Ozoni soup & other New Year foods on my kotatsu this morning #pseudo-jikkaing

I won't be #jikkaing this NYE as I am on the hook for a holiday shift (working from my makeshift kotatsu) - but I am ready to crack open a can of Sapporo as soon as my shift ends. Toshikoshi soba for dinner tonight.

TOKYO, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Japan has a free hand in dealing with excessive moves in the yen, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Tuesday, issuing the strongest warning to date on Tokyo's readiness to intervene in the currency market to arrest sharp declines in the currency.

You know what day it is

TOKYO, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Japan reaffirmed its decades-old pledge never to possess nuclear weapons on Friday after local media reported that a senior security official suggested the country should acquire them to deter potential aggressors.　www.reuters.com/world/china/...

Yen dips after BOJ raises rates in widely anticipated move reut.rs/4oYWfJP

TOKYO, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan raised interest rates on Friday to levels unseen in three decades and signaled its readiness for further hikes beyond next year, taking another landmark step in ending decades of huge monetary support and near-zero borrowing costs.

BOJ to hike rates to 0.75% in Dec, 1.0% by next Sept, majority of economists say: Reuters poll reut.rs/4iR9kmL

TOKYO, Dec 11 (Reuters) - U.S. nuclear-capable bombers flew over the Sea of Japan alongside Japanese fighter jets on Wednesday, Tokyo said, in a show of force following Chinese and Russian drills in the skies and seas around Japan and South Korea.

My latest: TOKYO, Dec 11 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan will proceed with a 25-basis-point interest rate hike to 0.75% at its December meeting and raise borrowing costs to at least 1% by the end of September next year, a strong majority of economists said in a Reuters poll published on Thursday.

U.S. authorities are planning to require foreign tourists from visa-exempt countries, including Japan, Australia and South Korea, to disclose five years of their social media history when they apply for Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) online. www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12...

Breaking News: The New York Times sued the Pentagon, arguing that new reporting restrictions infringed on the rights of its journalists.

The New York Times sued the Pentagon on Thursday, arguing that the Defense Department infringed on the constitutional rights of its journalists by imposing a set of new restrictions on reporting about the military.　www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/b...

NAGOYA, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Monday the central bank will consider the "pros and cons" of raising interest rates at its next policy meeting in December.

TOKYO, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and President Donald Trump discussed China relations in a phone call on Tuesday, their first talks since the Japanese premier sparked a major diplomatic bust-up with Beijing over her remarks on Taiwan.

TOKYO, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and U.S. President Donald Trump are preparing to speak on the phone on Tuesday, Japanese broadcaster Fuji News Network reported.

I waited in line for an hour but managed to get a pulled pork sandwich and ribs at the American festival in Hibiya Park. Great craft beer, delicious food and a superb event to celebrate all things America.

Japan set to lean on U.S., allies for support if China escalates www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11...

My latest @reuters.com The BOJ will raise interest rates at its upcoming December meeting, according to a slim majority of economists in a Reuters poll, pushing through with its aim of normalising monetary policy, backed by the yen's recent decline. www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

TOKYO, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Japan's economy shrank almost 2% in the three months through September, as a drop in exports in the face of U.S. tariffs resulted in the first contraction in six quarters, government data showed on Monday. www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

China warns citizens not to visit Japan as row over Taiwan heats up www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11...

Tokyo the Beautiful.

It’s Nov. 1. Deal with it. #ChristmasStartsonNov1 #Christmas #ChristmasVibe

TOKYO, Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump met Japan's new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, in Tokyo on Tuesday for talks on trade and security, a week after the hardline conservative became Japan’s first female leader and vowed to accelerate a military buildup.

TOKYO, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is preparing to recommend U.S. President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and making arrangements to inform him of her intentions, NTV reported on Tuesday, citing multiple government sources.

TOKYO, Oct 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump received a royal welcome on Monday in Japan, the latest leg of a five-day Asia trip which he hopes to cap with an agreement on a trade war truce with Chinese President Xi Jinping.　www.reuters.com/world/china/...

TOKYO/KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump departed for Tokyo on Monday, where he was scheduled to meet Japan's emperor and newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as part of an Asia trip aimed at securing trade deals, investment and increased defence spending.

US weekly jobless claims increase, more people collecting unemployment checks, economists estimate reut.rs/3JtNpF3

It has been *two days* since the LDP and Ishin formalized their pact and Ishin is already warning it could quit.

REUTERS EXCLUSIVE: TOKYO, Oct 22 (Reuters) - As Japan's new premier Sanae Takaichi got to work on Wednesday, her government began finalising a purchase package, including U.S. pickups, soybeans and gas, to present to President Donald Trump in trade and security talks next week, two sources said.

REUTERS EXCLUSIVE: TOKYO, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is preparing an economic stimulus package that is likely to exceed last year's $92 billion to help households tackle inflation, government sources familiar with the plan said on Wednesday.

My latest: The Bank of Japan will raise its key interest rate in either October or December, a majority of economists said in a Reuters poll, while nearly 96% of them expect borrowing costs to increase at least 25 basis points by end-March. www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

TOKYO, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi was voted in by parliament as Japan's first female prime minister on Tuesday, emulating her hero, Britain's late leader Margaret Thatcher, after a whirlwind few weeks of political wrangling.

TOKYO, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi was elected Japan's first female prime minister on Tuesday, shattering the nation's glass ceiling and setting it up for a forceful turn to the right.

TOKYO, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Sanae Takaichi, leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, won the lower house vote to choose the next prime minister on Tuesday, clearing the way for her inauguration as the country's first female premier later in the day.

JAPAN LDP'S TAKAICHI TO BECOME PRIME MINISTER AFTER WINNING LOWER HOUSE VOTE TAKAICHI ELECTED AS JAPAN PRIME MINISTER WITH 237 LOWER HOUSE LAWMAKERS' VOTES IN 465-SEAT CHAMBER

TOKYO, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi is set to be voted in as Japan's first female prime minister on Tuesday, marking a symbolic shattering of the glass ceiling in a country where men still wield most power and setting the stage for a forceful shift to the right.

TOKYO, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Formed in 2010 to shake up Japan's political establishment and loosen Tokyo's administrative stranglehold, the Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, is now set to help the ruling Liberal Democratic Party extend seven decades of dominance. www.reuters.com/world/china/...

TOKYO, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi is almost certain to become Japan's first female prime minister on Tuesday, after the right-wing opposition Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, said it was ready to back her premiership. www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

TOKYO, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Japan's likely next premier Sanae Takaichi is already facing criticism from her ruling party's long-time coalition partner, a rift that could delay or, in an extreme scenario, jeopardise her premiership.

In a new Japan Daily Briefing, I look at the worsening outlook for coalition talks between the LDP and Kōmeitō, which are complicating the process of launching a Takaichi government. open.substack.com/pub/observin...

The dollar against the yen this morning ....

TOKYO, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Japanese workers saw real wages fall for the eighth straight month in August, with a double-digit decrease in one-off compensations on top of relentless inflation outpacing nominal pay growth, government data showed on Wednesday.

"Her former hairdresser, Yukitoshi Arai, believes she is well prepared to solve Japan's problems and even her hairstyle - which he has dubbed the 'Sanae Cut' - is designed to show she is paying attention to people." www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

TOKYO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Japanese household spending rose at a faster pace than expected in August, government data showed on Tuesday, with consumers feeling relatively upbeat in a promising sign for the recovery in private consumption.

The emeritus dean of Japan politics studies in the U.S. has thoughts about Takaichi:

SCOOP: Trump administration is directing U.S. diplomats to lobby against & erode support for a U.N. resolution calling on Washington to lift its decades-long embargo on Cuba, per an internal State Dept cable seen by Reuters. The resolution has for years passed w/huge margins 1/X

Oct 6 (Reuters) - Currency strategists at Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs have closed long Japanese yen trade recommendations after the country's ruling party picked Sanae Takaichi as its head.

TOKYO, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Sanae Takaichi, who is set to become Japan's new prime minister, will likely tolerate another 25-basis-point interest rate hike by January next year if the economy is in firm shape, said Takuji Aida, who is widely considered as among her closest advisers on economic policy.

Japan LDP chief Takaichi to appoint Motegi as foreign minister, Asahi newspaper says reut.rs/4pRxYXL