BOJ Ideas: Updated Oct. 22, 2025.

Hawkish BOJ board member reiterates readiness for rate hikes

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20251016/p2g/00m/0bu/038000c

Ideas

Many central banks, globally, have increased or decreased the key rate as a way to prevent or avoid market shocks when it's needed to increase or decrease the rate in times of need.

What is not needed is increasing or decreasing the rate just to do it when an economy might suffer when there is no need to adjust the rate, as its better to let an economy adjust itself overtime, with any intervention from the central bank.

Market adjustments such as in a business cycle, most of the time, with take care of themselves over time and really don't need any central banks adjustments, as what the central bank might do can actually create more harm than good instead of just letting a market or economy adjust itself.

Yes, its good that the Bank of Japan is concerned about the increase in prices and its a known fact that many ff not all central banks, globally, have used increased rates as way to try and reduce in inflation in an economy.

The only exception, for a very long time, maybe ten years or so, has been the Bank of Japan, which kept its key rate as sub-zero due the fact they felt the Japanese economy was just too weak and any increase in the key rate would cause too many side-effects and do harm than good.

But that was then and now it a different era for the Bank of Japan, as the BOJ has actually increased the a few times the last couple of years to come more line with what other central banks, globally, have been doing.

It's good that the benchmark rate should be set closer to the neutral rate as that will bring markets into a position of not over-reacting to any real changes the BOJ might do in the future.

As to what the new Prime Minister is going to do in the future is still up in the air, as when any politician, globally, they say one thing when trying to get elected but another thing after they are elected.

Being a fiscal dove might be good for the Japanese economy and Japanese businesses, but again, when reality sets in and different groups want different things for the economy, politicians sometimes can do things completely different that what others think they might do.

Unfortunately, the BOJ repeatedly might have already acted too late as they really haven't done much since the pandemic while prices have continued to remain high for a very long time.

But BOJ, for its part, has been very cautious about increasing or decreasing the rate too much as it doesn't want to inflict significant damage on the economy.

Whether good or bad, any move that the BOJ is going to  do will have some side affects as every central bank knows whatever it does is going to affect some in the economy negatively but hopefully it will affect an economy in a positive way more.

Most central banks want inflation or consumer prices to be at or around 2 percent as they feeits a manageable level for the economy and at 2 percent not too many people are going to suffer from it.

But at 3 percent or higher, there is the increased chance that more and more people in an economy are going to suffer from increased prices and their disposable income is going to be decreased to the point that they have nothing left to spend in an economy.

The BOJ is a very conservative central bank, like most central banks, and any extra economic activity such as the increase in tariffs might have a significant effect on the economy, and of course in this case the Japanese economy so the BOJ is going to watch it very carefully before it makes any move to as to whether it should or shouldn't related to the tariff situation.

In this case, if the tariff situation does have a significant effect on the Japanese economy the most likely move probably will be to reduce the key rate as as way to help stimulate the Japanese economy as the economy, again has probably turned stagnant.

As far as inflation is concerned an increase of the key rate to 0.75 might be the correct move, but unfortunately if the Japanese economy starts to decrease significantly due to the US tariff situation that might cause the BOJ to ignore the inflation situation and actually might consider decreasing the key rate as a way to try and help stimulate the economy.

But the BOJ will have to decide which economic action, inflation or the tariff situation, is the most important economic action that will affect the Japanese economy the most and then of course will then make the best move possible to help the economy.

Have a nice day!

Japan And Women: Updated on March 16, 2024.

 

Japan 3rd-worst work environment for women of 29 OECD states: The Economist

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240308/p2a/00m/0na/033000c#cxrecs_s

Ideas:

Its unfortunate that Japan is so low, but the US is not much better ranked 22nd. The problem with Japan is not it has a labor shortage but maybe if Japan used is women resources better, it might be able to minimize some of the labor shortages.

Why does Japan has such a low ranking? For decades women were not considered managerial candidates, and for a long time were expected to leave a company when they got married.

But this is a different century and Japanese women are not that interested in getting married, but prefer to focus a career,

But the Japanese corporate world and the world of Japanese politics haven't kept up with what women want out of careers.

Japan is really not that much better than South Korea, which has one of the largest variances between men's salaries in companies and women's salaries in companies.

It seems the Japan corporate world just doesn't want women in managerial positions, and or Japanese women, don't want them or don't feel comfortable in an all men workplace with no women in the company or in other managerial positions.

The Japanese company work environment might be challenging for women, especially working women with children, who might want or need a more flexible work style, but many companies might look down on providing flexible work schedules.

There area some companies have have promoted women into managerial and corporate CEO positions, such as Japan Airlines, which just promoted a long time women employee as company CEO. 

But most Japanese companies are just too entrenched in how they do things and don't even think or consider hiring women into many managerial positions.

Maybe the mindset of Japanese society needs to change. For example, society maybe at one time expected Japanese women to quit their jobs with companies when they got married, and maybe companies were unwilling to take a chance on putting women into managerial tracks, when they knew women would quit the job once they got married.

And or also, maybe many Japanese women don't pursue managerial type jobs due to the fact, that at one time, they knew they would quit once they got married, so why bother with a managerial type job.

But, again, this is supposed to be a different era and women today are not the same as their stay at home mothers or mothers who worked for a company it clerk position, only to leave, as expected, when they got married.

But it seems South Korea and Japan have not entered the 21first century in terms of equal pay for women and or access to managerial positions, being two of the lowest in the OECD.

Is Japan and South Korea making any progress? It doesn't look like it but of course there are now many more women in managerial positions than before and salaries have improved but both countries, like the US too, still have a long way to go to reach the Nordic countries rankings.

Have a nice day and be safe

Japan: Foreign Tourists: Updated Feb. 22, 2024

 

Japan 2023 foreign arrivals top 20 million, 1st time in 4 yrs

Article Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20231220/p2g/00m/0bu/052000c

Ideas:

In 2019 there were an estimated 31 million foreign visitors to Japan. Before the pandemic, airline tickets were fairly reasonable compared to now.  Just going from South Korea to Japan the ticket price is almost double on regular full-fare flights. Of course there are some  low-cost alternatives, but they go to Narita and not Tokyo Haneda. Narita is a good hour or more from the center of Tokyo and almost 2 hours from Yokohama, where I usually go.

Also the size of the planes has changed. For example, I used to fly on JAL or ANA and they were 2 aisle planes, meaning 2 seats, then an isle, 4 seats and then an aisle, and the 2 seats, and it was very convenient and comfortable. 

Now the planes are almost all one aisle planes, which are very crowded and everyone seems to bring their suitcases onto the plane.

There are many more flights now to Tokyo Haneda than there used to be, and it seems the immigration check in area is always crowded with foreign visitors.

When I went to Japan in Feb. of 2023, Japan has just recently opened, and you still had to show three boosters shots to get into Japan. You also had to register on a Japan government website with your travel plans and a document related to your booster shots, and then wait for approval which took about 30 minutes.

And then when you arrived at Haneda, there seemed to be foreign helpers every few meters, or so it seemed, asking you if you have the correct documents, and showing you where to go. But the process was not that hard, even though it seemed like chaos at the beginning.

And when I went back to Japan Jan. of 2024, the procedure was back to normal and you only had to show your passport and document as to where you were going to stay in Japan and how long.

They even tried to speed up the process, as you entered the immigration area, on the right side before you entered an immigration check in desk area, there were again foreign helpers motioning you to go over to them, and then you had your picture taken, your finger prints taken and your passports digitally photographed, and then you moved to the immigration check in area, and it took maybe 30 seconds to get through it as you had done all of the basic steps, except getting the 90 day stay stamp put in your passport.

Before the pandemic, South Korea, or some didn't show much favor to Japan, as there have been many issues that the South Korean society didn't like.

But since the pandemic has ended, something has changed and now more and more South Koreans are taking advantage of the weak Japanese yen and the short travel distance to Japan, despite the higher than usual ticket prices.

There are many South Korean low-cost airlines now, but they travel to Narita and now Tokyo Haneda, which again, is not convenient for me, or my South Korean partner, who lives and works in Yokohama Japan, so I always travel on JAL, ANA, KAL, or Asiana, on full ticket  economy class tickets.

Its interesting, that before the pandemic, maybe Chinese tourists were the largest group to come to Japan, but maybe there are situations that is preventing more Chinese than before.

It seems the high ticket prices from the US , Canada, and Mexico, and the long flights are not dissuading tourists from those countries from traveling to Japan, at this time.

While the numbers might still low, they are high for Mexico and Canada. What would be interesting is how many tourists are arrive from the EU countries.

Japanese nationals are at somewhat a disadvantage at this time as the weak yen, makes the yen strong in the US and other countries, which means Japanese nationals have less buying power. And of course the continued inflation in Japan might dissuade many from traveling overseas.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japan and Employee Well-Being: Updated Feb. 2, 2024.

 

[Graphic News] Japan ranks last globally in employee well-being

Article Source: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20231121000806

Article:

Japan came in last in a global ranking of employee well-being, measured by assessing workers’ physical, mental, social and spiritual health, the results of a survey conducted by the McKinsey Health Institute showed.

Employee well-being in Japan was at 25 percent in the poll of more than 30,000 workers across 30 countries, according to the study. Turkey ranked the highest at 78 percent, followed by India and China. South Korean employee well-being came in below the average at 48 percent to rank 23rd. The global average was 57 percent.

Although Japanese businesses have built a reputation for offering lifetime employment and job security, it also means employees can find it hard to change jobs if they aren’t happy. Japan consistently has had low ratings in workplace satisfaction and levels of stress in international surveys and the results reflect it, according to Rochelle Kopp, who advises companies on cross-cultural communications and business practices.

According to the survey, employees who had positive work experiences reported better holistic health, are more innovative at work and show higher job performance. (Bloomberg)

Ideas:

Japan companies, for a very long time, have been mired in traditional workplace practices that go against what is happening globally. But that has been Japan for a while as traditional Japanese companies don't change that much.

But as younger workers are entering the workforce in Japan, they want better work/life options and not want to work the long hours that their parents did.

Younger workers are also shunning what be considered less prestigious jobs such as factories, convenience stores, or anything that requires long work hours that doesn't fit their lifestyle.

The same can be seen in South Korea, where young university graduates only want to work for large companies that give better wages and better benefits.

Many small and medium sized companies in South Korea are having challenges hiring workers because young university graduates just don't want to work for them.

But some, maybe many South Korean companies, at least the large companies, see that the young workers want better work/life situations including less overtime work, less dinner meetings, and less weekend work.

Some Japanese companies too, see that in order to get the best talent needed for their companies they need to offer better work/life balances, better benefits, and less hours to attract the best possible talent for their companies.

The challenge is what about those who are unhappy with their present jobs? In Japan its not easy to change jobs. The Japanese government has been trying to make the Japanese workforce more flexible, able to change jobs more easily like in the US.

Will the situation change anytime soon in Japan? Probably not but as more and more younger graduates enter the workforce, they will vote by choosing companies that cater to what they need and other companies will notice and they too, to keep up, will begin to offer better hours, better work/life balance situations, including less overtime and or less weekend work.

We live in a global world and young people everywhere see what's going on in other countries, and young Japanese workers will not want to be left behind from the rest of the world.

Have a nice day and be safe!

  

Japan Hotel Revenue: Updated Jan. 30, 2024

 

Revenues at over 60% of hotels in Japan on the rise, highest since pandemic: poll

Article Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20231117/p2a/00m/0bu/016000c

Ideas:

Japan's hotels and inns might be recovering, which is a good situation, but like the airline industry, prices at hotels might have increased as they try to makeup for lost revenue during the pandemic.

Of course, likes everywhere in Japan, energy and materials costs even for hotels have probably increased too, which means, that they have probably increased prices to maintain profit margins.

At the hotel I usually stay at in Yokohama, Toyoko Inn, on Saturdays they are always full but not so much during the rest of the week. Toyoko Inn, on the last visit, changed to an automated system, where you put in your Toyoko Inn card to a machine, while the clerk at the counter watches and makes sure all is OK, and then the hotel clerk gives your room key.

There are still two hotel clerks at the counter, in case any customer has challenges using the automated check in machine.

Of the two or three different Yokohama Toyoko Inns I stay at, many of the customers might be Japanese workers and or Chinese tourists, as Yokohama China town is nearby.

Watching Toyoko Inn vacancies, on their web page, again Saturday is the busiest day and of course holidays are always full too.

Toyoko Inn has a breakfast buffet, Viking menu is what the Japanese called a buffet, with an assortment of eggs, vegetables and so on, while free, of course you pay for it in the overall price of the hotel stay.

The prices at Toyoko Inn has increased steadily over the years, as it used to be good business hotel at a reasonable price. I guess it might still be reasonable compared to other hotel prices, that I survey on the internet.

Foreign tourists might be a positive for Japanese hotels, as it helps them recover from their losses during the pandemic.

While not advertising for Toyoko Inn, which has business hotels all over Japan, their prices seem very reasonable, with good service, compared to the 5 star or 4 star hotels in Japan. 

A business hotel, is a hotel with the basics, with good customer service, that caters to business people that travel in Japan. And of course now tourists have picked up on the value of Toyoko Inn, and many times, there are a lot of tourists staying at Toyoko Inns, and they have many languages available on their web page.

For the most part, Japanese customer service at Japanese hotels is excellent as expected, as for example, one trip I registered for the wrong day, but Toyoko Inn was able find me a room in their hotel, even though they were full that night.

Maybe the hotel industry in Japan is also facing labor shortages, as for example at the Toyoko Inns I stay at, the front desk clerks. seem to work 12 hour or even 24 hour shifts.

I often see the same clerk when I check in and then when I go out to run at 6 AM in the morning the same clerk is there from the previous check in time of 4 PM.

Maybe younger Japanese workers are not willing to work the long hours that might be required at some Japanese hotels.

Japanese hotels might go the way of convenience stores, or conbinis in Japan, by hiring foreign students to work at the hotels.

At one of the Toyoko Inns, the one near Yokohama China town, there has been Chinese staff working there as their name tags, in Japanese but their names are obviously Chinese.

https://www.toyoko-inn.com/eng/

Have a nice day and be safe!

Foreign Entries to Japan: Updated Jan. 26, 2024.

 

October foreign entries to Japan top pre-pandemic levels for 1st time

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20231115/p2g/00m/0na/029000c

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan saw an estimated 2,516,500 foreign visitors in October, up 0.8 percent from the same month in 2019, the first time the monthly figure has surpassed levels seen before the coronavirus outbreak, government data showed Wednesday.

The increase of visitors from Asia, Australia, parts of Europe, and North America, in particular, in an environment of a weak yen and resumed airline services contributed to the return of foreigners to Japan, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

Visitor arrivals from January to October totaled over 19.89 million. The figure is on pace to reach 25 million for 2023.

Ideas:

While there might be an increase in foreign visitors to Japan, its amazing that the higher airline ticket prices haven't stopped tourists from going to Japan. But maybe it has, even though there are record numbers, the amount might have been even more.

The weak Japanese yen, maybe offsets the high airline ticket prices, as maybe tourists weigh both together and still see going to Japan, despite high airline prices, the weak Japanese yen, is a deal maker.

The record is 30 million in 2019, just before the pandemic shut everything down for a few years.

Article:

The most arrivals in the reporting month came from South Korea at 631,100, more than triple compared with the figure in October 2019. Taiwan came in second at 424,800, up 2.7 percent.

Visitors from mainland China, which used to be the largest visitor group to Japan before the COVID-19 pandemic, stood at 256,300, down 64.9 percent, while they still ranked third in a list of arrival numbers by country and region in October.

After Beijing lifted restrictions on its citizens regarding group travels bound for Japan in August, the Japan Tourism Agency projected arrivals from mainland China would increase along with China's major holidays starting on Oct. 1.

Ideas:

Back in 2019 South Korea didn't have positive feelings about Japan, so the numbers might have much less back then.

Most likely, Chinese tourists will again be the largest group. However, as South Korea in the past or before the pandemic, there might be some who harbor not so good ideas about Japan and especially the Fukushima situation releasing power plant water into the ocean, as now China has a ban of Japanese seafood.

When I went to Tokyo from South Korea, in Feb. of 2023, Japan has been open for visitors for only a few months, and you still had to show proof of three boosters shots, and register on a Japanese website to get approval. At that time, its seemed somewhat confusing as there seemed to be many steps you had to go through. And walking to the immigration area, for maybe 100 to 200 meters, there were foreign helpers every few meters, it seemed, holding signs about what do to and if you had all of the needed paperwork.

In Jan. of 2024 when I went back to Tokyo from South Korea, you only had to show your passport, and they had refined the immigration process, where you show your passport, get your picture taken and do digital finger prints, in an area before the immigration counter, and then you went to the immigration counter and got a 3 month stamp in your passports. A much faster process through Japan immigration.

Article:

But arrivals from China decreased about 70,000 from September.

The slump appears to have been caused by China's slow flight recovery as well as it falling behind in easing travel restrictions compared with many other countries.

Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, however, anticipates flights connecting the two neighbors will increase.

Ideas:

It seems China is a little behind other countries in finally opening up completely, including the resumption of airline flights and Chinese tourists getting out and about to other countries.

But as Chinese has a huge middle class, who want to travel, it won't take much time for Chinse tourists are again traveling everywhere.

As the Chinese new year is approaching, most likely the numbers to Japan will again get back to normal and maybe again be Japans largest group of foreign tourists.

Article:

Arrivals from the United States rose 38.2 percent to 211,900 from four years earlier, while Germany marked a 17.6 percent rise to 30,900, the highest ever for arrivals from the country in a single month.

The number of Japanese nationals traveling overseas in October stood at 937,700, 43.6 percent less than the same month in 2019.

Ideas:

The weak Japanese might be the main incentive to visit Japan as travel from the US and Germany is not easy as it takes many hours sitting on a plane to get to Japan.

Again, it seems the high airline ticket prices haven't deterred from traveling to Japan.

At the same time, as Tokyo Haneda international airport, near the center of Tokyo, is much closer than Narita international airport, which is maybe 30 kilometers away from Tokyo. As foreign airlines compete to get spots at Tokyo Haneda, it has to be an incentive to travel to Haneda instead of Narita, which used to be the major airport for international arrivals But now it seems Haneda has just a many international arrivals as Narita.

Have a nice day and be safe!