Japan’s unemployment rate ticked up to 2.7% in January, ending a five‑month decline. The labor ministry reported a 0.4% dip in total employment and a 3.2% rise in the unemployed, driven largely by a 7.9% jump in voluntary quits. Job openings fell sharply in hospitality and retail, while education and manufacturing saw modest gains. Officials linked the shift to higher living costs and firms turning to AI for efficiency.
The Nikkei Stock Average closed at a record 58,583.12 points, up 2.20% as investors cheered the nomination of two new Bank of Japan policymakers viewed as dovish. The yen briefly slipped past the 156‑yen level before retreating, while the broader...
Toyota Motor Corp's labor union lowered its annual bonus demand to 7.3 months' pay, a 0.3‑month reduction from last year’s record level, as the automaker faces higher U.S. tariffs. The union also called for wage hikes in the spring “shunto”...
Japan’s economy grew a modest 0.2 percent annualised in the October‑December quarter, just enough to avoid a technical recession after a 0.7 percent contraction in the prior quarter. Private consumption rose 0.4 percent, but a 1.1 percent drop in exports dragged overall growth. The...
Sharp announced that its plan to sell the Kameyama No. 2 LCD panel plant in Mie Prefecture to parent company Foxconn has collapsed, prompting a shutdown slated for August. The company will cut 1,170 jobs through early‑retirement packages and record a...
Honda Motor Co announced a 42% plunge in profit for the nine months through December, falling to 465.4 billion yen from 805.2 billion yen a year earlier. Sales dipped 2.2% to 15.98 trillion yen, yet the company kept its full‑year profit forecast of...
Japan recorded a historic 31.88 trillion yen current‑account surplus in 2025, the second year of record balances and an 11.1 percent rise from the prior year. The surplus was driven by a 4.7 percent jump in primary income from overseas investments and a...
Japan's average monthly household spending rose 0.9% year‑on‑year in 2025, marking the first increase after three consecutive years of decline. The gain was driven by higher outlays on education, entertainment and automobiles, while food expenses fell 1.2% as consumers curtailed...
Toyota announced a 43% drop in quarterly profit and named its CFO, Kenta Kon, as the new chief executive and president effective April. Kon, a veteran with expertise in automated driving, will replace Koji Sato, who will stay on as...
Sony raised its FY2025‑26 profit forecast to 1.13 trillion yen, citing a weaker yen and offsetting a slowdown in PlayStation sales. Operating profit is projected to grow 20.6% with revenues reaching 12.3 trillion yen. Despite a 16% decline in PS5 sales and...