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

TOKYO, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share gauge surged past the 47,000 level for the first time on Monday, while the nation's currency and long-term bonds slumped after a party vote positioned fiscal dove Sanae Takaichi to become the next prime minister.

TOKYO, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party chief Sanae Takaichi has finalised a plan to appoint former party secretary general Toshimitsu Motegi as foreign minister following her appointment as prime minister, Asahi newspaper reported on Monday.

"Now that she has shattered the glass ceiling to be chosen leader of the ruling party on Saturday - setting her on course to emulate her hero Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first female premier - Takaichi must try to deliver on promises her party has struggled to keep."

The profile I wrote of Takaichi last year: open.substack.com/pub/observin...

TOKYO, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Japan's ruling party picked conservative nationalist Sanae Takaichi as its new head on Saturday, putting her on course to become the country's first female prime minister.

TOKYO, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Former Japanese internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi and Farm Minister Shinjiro Koizumi have advanced to a run-off vote to decide the next leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Saturday.

TOKYO, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Japan's ruling party began voting on Saturday to choose the country's likely next prime minister, hoping to regain trust from a public angered by rising prices and drawn to opposition groups promising big stimulus and clampdowns on foreigners.

The next leader is likely to become premier as the LDP is the biggest group in parliament, but that is not assured as the party – which has run Japan for almost all the postwar period - lost its majorities in both houses under Ishiba.　www.reuters.com/world/china/...

COP30 will spotlight Brazil’s biodiversity. But in São Paulo, native forests are nearly gone. In @reuters.com's latest Culture Current, botanist Ricardo Cardim makes the case for replanting them — and rethinking how cities adapt to climate change. www.reuters.com/lifestyle/ri...

TOKYO, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Japan's far-right Sanseito party has set up an international arm to court Trump allies such as Steve Bannon and like-minded groups in Europe, betting that global conservative recognition will help it shake up staid Japanese politics, according to four party officials.

TOKYO, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Japanese farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi, a top contender to become the next premier, downplayed criticism on Friday over his ministry's handling of a licensing deal for a prized grape variety that sparked an official protest from producers. www.reuters.com/markets/comm...

Two Syracuse University students have been charged with burglary as a hate crime after one of them was alleged to have thrown a bag of pork into a Jewish fraternity house as people gathered to observe Rosh Hashanah, police said.

"The White House budget office is instructing federal agencies to prepare reduction-in-force plans for mass firings during a possible government shutdown, specifically targeting employees who work for programs that are not legally required to continue." www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

WASHINGTON/TOKYO, Sept 24 (Reuters) - U.S. and Japanese officials are making arrangements for a trip by President Donald Trump to Japan next month, according to two government officials and another person briefed on the matter. www.reuters.com/world/china/...

TOKYO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The race to choose the next leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party officially kicked off on Monday, with five lawmakers vying to replace outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.　www.reuters.com/world/who-co...

Yesterday, I tried to turn off AC using a TV remote. Getting old is fantastic, man.

TOKYO, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan is expected to keep interest rates steady on Friday, as policymakers seek more clarity on whether the economy can withstand U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and growing signs of weakness in the American economy.

TOKYO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Sanae Takaichi, a veteran Japanese lawmaker and fiscal dove, said on Thursday she would run in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leadership race on October 4 to replace outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

Bringing this back from last week: Even as markets expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, 93% of analysts in the September 2-9 poll who answered an extra question said that would not delay the BOJ's push for slightly tighter monetary conditions. www.reuters.com/business/boj...

RIP, Robert Redford.

TOKYO, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Japan's farm minister and the chief government spokesperson entered the race on Tuesday to lead the ruling party, pledging their candidacies in a vote set for early next month to replace outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

The latest Reuters BOJ watcher survey just out - BOJ TO RAISE KEY INTEREST RATE TO AT LEAST 0.75% IN Q4, SAY 55% OF ECONOMISTS (VS 63% IN AUG POLL) - BOJ RATE HIKE WOULD NOT BE DELAYED SHOULD THE U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE CUT RATES, SAY 93% OF ECONOMISTS www.reuters.com/business/boj...

TOKYO, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Former Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, a prime ministerial hopeful running in the ruling party's leadership race, on Wednesday endorsed the Bank of Japan's policy of gradually normalising monetary policy.

TOKYO, Sept 9 (Reuters) - The appointment of a new Japanese prime minister next month could give the central bank more reasons to go slow on its next interest rate hike, especially if the next leader is wary of seeing borrowing costs rise too quickly. www.reuters.com/business/ish...

TOKYO, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Sanae Takaichi, a veteran of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party and a fiscal dove, has decided to run in the party's leadership race following Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's resignation over election losses, Kyodo reported late on Monday. www.reuters.com/world/japans...

TOKYO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - The list of possible candidates to become Japan's next prime minister grew following Shigeru Ishiba's resignation as prime minister and leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.　www.reuters.com/world/who-co...

TOKYO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Japan's economy expanded much faster than initially estimated in the second quarter, driven by upward revisions in private consumption and inventories, giving policymakers some assurance as they navigate political and trade uncertainty. www.reuters.com/business/jap...

On Reuters wire: U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY LUTNICK ON JAPAN TRADE: TRUMP HAS COMPLETE DISCRETION WHERE INVESTMENTS GO - CNBC INTERVIEW

- Ruling party to vote Monday on holding leadership race - Markets see strong chance of race, costing Ishiba his job - Leadership change could bring looser fiscal policy - Political uncertainty complicates BOJ's rate-hike timing www.reuters.com/world/japans...

In my mailbox:

TOKYO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Japanese real wages turned positive for the first time in seven months in July on the back of hefty summertime bonuses, while consumer spending rose for the third straight month, data showed on Friday.

WASHINGTON/TOKYO, Sept 4 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump signed an order on Thursday to implement the lower tariffs on Japanese automobile imports and other products that were announced in July. www.reuters.com/business/tru...

TOKYO, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Japan and the United States are in the final stages of talks to implement lower tariffs on Japanese automobile imports within 10-14 days after the issuance of a U.S. presidential executive order, a Japanese government source told Reuters on Thursday.

TOKYO, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Takeshi Niinami, one of Japan's best-known business leaders who is the subject of a police investigation into his purchases of supplements, said on Wednesday that he believed that the products were legal. www.reuters.com/en/suntory-e...

LONDON/TOKYO, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Global long-dated government borrowing costs continued their march higher on Wednesday, breaching record highs in Japan and rising to fresh multi-year peaks in Britain and Germany as concerns mounted over global fiscal health.

TOKYO, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said he discussed various topics on the economy and markets, including foreign exchange rate moves, in a meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday.

TOKYO, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Bank of Japan board member Junko Nakagawa said on Thursday that uncertainties remain high over U.S. tariff policies and their impact on the Japanese and global economy.

TOKYO, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Take-private deals in Japan are likely to hit a record high this year, exceeding the $40.3 billion total racked up in 2023, according to private equity funds and advisers, as companies bow to pressure to improve returns for investors. www.reuters.com/sustainabili...