the LDP election outcome this weekend", the bank's global head of FX research, George Saravelos, said in a note to clients.

"Sanae Takaichi's surprise victory reintroduces too much uncertainty around Japan's policy priorities, and the timing of the BoJ hiking cycle," he wrote.
Long-dated Japanese government bonds sold off. And the yen swaps market indicated just less than a 50% likelihood of a rate hike by December, down from 68% on Friday.

However, some investors said U.S. factors that could weigh on the dollar in the coming weeks, such as the Federal Reserve continuing to cut rates, might stop traders selling the yen for dollars too dramatically.

"Most see short dollar-yen as the cleanest expression of a weaker dollar. Takaichi is the idiosyncratic risk. But the Fed is the bigger, more obvious, more immediate macro risk," said Rong Ren Goh, a portfolio manager in the fixed income team at Eastspring Investments.


PRESSURE ON MACRON AFTER LATEST SETBACK

Meanwhile, the euro slid after France's new Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and his government resigned on Monday, just hours after the announcement of the cabinet line-up, deepening France's political crisis.

The euro dropped 0.6% to $1.1681 and also slid 0.3% against thepound to its lowest in nearly a month.

"The pressure now goes back to President Macron to see how he deals with this deadlock," said Lee Hardman, senior currency strategist at MUFG.

"For the market, the worst case would be if he tries to break that deadlock by calling snap parliamentary elections. That would extend the uncertainty in the near term and likely trigger another leg lower for the euro."

Sterling was down 0.3% against the dollar at $1.3431 , while the Swiss franc softened a similar amount to 0.7993 per dollar.

Elsewhere, this week traders will have to grapple with the absence of important U.S. economic data as the government shutdown continues.

That could make it hard to shake current market pricing signalling that easing at the Fed's October meeting is a near-certainty. Fed funds futures implied a 96.7% probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.
 
 

Nissan Motor Co will put on hold a plan to make electric vehicles in the United States as EV sales are slowing and a tax break on EV purchases was eliminated in the country, a source familiar with the move said.

The Japanese automaker is instead considering reviving the once-discontinued Xterra sport utility vehicle in a hybrid format in 2028.

According to the source, Nissan has already asked parts suppliers to suspend work related to its initial goal of starting production of SUV-type EVs at its plant in Canton, Mississippi, in the same target year.

The automaker now envisions producing Xterra SUVs at the Canton facility.
As it moves to streamline operations in a bid to restore profitability, Nissan signaled to partner companies in July that it was delaying the start of EV production at the plant by up to a year.

It came to light in September that Nissan had temporarily suspended production at an eastern Japan plant of its Ariya electric vehicle for the U.S. market. But the automaker still plans to launch a new model of the Leaf EV in the United States in the fall.

Slowing global EV sales have forced automakers to reconsider their EV strategies.

In May, Honda Motor Co. said it was reducing its investment plan for EV technology through fiscal 2030 to around 7 trillion yen ($47.6 billion) from the previously scheduled 10 trillion yen, citing lower-than-expected growth in the EV market.
 
 

The dollar headed for its worst week since late July on Friday as the U.S. government shutdown increased uncertainty, while the yen pulled back from this week's highs as traders mulled the Bank of Japan's next move ahead of a ruling party leadership election this weekend.

The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of key currencies, was flat at 97.77. The euro was up 0.2% at $1.1736. Sterling firmed 0.1% to $1.345.

"We've got the government shutdown in the U.S. ... for market participants it means we're not getting any of the data releases we would usually get like the non-farm payrolls data today," said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone.

"I think that's why we're seeing things trade in such listless fashion."



BOJ GOVERNOR STRIKES CAUTIOUS TONE

Though ISM data is due out of the U.S. later, Brown said he did not expect it to move the needle.

The yen eased 0.1% to 147.375 per dollar, having earlier fallen as much as 0.4%. But it remained on track for a 1.4% advance this week that would be the biggest since mid-May.

BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda struck a cautious tone in comments about the global economy, lowering expectations of an imminent rate hike. Markets were also focused on a Liberal Democratic Party election on Saturday that will determine Japan's next prime minister.

"Market participants are a little bit disappointed potentially ... he (Ueda) didn't really lean into the idea of an October rate hike as much as some of his colleagues have done in recent sessions, that's why we've seen a little bit of pressure on the yen," said Brown.

Markets were keeping a close eye on speeches by BOJ officials this week after the central bank's tankan survey on Wednesday showed confidence among big manufacturers improved for the second straight quarter.

Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida said on Thursday that the business mood was improving and corporate profits remained high even as U.S. tariffs weighed on exports.

But in a speech on Friday, Governor Ueda put the focus back on how global factors, particularly the health of the U.S. economy, could affect the trajectory of wages and prices in Japan.

Goldman Sachs economists said in a note that Ueda's speech "supports our view that the possibility of an October rate hike is very low."

The LDP election also has consequences for Japan's budget and central bank policies.

Among the frontrunners, dovish party veteran Sanae Takaichi could trigger more bond market uncertainty, while farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi and top government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi are less likely to rock the boat.



TWO MORE FED RATE CUTS EXPECTED THIS YEAR


In the U.S. overnight, a Chicago Fed report that combined private and available public data estimated the September jobless rate was 4.3%, the same as in August and evidence that a feared rapid rise in unemployment had not yet begun.

But details of the report, along with other data, pointed to sluggishness in the labour market. The ADP National Employment report on Wednesday showed private payrolls decreased by 32,000 in September, boosting expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates twice more this year.

Traders see a 25-basis-point cut at the Fed's October meeting as almost certain and are pricing in an 89% probability of an additional cut in December, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan on Thursday said the central bank appropriately cut rates last month to guard against the risk of a sharp deterioration in the job market, but said that so far the cooling has been gradual and signalled she was not eager to cut rates further.

Elsewhere, a few Fed, ECB, Bank of England central bankers were due to speak at the farewell symposium of the Dutch central bank governor Klaas Knot, including ECB President Christine Lagarde and the Bank of England's Andrew Bailey.
 
 

Japanese and U.S. business leaders issued a joint statement Friday demanding that their governments "secure transparency and predictability of international trade and investment."

The statement, adopted by the members of the Japan-U.S. and U.S.-Japan Business Councils at their two-day joint meeting in Tokyo, which began Thursday, comes as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy is adding to global economic uncertainties.

Both governments should "reaffirm" their support for foreign direct investment between Japan and the United States while "ensuring investment screening measures are narrowly tailored to national security concerns," the statement added.

The leaders from more than 120 major companies also underscored the importance of the public and private sectors collaborating in "transparent, accountable, and risk-aware" artificial intelligence development and requested visa facilitation for business trips by experts.

"We have a sense of danger over the unpredictable situation," Japan-U.S. Business Council Chair Jun Sawada, also chairman of NTT, told a press conference after the meeting. "I want both governments to make efforts to eliminate uncertainty as much as possible."

David Goeckeler, head of the U.S. council and chairman and CEO of U.S. flash memory-maker Sandisk, said, "It's very important that we have a point of view" on political measures. He then voiced intention to ask the U.S. government for improvements in the investment environment.
 
 

 
A new luxury hotel opened in Nagoya on Wednesday, with standard room prices as high as 3.75 million yen per night, as it seeks to attract affluent tourists with its panoramic view of nearby Nagoya Castle.

The 11-story Espacio Nagoya Castle, designed in the style of a Japanese castle, has 100 guest rooms themed after Japanese samurai culture and traditional crafts, according to its operator Espacio Enterprise Co.
Room prices start at 250,000 yen per night, and the building features a spa and pool located on one of its two basement levels.

The site was formerly occupied by the prestigious Hotel Nagoya Castle, which welcomed members of the Japanese imperial family and foreign dignitaries. It closed in 2020 due to aging facilities.

Nagoya-based trading and pharmaceutical company Kowa Co., the parent company of Espacio Enterprise, bought the land and constructed the new hotel.

More luxury hotels are scheduled to open in Nagoya in response to the influx of tourists to Japan, and in expectation of the opening of a maglev train line that will run from Tokyo to the city and eventually extend to Osaka.
 
 

Isuzu Motors on Wednesday held a groundbreaking ceremony for a vehicle plant in South Carolina, which will become the Japanese commercial vehicle maker's first independent factory in the United States.

The new plant is expected to start truck production in 2027. Isuzu aims to ease the impact of the high tariff policy of the administration of U.S.

President Donald Trump, which has increased export costs, by expanding local production while reducing shipments from Japan.

The automaker began vehicle sales in North America in 1984 and logged a record high of some 44,000 units in fiscal 2023. Currently, Isuzu exports about 40% of the automobiles it sells in the region from Japan and consigns final assembly to U.S. companies for the rest.

Isuzu plans to produce 50,000 vehicles, including electric trucks, at the South Carolina plant in 2030, intending to supply most of its vehicles for the North American market from the new factory.

The construction has been planned before the launch of Trump's tariff policy. Having an independent factory in the United States "has been our dream," Isuzu Chairman Masanori Katayama told reporters.

Having a U.S. plant will "increase measures we can take in response to the U.S. tariffs," such as local procurement of parts, he also said.

Isuzu has yet to decide whether to produce all vehicles it sells in North America at the South Carolina plant in the future, Katayama said. But he added that it could be possible.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by about 150 people, including South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and Japanese Ambassador to the United States Shigeo Yamada.
 


 

Toyota Motor Corp. on Thursday opened Woven City, a demonstration site for advanced technology built on the former grounds of a factory in Susono, Shizuoka Prefecture.

The site will serve as a location for the development of new products and services, with 20 companies and individuals participating, including Toyota and nonautomotive firms.

Experiments in various fields, including autonomous driving technology, will be conducted, while employees and other people with connections to Toyota reside in the area.

On Thursday, Toyota disclosed to the press an autonomous robotic vehicle that leads cars to destinations, which is thought to be used for car sharing services in the future. The automaker also revealed single-person three-wheeled electric vehicles, which will be used as a means of transportation at Woven City.

“(Woven City) will serve as a test course for the future,” said Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda at an opening ceremony.

The demonstration site currently covers 47,000 square meters, with the automaker planning to eventually expand it to 294,000 square meters.

Toyota has not specified construction costs or when construction will be completed, as the automaker plans to change the layout of Woven City based on future development of products and services.

Only a few households currently reside in the area, but about 300 people will move to there during the first phase. The number is expected to reach about 2,000 in the final phase.

Toyoda first announced the concept of Woven City in 2020 when he was the president. “We will build a ‘city’ from scratch,” he said at the time.

In October last year, construction work for the site’s initial phase was completed. The automaker has been preparing to start experiments since then.
 
 
 

Former Suntory Holdings Ltd Chairman Takeshi Niinami has resigned as chief of a major business body, the group said Tuesday, after he came under police investigation over supplement purchases.

The board of directors at the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, known as Keizai Doyukai, accepted his resignation request made at their meeting earlier in the day, it said.

Senior Vice Chairman Mutsuo Iwai, who is chairman of Japan Tobacco Inc., will serve as acting chair until a new chief is selected, it said.

Niinami told a press conference that he offered to resign "to avoid splitting" the association since he said the board had been divided over whether he should stay on.

"I do have regrets because there were still things that I wanted to do (as chief)," he added.

Niinami declined to provide details regarding the controversial supplement purchases, saying only that he will cooperate with the investigative authorities.

Prominent business figure Niinami, who has denied any wrongdoing, quit as chairman of the beverage maker on Sept. 1 but remained the business group's chief.

However, Niinami had stayed away from activities as head of the body, saying he would leave the decision over whether to dismiss him as chief to the association.

The graduate of the Harvard Business School led the Japan Association of Corporate Executives from April 2023 and has long served as a private-sector member of the government's key council on economic and fiscal policy.

Niinami said Tuesday he will continue to sit on the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, where important issues, including government spending and economic growth strategies, are discussed.

The membership of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives comprises around 1,700 top executives of some 1,200 corporations and formulate proposals on political, economic and social issues.

The members join the body's activities as an individual, not as representatives of their company or a specific industry, unlike the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, the country's most powerful business lobby where major companies are members.
 
 

Ambassador of Japan to Indonesia Masaki Yasushi highlighted the strong balance of trade between Indonesia and Japan during his tenure.

"Concerning trade, I think we keep a very good balance of trade," Masaki said at a media briefing marking the end of his assignment in Indonesia on Tuesday.

He underlined that trade is central to bilateral relations between the two countries, but also noted that cooperation goes beyond trade alone.

According to him, Japan and Indonesia have succeeded in maintaining a healthy balance of trade, and both sides are expected to continue this trend.

To support this balance, the two countries have bilateral agreements such as the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Masaki said the agreements had recently been reviewed and were seen as increasingly favorable for Indonesian exports to Japan, while also benefiting Japan.

In addition to trade, Masaki underscored Japan’s efforts to increase investment in Indonesia.

He said Japanese companies have expanded investments in sectors including infrastructure, automotive, agriculture, and fisheries.

He expressed confidence that such investments would further encourage Japanese corporate interest in Indonesia.

The ambassador also stressed the importance of exchanges between people from both nations, calling them vital for long-term bilateral relations.

"Exchange of people does not appear in trade figures. But for the future of our bilateral relations, it is very important," he noted.

Masaki officially began his tenure as Japan’s ambassador to Indonesia on October 24, 2023.

Born in Tokyo in 1962, he graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Since 2017, he served as Director of the European Bureau at the ministry and held various strategic positions in Europe before being assigned to Indonesia.
 

Asahi Group Holdings has suspended the order and shipment capabilities of its group companies in Japan after being struck by a cyberattack.

“We are actively investigating the cause and working to restore operations. However, there is currently no estimated timeline for recovery,” the beverage holding company said in a statement Monday.

The impact of the cyberattack is limited to Asahi’s Japan operations. There has not been any personal information or customer data leaks, according to the company.

Asahi has been contacted for further comment.
Cyberattacks have been on the rise in Japan, with a number of high-profile cases in recent years drawing attention to the issue.

Approximately a third of Japanese companies have experienced a cyberattack, according to a May 2025 survey by Teikoku Databank.

Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks — which overload networks in order to overpower them — increased 60% last December compared with a year earlier, reaching an all-time high, according to Akamai Technologies, a cybersecurity firm.

Stories about outdated data-handling processes in Japan occasionally make headlines. In 2022, a contractor handling official data lost a USB flash drive containing the personal details of all 460,000 residents of the city of Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, during a drunken night out. The device was later retrieved without incident.

But when it comes to more sophisticated data protection, Japan does rank fairly highly. The Global Cybersecurity Index 2024 ranked the country as a “role-model” in Asia Pacific, citing its legal mechanisms and organizational measures.
 


 

The Japanese government on Monday maintained its view that the economy is recovering moderately but said higher U.S. tariffs are adversely affecting the auto industry.

In its September monthly economic report, the Cabinet Office upgraded its assessment of private consumption for the first time in 13 months, citing improvement in consumer sentiment on the back of income growth and a pause in fresh vegetable price increases.

It also lifted the view on capital investment for the first time in 18 months, saying it is "picking up moderately," reflecting corporate moves to boost investment in software development in addition to machinery equipment.

While keeping intact its overall evaluation, the report said, "the effects caused from the U.S. trade policies are seen mainly in the automotive industry" after hefty tariffs were imposed in April under President Donald Trump.

The reference to the specific industry came after government data showed profits among manufacturing firms plunged 11.5 percent in the April-June quarter from a year earlier, dragged down by a 29.7 percent drop in the transport equipment sector, including automobiles.

The auto tariff of 27.5 percent was reduced to 15 percent in September following a Japan-U.S. trade agreement in July, a move that helped improve corporate and consumer sentiment, the office said.

The latest report said private consumption "shows movements of picking up," after assessing in August that "the improvement in consumer sentiment is slow." Consumer spending is a key component of gross domestic product, accounting for more than half of Japan's economy.
 
 

Partnership will expand Seven Bank’s ATM network to 44,000 units nationwide, overtaking Japan Post Bank as domestic leader.

Seven Bank announced that it will begin installing its ATMs across FamilyMart stores, one of Japan’s largest convenience store chains and a subsidiary of Itochu Corporation. 

FamilyMart plans to gradually replace the roughly 16,000 ATMs currently in its stores with Seven Bank’s high-performance machines, aiming to improve customer service and payment options.

By combining the new installations with its existing network of over 28,000 ATMs, the company’s total will reach around 44,000 units, surpassing Japan Post Bank’s 31,200 ATMs to become the largest ATM network in Japan.

FamilyMart operates about 16,300 stores nationwide. While the chain currently uses ATMs provided by companies like Tokyo-based E-net, most of these will be replaced with Seven Bank machines featuring a custom branded design.

The upgraded ATMs will allow services such as cash charging for various cashless payment platforms, improving overall convenience for users.

FamilyMart is also exploring new financial services that could be offered through the ATMs, including acting as an intermediary for mortgage sales from other financial institutions.
 


 

Toyota’s record sales run, including steady growth in China and North America, has lost steam after a sharp drop back home in Japan.

Global sales in August — including that of subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino — rose just over 1% from a year earlier to 900,598 units, the company said Monday. Sales that month rose almost 4% abroad to a record monthly high, but fell more than 10% in Japan.

Global production grew almost 4% to 837,869 units.

The world’s biggest carmaker has seen steady growth throughout the year in most major markets despite the recent downturn in Japan and trade turmoil triggered by President Donald Trump’s tariffs on cars and car parts imported to the U.S.

It even manufactured and sold a record number of vehicles for seven consecutive months, thanks to a resurgence in demand for gas-electric hybrids.

Toyota and Lexus brand sales in August were up nearly 14% in the U.S., but down 12% in Japan.

Battery electric vehicle sales rose 35% to 17,056 units globally — though only 18 were sold in Japan.

In August, Toyota lowered its annual profit guidance as it warned of a ¥1.4 trillion ($9.5 billion) hit to its bottom line from Trump’s 15% tariffs. It now sees ¥3.2 trillion in operating income for the fiscal year ending in March 2026, down from its initial forecast of ¥3.8 trillion.

In August, Nissan saw sales climb 3% to 251,081 units, thanks in large part to a 13% bump in the U.S. and a 19% jump in China.

Honda’s sales, on the other hand, suffered a 7% drop last month to 289,688 units.
 

 

Consumers in Japan are expected to face prices hikes on more than 3,000 food and beverage items for the first time in six months in October mainly due to an increase in raw material and labor costs.

The burden on Japanese households will be felt even more also because three-month subsidies on electricity and gas bills will end at the end of this month, keeping pressure on real wages that fell for the seventh consecutive month in July, as salary growth has been outpaced by price increases.

According to a survey by Teikoku Databank Ltd, the number of food and drink items planned for price hikes next month rose from the initially estimated 2,989 on Aug. 29.

For example, the suggested retail price of a 500-milliliter bottle of Coca Cola will be raised from 194 yen to 216 yen.

Items made from rice, such as "mochi" rice cakes and Japanese sake, will also be subject to hikes due to high rice prices.
 

 

The Japanese yen weakened against other major currencies in the European session on Friday, following the release of lesser-than-expected Tokyo overall inflation data in September.

Data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed that overall inflation in the Tokyo region of Japan was up 2.5 percent on year in September. That was shy of expectations for an annual increase of 2.6 percent, which would have been unchanged from the August reading.

Core CPI, which excludes the volatile cost of food, also was up 2.5 percent on year. That missed forecasts for an increase of 2.6 percent but was unchanged from the previous month's reading.

The Bank of Japan's (BoJ) argument for additional interest rate hikes has made more difficult by the reduction in inflation, even if price growth is still above its 2% target.

Furthermore, the BoJ may be able to postpone hiking interest rates due to political unpredictability in Japan ahead of the October 4 Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership election, which could put some selling pressure on the JPY.

In the European trading today, the yen declined to a 14-month low of 175.02 against the euro and a record low of 187.53 against the Swiss franc, from early highs of 174.64 and 187.09, respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 176.00 against the euro and 188.00 against the franc.

Against the pound and the U.S. dollar, the yen dropped to 200.21 and 149.89 from early highs of 199.70 and 149.62, respectively. The yen may test support near 201.00 against the pound and 150.00 against the greenback.

Looking ahead, Canada GDP data and wholesale sales data for August, U.S. Core PCE price index for August, personal income and spending for August, U.S. University of Michigan's consumer sentiment for September and U.S. Baker Hughes oil rig count data are slated for release in the New York session.
 


 

Nippon Steel Corp said Thursday it will invest $300 million in two plants run by the recently acquired United States Steel Corp, setting up a new recycling facility and expanding production via the introduction of new product lines in the key U.S. market.

It will be the first investment from the $11 billion Nippon Steel pledged to pump into U.S. Steel as agreed with President Donald Trump's government under the $14.1 billion acquisition deal finalized in June.

The Japanese steelmaker said it will spend $100 million to enable slag recycling at U.S. Steel's Edgar Thomson plant, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and $200 million to improve the Gary Works hot strip mill in Gary, Indiana.

"We will enhance the competitiveness of U.S. Steel through implementation of specific investment projects and this will eventually lead to jobs being protected," Nippon Steel President Tadashi Imai told reporters.

Meanwhile, local media reported last week that the U.S. government blocked a plan to halt a plant in Illinois, with the Trump administration holding a "golden share" giving it veto power over key management decisions.

Imai said there "can be different views" regarding the authority of the golden share, adding that the company sees the U.S. action as part of a policy to protect its domestic production base and jobs.

Nippon Steel, which aims to increase exports to Southeast Asia, India and other overseas markets to replace shrinking domestic demand, is looking to complete its $11 billion investment in U.S. Steel by 2028.
 
 

Honda said Wednesday that it has ended production of the Acura ZDX luxury electric vehicle, developed jointly with U.S. auto giant General Motors.

The ZDX had been manufactured at a GM plant in the United States and sold in the North American market. Honda ceased development and production of the ZDX for the 2026 model and beyond.

The Japanese automaker said the decision reflected a slowdown in EV demand and other market changes.

EV sales have been growing at a slower pace in the U.S. recently, accounting for less than 10% of the new car market. A measure to help consumers buy EVs, introduced under former U.S. President Joe Biden's administration, is set to expire at the end of this month, likely dealing a further blow to the EV market.

The Prologue electric SUV is set to be the only EV under joint development by Honda and GM following the latest move.

The two automakers had previously been developing a lower-priced mass-market EV, but suspended the project in 2023 before the vehicle hit the market.
 
 

Shinsegae Department Store announced on Sept. 24 that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Tokyu Retail Management, a subsidiary of Japan’s Tokyu Group, for Korea-Japan content exchange and business model enhancement at Shinsegae Department Store headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul on Sept. 23.

Tokyu Group, established in 1922 based on the railway business, operates major railway lines and stations in Tokyo. It is a conglomerate with a business network across Japan, including important landmarks in Shibuya (Shibuya109, Shibuya Hikarie, etc.), department stores, real estate, and hotel resorts. Tokyu Retail Management is a subsidiary that oversees the operation of Tokyu Group’s commercial facilities.

Through this MOU, the two companies plan to strengthen brand exchanges and promotions based on their respective commercial facilities and cooperate to create new value in both countries’ markets continuously.

In particular, Shinsegae Department Store will enhance customer accessibility by entering Tokyu Group’s commercial facilities located in central Shibuya through this MOU. In line with the MOU, a Shinsegae Hyper Ground pop-up store will be held at “Shibuya109” next month.

Shibuya 109 has established itself as a landmark in Shibuya since its first opening in 1979. It is a shopping mall that has recently gained popularity among MZ female customers who love K-pop, hosting K-pop pop-ups.

Through the Shinsegae Hyper Ground pop-up, they plan to showcase “rising star” K-brands that have been proven in Korea to Japanese customers, continuing the K-brand sensation.

Previously, Shinsegae Hyper Ground successfully held K-fashion and K-beauty pop-up stores in Thailand, Japan, Singapore, and Paris. Since 2023, it has been going abroad with Korean brands to increase brand expandability and attract new customers.

Jang Su-jin, head of the Shinsegae Department Store Merchandise Division, said, “Through this MOU with the Tokyu Group, we have created a platform to showcase a new expanded form of Shinsegae Hyper Ground,” adding, “We will strive to get closer to customers in both Korea and Japan through collaboration between the two companies.”



 
 
 

Staff at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo who honed their customer service skills and language abilities are highly sought after as ready-to-work talent.

A joint corporate job fair targeting staff working at the Expo venue was held in Osaka on Sept. 14 and 15, introducing employment opportunities after the Expo’s closure.

A total of 107 companies participated, with industries ranging from hotels to manufacturers. Amid ongoing labor shortages, “Expo talent” has become the subject of fierce competition.

Organized by major temp staff agency Pasona Inc., companies set up booths to explain their business and employment conditions and held individual interviews. There was also a consultation booth for foreign workers. The two-day event saw approximately 2,500 attendees.

Nao Kato, 23, who oversees guide services at the Commons, a joint exhibition pavilion for multiple countries, said, “I want to use my experience interacting with people from various countries in English to work in a job that connects me to the world.”

There are about 20,000 workers at the Expo, handling various duties including customer service, guiding, pavilion operations and cleaning.

The companies attending the joint job fair came from a diverse range of industries, including hotel operators Hoshino Resorts Inc. and Royal Hotel, Ltd., and Sanrio Co., known for its Hello Kitty character goods.

The operator of Junglia Okinawa, a theme park that opened in July in Nakijin Village, Okinawa Prefecture, attended with the aim of recruiting customer service staff.

“The work done at the Expo is well-suited to working at a theme park,” said director Reina Mori. “We want to sow the seeds for recruitment for next year’s spring break and long holidays.”

According to Pasona, many companies inquired about the job fair, but to allow attendees and companies to talk in detail, the number of participating companies was ultimately limited to about 100.

“The flexible response and communication skills cultivated at the Expo are valuable, and many companies are eager to hire these workers,” said managing director Kyoko Sanematsu.

Many Expo workers quit their former jobs to work at the Expo. Most of them are expected to look for new jobs after the event ends, and companies are showing strong interest.

The Osaka Labor Bureau will also hold job fairs after the Expo closes, gathering businesses in the restaurant and airport-related sectors.
 
 
 

A large overhang that threatened the Japanese equity market is being removed with the Bank of Japan laying out a century-long plan to offload its massive holdings of exchange-traded funds.

While benchmark stock gauges fell Friday in a knee-jerk reaction when the central bank said it would be selling its ¥75 trillion ($507 billion) stockpile, traders quickly pared much of the decline as focus turned to the very gradual nature of the program. The BOJ intends to reduce its holdings by about ¥620 billion by market value per year.

The announcement also came at the end of a week that saw the blue-chip Nikkei 225 and broader Topix index set fresh record highs. The market’s resilience to shocks over the past two years underscores the confidence, with shares recovering first from the BOJ ending negative interest rates in 2024 and more recently rallying in the face of tariffs from the U.S.

Japanese shares led gains among major markets in Asia on Monday, with the Nikkei rising 1.5% during the morning session and the Topix gaining 0.9%.

"Investors had been nervous about when the BOJ would start selling ETFs — a lot of them have been asking me about it,” said Seiichi Suzuki, chief equity analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory.

The time frame for the sell-down of ETFs is positive and suggests limited market impact, he said.

Global investors have contributed to the advance in Japanese stocks as they seek to diversify their portfolios, with equities in Tokyo trading at lower price-to-earnings and price-to-book valuations than those in the U.S.

Corporate governance reforms have also helped by encouraging buybacks, mergers and acquisitions activity and the emergence of activist investors as a powerful force for championing focus on shareholder returns.

The BOJ’s ETF sales could begin early next year, a person familiar with the matter has said.

Before then, the market still faces potential turbulence from uncertainty over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party selecting a new leader, and the continued risk of economic fallout from tariffs.

Given that the BOJ indirectly owns about 7% of Japanese stocks via ETFs, any miscalculation in its sales that exceeded market demand could still be damaging.

Yet the current amount indicated by the central bank should be easily absorbed, said Kohei Onishi, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. He noted that Japanese companies, under pressure from regulators and shareholders to stop cash hoarding, are buying back a large amount of their own shares annually.

Investors will be closely watching the impact of ETF sales on stocks with heavy weighting on the Nikkei average, such as casual clothing chain operator Fast Retailing and billionaire Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group. Fast Retailing shares slid 4.5% on Friday while SoftBank’s stock rose 0.7%. Both stocks rose on Monday morning.

Initially, the central bank had focused its buying on ETFs tracking the Nikkei, and it was criticized for warping markets with these purchases. It changed to buying funds tracking the Topix in 2021.

The BOJ’s hold over ETFs breaks down to around ¥17 trillion for the Nikkei and about ¥51.2 trillion for the Topix in market value, according to data compiled by Bank of America.

Japanese equities may see some short-term stress but the BOJ’s plan won’t scupper the market’s bull trend, according to Anna Wu, cross-asset strategist at VanEck Associates in Sydney.

"If we ask ourselves, will the new prime minister be pro-growth? Will fiscal expansion continue? And are foreign investors going to continue investing in Japan equities as part of U.S. diversification trade?
The answers are likely to be yes for all three,” she said.
 
 

Monday marks the 40th anniversary of the Plaza Accord, under which the Group of Five countries — Japan, the United States, Britan, France and then West Germany — decided to correct the excessive appreciation of the dollar through currency adjustments.

The accord was led by the United States to reduce its trade deficits. At the time, the country was suffering from both fiscal and trade deficits.

As the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump aims to cut the country’s trade deficits, Japan’s market players are wary that the United States may ask Japan to take measures to help correct the strong dollar.



Accord named after NY hotel

The agreement is named after the meeting’s venue, the Plaza Hotel in New York. Finance ministers and central bank governors gathered there on Sept. 22, 1985, and decided to jointly intervene in the currency markets to guide the dollar’s depreciation.

At the time, the dollar was surging due to monetary tightening designed to curb inflation in the United States, and the country was also suffering massive trade deficits due to expanding imports.

Following the accord, the dollar depreciated, and U.S. trade deficits recovered in the early 1990s. However, due to a massive influx of low-priced foreign goods into the country following economic globalization, U.S. trade deficits have begun ballooning again. The United States’ trade deficits reached a record $1.22 trillion in 2024.

However, the yen sharply appreciated against the dollar following the accord, from the ¥240 level to the dollar to the ¥150 level in one year, dealing a blow to Japan’s export industries. This prompted Japan to take monetary easing policies to address a recession caused by the strong yen, which is believed to be one of the factors that caused the economic bubble.



Possible Mar-a-Lago Accord

The yen appreciated to ¥75.32 against the dollar on Oct. 31, 2011. Currently, the yen is trading around ¥147, continuing the trend of a weak yen and a strong dollar. Some market players speculate that the U.S. administration may attempt to correct the strong dollar to boost U.S. firms’ competitiveness in exports.

In a 2024 paper, Stephen Miran, who chairs the White House Council of Economic Advisers and recently assumed the post of Federal Reserve Governor, proposed a “Mar-a-Lago Accord,” an initiative under which countries work together to help weaken the dollar. It is also called the “Second Plaza Accord.”

After the launch of his second administration, Trump repeatedly cautioned against the strong dollar at first, but recently he has refrained from touching on the subject.

Japan and the United States said in a joint statement issued on Sept. 12 that “exchange rates should be market determined,” in line with previous agreements among the Group of Seven leading countries.

However, Trump tends to change his policies back and forth. Given this, Tomohisa Ishikawa, a researcher at the Japan Research Institute cautioned about potential risks.

“[Trump’s] interest may shift to exchange rates in case tariff measures do not help reduce the U.S. trade deficits,” Ishikawa said. “The Japanese government needs to continue careful dialogues with the United States.”
 
 

Japan's antitrust watchdog on Thursday ordered the domestic unit of motorcycle company Harley-Davidson Inc to pay about 211 million yen in fines for imposing excessive sales quotas on dealers in violation of the antimonopoly law.

The Japan Fair Trade Commission also issued a cease-and-desist order to Harley-Davidson Japan KK, based in Tokyo, after some dealers were forced to register themselves as vehicle holders just to meet the quotas.

The dealers made little profit from doing so since the vehicles were sold at lower prices. However, they had no choice but to maintain their relationship with Harley-Davidson Japan, it said.

According to the commission, between January 2023 and August 2024, Harley-Davidson Japan unilaterally imposed quotas on 38 dealers and required them to submit an improvement plan if they failed to meet a certain threshold.

Every January, the company presents the dealers with an agreement containing proposed quotas and forces them to sign it.

Harley-Davidson Japan raised the sales targets by 30 percent for 2023 and 38 percent for 2024, without providing the basis for calculating the quotas. The company also refused to lower the targets when dealers requested it.

When actually selling to customers, these vehicles are treated as "nearly new used cars," forcing dealers to sell them at lower prices. The proportion registered under related parties' names by dealers during the quota period averaged about 29 percent in 2023 and about 34 percent from January to August 2024, the commission said.

Harley-Davidson Japan told Kyodo News that it fully cooperated with the commission's probe and took corrective measures by conducting a voluntary internal investigation.

According to the Japan Automobile Importers Association, Harley-Davidson accounted for 33.3 percent of the number of newly registered imported small motorcycles in 2024, ranking first for the fifth consecutive year since 2020.
 


 

Calls for abolishing an environmental performance-based tax paid when a vehicle is purchased have pitted a major automobile industry group against the government, but also caused divisions between government ministries.

As Japan’s auto industry grapples with the ramifications of tariffs imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) and the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry are demanding the tax be immediately axed.

However, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry and the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry are reluctant to take this step, which would lead to a drop in tax revenue.

The association announced Thursday its key requests for tax system reforms for fiscal 2026, which starts in April. These requests included a call for the environmental performance-based tax to be abolished.

“Taxes imposed on automobiles are becoming a heavy burden,” JAMA Chairman Masanori Katayama, who is also chairman of Isuzu Motors Ltd., said at a press conference, as he explained the significance of the proposed change. “We want to have this burden reduced and to shore up the domestic industrial base.”

The environmental performance-based tax was introduced in 2019 in place of the vehicle acquisition tax. This tax of 0% to 3% of the purchase price is calculated based on the vehicle’s attainment of fuel efficiency and emission standards. The tax is applied to new and used vehicles, but electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are exempt.

Automobile taxes are paid at three stages – when a vehicle is purchased, while it is owned, and when it is being used, such as through fuel taxes. These taxes generate about ¥9 trillion in combined annual revenue.

The determined push by JAMA and the industry ministry to abolish the environmental performance-based tax comes at a time when new vehicle sales are slumping.

In 2024, about 4.42 million new vehicles were sold in Japan, a huge drop from the 7.77 million units sold in 1990. The average length of vehicle ownership was about nine years in the 1990s, but this has grown to about 13 years in the 2020s. Rising car prices and tax increases are believed to be factors behind people owning vehicles for longer.

Although the United States has reduced the tariff imposed on vehicles imported from Japan to 15%, the financial burden on domestic automakers is still considerable. Axing the environmental performance-based tax is intended to encourage people in Japan to get a new car and to prop up the auto industry.

“How we can maintain and strengthen domestic production are urgent issues to be addressed so that the auto industry’s competitiveness and jobs aren’t lost,” Katayama said.


Current system ‘unfair’

However, the environmental performance-based tax is a local tax and a crucial revenue source for municipalities. Revenue from this tax is estimated to reach about ¥190 billion in fiscal 2025.

“If this tax gets abolished, a replacement source of funds will be needed,” an internal affairs ministry official told The Yomiuri Shimbun.

The land ministry, which is responsible for road management, is also reluctant to scrap the tax due to concerns that doing so could lead to a shortage of funds needed to repair and upgrade aging infrastructure.

The tax is not imposed on electric vehicles, so there is the view it should be kept to help the nation’s decarbonization efforts.

However, electric vehicles are typically heavier than gasoline-powered cars, so they are more likely to damage roads as they drive along. Electric vehicle owners do not pay any gasoline tax, and they also pay less of the tax calculated based on a vehicle’s exhaust emission volumes. Some observers have pointed out that this has created a sense of unfairness.

Consequently, the industry ministry and the association have called for the introduction of a new tax system during the vehicle ownership stage that would account for vehicle weight and environmental performance. The Finance Ministry is poised to consider this issue as well.

Attention will be focused on whether the ruling parties can present concrete details, such as when such a tax would be introduced, in the tax system reform outline to be wrapped up by the end of the year.
 

 

The brewer of popular Japanese sake Dassai recently changed its company name to match its signature label, in a move aimed at boosting global brand recognition to expand sales abroad.

"The entire globe is our market," Dassai Inc CEO Kazuhiro Sakurai said, with the company aiming for overseas markets to eventually account for 70 percent of total sales, up from 40 percent currently, amid a decline at home.

Before the rebranding in June, the brewer's previous name, Asahi Shuzo Co, proved to be an obstacle in its expansion efforts abroad, often being confused with other companies.

"Asahi," meaning "sunrise" or "morning sun" is used widely in Japanese company names, including by one of the country's beverage giants.

While expressing regret over parting with the familiar name used by the brewer since 1948, Sakurai said he believes the change will "contribute to (the company's) hometown."

Dassai refers to the otters seen in the region in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, where the brewer is located, according to the company's website.

Popular for its mellow taste, Dassai sake was given as a gift to U.S. President Barack Obama by the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose constituency was in the prefecture.

Domestic shipments of sake have been declining amid reduced alcohol consumption, with the 390,000 kiloliters shipped in fiscal 2023 around a fifth of the peak level five decades earlier. In contrast, shipments overseas are continuing to expand amid a global boom in Japanese cuisine.

Moving forward, Dassai is determined to increase its presence in the United States and Europe, in addition to the Asian market that has long been its main overseas sales destination.

In 2023, the company established a brewery in the state of New York to produce and sell sake locally that uses U.S.-grown sake rice, which helps to minimize the impact of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

More recently, at the World Exposition in Osaka, Dassai released a special sake brewed in collaboration with Austria that was produced with Johann Strauss II's "Lagoon Waltz" playing during the fermentation process.
 


 

Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Saturday he will run in the presidential election of the Liberal Democratic Party next month, pledging to boost Japan's economy and revitalize the ruling party after its poor performance in recent national elections.

The 44-year-old son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said he is willing to expand the current ruling bloc, while promising to deal with perceived issues related to foreign tourists and residents.

Koizumi became the fifth, and likely final, LDP lawmaker to officially announce their candidacy for the party's leadership election on Oct. 4, in which the successor to outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will be chosen. Campaigning will start on Monday.

He and former internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi are considered the most likely winners, ahead of Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, according to recent media polls.

"The LDP is in a crisis," Koizumi told a press conference, pledging to promote economic measures as his "top priority" and bring about wage growth that outpaces rising living costs. He said he is targeting an average annual pay increase of 1 million yen ($6,800) by fiscal 2030.

Koizumi said he will draw up an "action plan" by the end of the year to take measures to respond to issues of overtourism, illegal foreign workers, land acquisition by foreign nonresidents and foreign residents not correctly engaging with the public health insurance system.

Issues regarding tourists and foreign residents were at the center of debate during the July 20 House of Councillors election, giving the small populist Sanseito opposition party, with its "Japanese First" slogan, a solid footing.

The LDP leadership contest will come as Ishiba, the party's head, said earlier this month that he would step down to take responsibility for major setbacks in recent national elections.

Koizumi reportedly persuaded Ishiba, who had sought to remain prime minister, to resign. After taking up the current post of agriculture, forestry and fisheries minister in May, Koizumi's efforts to address surging rice prices put him in the spotlight.

Koizumi has already secured backing from veteran lawmakers such as former Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato, who ran in last year's LDP leadership election. Kato will head the campaign headquarters at Koizumi's request.

The next LDP leader is not guaranteed to become prime minister, as the LDP-led ruling coalition with its junior partner, the Komeito party, does not hold a lower house majority.

The successful candidate needs to win a House of Representatives vote, with an opposition candidate set to stand against them.

The minority governing bloc needs support from opposition parties to pass budgets and bills, forcing the LDP, which has held power almost continuously since 1955, to consider how it can gain their support to retain control.

Koizumi said he will call for policy talks with opposition parties "widely," and deepen discussions about the framework of the ruling coalition.

As for measures to tackle price surges, Koizumi said he will consider all possible options in cooperation with opposition parties, while planning an economic package in a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year through March.

With campaign promises during recent elections by major opposition parties apparently in mind, Koizumi vowed to abolish the provisional gasoline tax rate as part of measures to address rising living costs and raise the tax-free annual income threshold.

On the diplomatic front, Koizumi said he will elevate Japan's alliance with the United States to "new heights" by building trust with President Donald Trump and described trilateral cooperation involving South Korea as "especially vital."

Koizumi, as well as his father, is known for his regular visits to the war-linked Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, which honors convicted war criminals along with millions of war dead, a source of friction with China and South Korea that suffered under Japan's wartime aggression.

Asked if he would visit Yasukuni as prime minister, Koizumi said that he would make a decision "appropriately," adding that it is "natural" to pay respect and express gratitude to those who served the nation.
 
 

Financial assets held by households in Japan as of the end of June stood at a record high of 2,239 trillion yen as the balance of stocks and investment trust funds grew because of higher stock prices, the Bank of Japan said Thursday.

Of the total, shareholdings climbed 4.9 pct from a year before to 294 trillion yen, and investment trusts grew 9 pct to 140 trillion yen, both record highs, partly pushed up by inflows of funds into the new Nippon Individual Savings Account tax exemption program for small-lot investors.

The balance of cash and deposits shrank 0.1 pct to 1,126 trillion yen, the first decline since the end of December 2006, influenced by the spread of cashless payments, increased consumption due to high prices and a shift of funds to investment trusts.

Japanese government bonds held by the BOJ as of the end of June, excluding treasury discount bills, totaled 538 trillion yen, accounting for 50.94 pct of outstanding JGBs. The proportion fell for the seventh consecutive quarter.

The BOJ has been reducing the amount of JGB purchases in stages as part of efforts to normalize monetary policy following years of massive easing.
 
 

 

The world’s fondness for matcha is about to be tested by steep price increases.

Global demand for the powdered tea has skyrocketed around the world, fueled by consumer interest in its health benefits and by the bright green matcha lattes bubbling up on social media. In the U.S., retail sales of matcha are up 86% from three years ago, according to NIQ, a market research firm.

But the matcha market is troubled. In Japan, one of the biggest matcha producers, poor weather reduced this year’s harvest. Matcha is still plentiful in China, another major producer, but labor shortages and high demand have also raised prices there.

For Americans, there’s the added impact of tariffs. Imports from China are currently subject to a 37.5% tariff, while the U.S. has a 15% tariff on imports from Japan.

 

It’s not clear if tea will be exempted from tariffs because it’s a natural product that’s not grown in significant quantities in the U.S. — an accommodation that the Trump administration has made for cork from the European Union.

The Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representative didn’t respond to messages left by The Associated Press.

Aaron Vick, a senior tea buyer with California-based tea importer G.S. Haly, says he paid 75% more for the highest-grade 2025 crop of Japanese matcha, which will arrive in the U.S. later this fall.

 

He expects lower grades of matcha to cost 30% to 50% more. Chinese matcha — while generally cheaper than Japanese matcha — is also getting more expensive because of high demand, he said.

“People should expect an enormous increase in the price of matcha this year,” Vick said. “It’s going to be a bit of a tough ride for matcha devotees. They will have to show the depth of their commitment at the cash register.”

Even before this year’s harvest, growing demand was straining matcha supplies. Making matcha is precise and labor intensive.

Farmers grow tencha — a green tea leaf — in the shade. In the spring, the leaves are harvested, steamed, de-stemmed and de-veined and then stone ground into a fine powder. Tencha can be harvested again in the summer and fall, but the later harvests are generally of lower quality.

 

There are ways to cut corners, like using a jet mill, which grinds the leaves with high pressure air. But Japan has other issues, including a rapidly aging workforce and limited tencha production.

And despite Japanese agricultural ministry trying to coax tea growers to switch to tencha from regular green tea, many are reluctant to do so, concerned that the matcha boom will fade.

That’s giving an opening to China, where matcha originated but fell out of favor in the 14th century. Chinese matcha production has been growing in recent years to meet both domestic and international demand.

 

Chinese matcha has historically been considered inferior to Japanese matcha and used as a flavoring for things like matcha-flavored KitKat bars instead of as a drinking tea. But the quality is improving, according to Jason Walker, the marketing director at Firsd Tea, the New Jersey-based U.S. subsidiary of Zhejiang Tea Group, China’s largest tea exporter.

“We are seeing more and more interest in Chinese matcha because of capacity issues and changing perception,” Walker said. “It used to be the idea that it has to be Japanese matcha or nothing. But we have a good product too.”

Starbucks is among the companies using matcha from China for its lattes. The company said it also sources matcha from Japan and South Korea. Dunkin' and Dutch Bros. didn't respond when asked where they source the matcha.

Josh Mordecai, the supply chain director for London-based tea supplier Good & Proper Tea, said he is approached almost daily by Chinese matcha suppliers. For now, he only buys matcha from Japan, but the cost to acquire it has risen 40% so he’ll have to raise prices, he said.

 

Mordecai said he saw more demand for matcha in the last year than in the previous nine years combined. If matcha prices continue to rise, he wonders if consumers will switch to other tea varieties like hojicha, a roasted Japanese green tea.

“We’ll see if this is a bubble or not. Nothing stays on social media that long,” Mordecai said.

Julia Mills, a food and drink analyst for the market research company Mintel, expects the social media interest in matcha to die down. But she thinks matcha will remain on menus for a while.

Mills said matcha appeals to customers interested in wellness, since it contains antioxidants and l-theanine, an amino acid known for its calming effects, and it’s less caffeinated than coffee. Millennials and Generation Z customers are more likely to have tried matcha than others, Mills said.

The traditional way of preparing it, whisking the powder together with hot water in a small bowl, also appeals to drinkers who want to slow down and be more intentional, Mills said.

 

That’s true for Melissa Lindsay of San Francisco, who whisks up some matcha for herself every morning. Lindsay has noticed prices rising for her high-end matcha, but it’s a habit she’d find hard to quit.

“It’s not just a tea bag in water,” Lindsay said. “It’s a whole experience of making it to your liking.”

David Lau, the owner of Asha Tea House in San Francisco, hopes to keep customers drinking matcha by limiting price increases. Lau raised the price of his matcha latte by 50 cents after the cost the matcha he buys from Japan more than doubled. He’s also looking into alternate suppliers from China and elsewhere.

“We’re in the affordable luxury business, you know, just like any other specialty cafe. We want people to be able to come every day, and once you reach a certain price level, you start to price people out,” he said. “We want to be really cognizant and aware of not doing that.
 
 

U.S. President Donald Trump's lowered tariff of 15 percent on automobiles from Japan will take effect Tuesday, the Commerce Department said, about five months after his aggressive trade agenda began to heavily impact the industrial backbone of one of Washington's key allies.

The department announced the timing of the adjustment on Monday. After Trump imposed an additional auto tariff on national security grounds in April, the U.S. tariff rate for foreign-origin cars rose from 2.5 percent to 27.5 percent, squeezing the margins of Japanese automakers and other manufacturers.

The reduced tariff is part of a trade deal the Trump administration struck on July 22 with Japan, which in return has committed to investing massively in the United States and increasing imports of American agricultural products during the president's nonconsecutive second term.

Although the implementation of the lowered auto tariff will ease the impact on Japan's automotive sector, the 15 percent rate remains far higher than before and continues to weigh heavily on carmakers and related industries.

Trump signed an executive order on Sept. 4 formally implementing the trade agreement, which also granted Japan special treatment on what he calls "reciprocal" tariffs.

The department's notice to be published Tuesday said that as agreed by the two countries, Trump's additional 25 percent tariff imposed in May on major auto parts, including engines and transmissions, will also be cut to 15 percent for those coming from Japan.

The guidance further specified that civil aircraft and aircraft parts of Japan will no longer be subject to additional U.S. tariffs.

In 2024, Japan exported around 6 trillion yen worth of vehicles to the United States. Together with auto-parts exports, they accounted for one-third of Japan's total shipments to the world's largest economy, according to Japanese trade data.

The United States has agreed to grant the same tariff rate for automobiles from the European Union and South Korea as it does for Japan. The United States has reduced its tariff on British cars to 10 percent for up to 100,000 units annually.

On Aug. 7, Trump's modified country-specific tariff rates for goods from dozens of U.S. trading partners came into effect.

The United States currently imposes a 15 percent tariff on most imports from Japan, down from the 24 percent or 25 percent that Trump had threatened prior to the agreement.

Additionally, his trade team has agreed that imports from Japan with preexisting tariffs of 15 percent or higher will not face any additional duty, and levies on other goods will be capped at 15 percent.

However, the United States had yet to implement either the lowered auto tariff rate or the "no stacking" treatment for Japan.

The executive order, followed by necessary administrative procedures, finally enabled the United States to put the two commitments into practice.

With respect to any excess stacking tariffs collected from importers of Japanese goods under its new country-by-country tariff system, the Trump administration has said it will refund them dating back to Aug. 7.
 
 

 

Japan and the European Union agreed Tuesday to strengthen cooperation on economic security and free trade in response to challenges such as the high tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and their dependence on critical minerals from China.

The policy was affirmed at a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and European Commission Executive Vice President Stephane Sejourne, who is in charge of industrial strategy.

In July, Japan and the EU launched a comprehensive alliance to enhance cooperation on trade, economic security and innovation.

 

"It is important to promote cooperation in the formation of economic policies and international rules, as well as concrete cooperation between Japanese and European companies in strategic fields as two pillars," Ishiba said.

The time has come to further deepen the cooperative relationship between Japan and the EU, Sejourne replied.
 
 

The average overall price of land in Japan as of July 1 rose 1.5 percent from a year earlier, marking the sharpest growth since 1992, boosted by solid housing demand and inbound tourism, government data showed Tuesday.

The price climbed for the fourth straight year, also lifted by robust investment demand from overseas on the back of the weak yen. Commercial land prices gained 2.8 percent with launches of new hotels and stores in urban areas amid a surge in foreign tourists.

"Investment demand from foreigners is growing for condominiums in central Tokyo and resort areas in Hokkaido" in northern Japan, said an official of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Prices for residential land increased 1.0 percent due to strong demand for residences in urban areas, as well as for employee dormitories in resort areas. However, some places experienced sluggish growth due to soaring construction costs.

Among residential areas, Furano, near Hokkaido's ski areas and a popular destination for overseas investors developing resorts, saw the sharpest growth of 27.1 percent.

The ministry said that Chitose, in Hokkaido, which houses a Rapidus Corp. semiconductor plant, saw the fastest growth in commercial areas, at 31.4 percent.

The average land price increased by 4.3 percent in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, seeing larger growth in both residential and commercial areas.
For the third consecutive year, regional land prices increased, with residential areas rising 0.1 percent and commercial areas climbing 1.0 percent.
 
https://youtu.be/irje_0m6rYQ
 
Prices for residential land increased in 20 of Japan's 47 prefectures, up by three from the previous year, while 26 saw declines.

The Meidi-ya Ginza commercial building site in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district fetched the highest price per square meter of 46.9 million yen ($320,000), topping the list for the 20th consecutive year.

After 1992, land prices had been on a downward trend due to the bursting of the country's asset price bubble. However, they have been on an upward trend in recent years after recovering from the financial crisis triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the coronavirus pandemic.
 
 

GoPay users can now make payments at QRIS-enabled merchants in Japan, following Bank Indonesia’s move to expand its cross-border QR code payment system to the country in August 2025.

This allows Indonesian travelers to pay at Japanese merchants by scanning JPQR codes using the GoPay app.

GoPay, operated by GoTo Financial, already supports QRIS cross-border payments in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Bank Indonesia has also started a pilot to connect QRIS with China’s digital payment systems, aiming for full launch by the end of 2025.

The central bank reported cross-border QRIS transactions reached 1.7 trillion rupiah (US$103.6 billion) as of June 2025.

GoTo Financial said the initiative supports Bank Indonesia’s efforts to expand QRIS cross-border access.
 

 

Major Japanese companies took a positive view of business conditions in the three months through September for the first time in two quarters, a government survey showed Thursday, reflecting recovering chip demand and easing concerns about U.S. tariffs.

The key index measuring sentiment among major Japanese companies regarding business conditions stood at 4.7 in the survey conducted by the Finance Ministry, a turnaround from minus 1.9 for the April-June quarter.

The business survey index is calculated by subtracting the percentage of companies reporting a deterioration from the percentage of those citing an improvement.

The quarterly survey also showed a reading of 3.8 for the manufacturing sector and 5.2 for the nonmanufacturing sector.

Asked about the outlook for the October-December quarter, major companies remained positive with the index at 4.3.

Around 11,000 companies responded to the Aug 15 survey, conducted after Japan and the United States reached a trade deal that reduced tariff rates to 15 percent for Japanese cars and other products.

While the agreement was not put into writing until early September, the deal helped to dispel uncertainty among Japanese companies about the impact on their businesses and the export-reliant economy, as U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened to impose a 25 percent "reciprocal" duty while the combined auto tariff rate had jumped to 27.5 percent.

Despite the improved sentiment among large companies, smaller firms remained pessimistic, with the index at minus 9.6, according to the survey.