BOJ holds steady, no signals on future rate hike
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Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
LDP's Kono adds to chorus urging BOJ to tighten policy
A member of parliament in the Liberal Democratic Party added his voice to those calling for the Bank of Japan to tighten monetary policy to bolster the yen. "Now the economy is with inflation and interest rates, so we should have new economic policies,' Taro Kono said in a news conference Wednesday. "Now what we need is tight monetary policy to bring the yen stronger.' Kono's remarks come after several prominent executives made similar pleas. Takeshi Niinami, speaking as chair of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, said last week that the weak yen is hurting households by driving up costs. "Every tariff issue will be settled and then I believe the BOJ must increase interest rates,' said Niinami, who is also chief executive officer of Suntory Holdings. The head of Japan's largest bank called for the BOJ to raise its policy rate as early as the next meeting, given the outlook for higher inflation in the country. "Our official company view sees March next year as a possible timing of the rate hike. But personally, I think September or October is quite possible,' Hironori Kamezawa, CEO of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, said in an interview published Tuesday. After touching a high for the year around ¥140 to the dollar in April, Japan's currency weakened back toward ¥150 per dollar after BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda made dovish comments following last week's board decision to hold the benchmark rate steady. The yen was trading around ¥147.55 per dollar at midday in Tokyo Wednesday. After the U.S.-Japan trade deal was announced in late July, economists brought forward their predictions on when the BOJ might next hike, with more than 40% forecasting a move at its October policy meeting. No economists expect a move when authorities next set policy on Sept. 19, but over half of respondents expect another increase before the end of the year. Kono is a prominent politician who has served in Cabinet positions including head of foreign affairs, defense and most recently digital transformation. Kono spoke at a time when Japan's political leadership is under pressure after the ruling coalition lost its majority in the Upper House in an election last month. Kono argued that leading up to that election, the government should have asked the BOJ to raise rates in return for a pledge to cut back on spending and to balance the nation's budget as soon as possible. "We should have done that, but we didn't,' he said.
Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
Russia weighs Ukraine air-truce offer to Trump without ending war
The Kremlin is weighing options for a concession to U.S. President Donald Trump that could include an air truce with Ukraine to try to head off the threat of secondary sanctions, even as Russia remains determined to continue its war. Officials recognize that U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Russia this week offers a late opportunity for agreement with Trump even if expectations for success are low, people familiar with the situation said, asking not to be identified discussing sensitive matters. A pause on airstrikes involving drones and missiles as a deescalation gesture may be one potential proposal provided that Ukraine also signed up, one of them said. Still, Russian President Vladimir Putin won't agree to a general ceasefire in Ukraine as his forces continue steady advances on the battlefield, and Russia's war aims remain unchanged. It's unclear whether any offer of restraint would include conditions that effectively made it unacceptable to Kyiv and its allies. "We consider such meetings to be very important,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, in response to a request to comment on Russian proposals for Witkoff's visit. "But we don't comment on them in advance.' Trump has said Witkoff is expected to go to Russia as soon as Wednesday for the fifth time this year, and the Kremlin has said a meeting with Putin may take place. The U.S. president is threatening to impose heavy tariffs from Friday on countries including China and India that buy Russian oil and other goods, in an effort to intensify pressure on Putin to call a halt to the war that's now in its fourth year. "Trump needs some kind of a 'gift,' a concession from Russia,' said Sergei Markov, a Moscow-based political consultant close to the Kremlin. "An air truce could be such a gift.' Trump ramped up criticism of India on Tuesday, saying he'd "very substantially' raise tariffs on Indian exports to the U.S. over the next 24 hours to punish New Delhi for buying Russian oil and "fueling the war machine.' India has called the move unjustified. Having returned to the White House pledging to bring a rapid end to the war, Trump has grown increasingly frustrated at Putin's refusal to agree to a ceasefire during six phone calls with the Russian leader since February. He told reporters last week that they have "such respectful and nice conversations, and then people die the following night in a — with a missile going into a town.' Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko raised "an air truce' in remarks alongside Putin on Friday, though the Russian leader didn't comment on it. Lukashenko met Trump's Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg in June, the highest-level U.S. official to visit Belarus since 2020. "I say, yes, Russia is interested in this, President Putin, but you don't want it,' Lukashenko told reporters, referring to the talks. "Tell Zelenskyy to go along with it.' Kellogg is expected to visit Kyiv later this week for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrayinska Pravda reported Monday, citing people in the presidential office that it didn't identify. Zelenskyy said he held "productive' phone talks with Trump on Tuesday, including on sanctions against Russia. The U.S. president was "fully informed' about Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities and communities, Zelenskyy said in a social media post. Russia has stepped up air attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, including with record numbers of drones, as Putin maintains hard-line demands in return for a deal to end the war. Those include Kyiv's acceptance of neutral status and recognition of Russia's annexation of Crimea and of four regions of eastern and southern Ukraine that his troops only partly occupy. Ukraine rejects these conditions, while calling for Russia to agree to a ceasefire to allow space for negotiations on a peace accord. Putin has repeatedly spurned U.S. and European calls to abide by a 30-day ceasefire, though he declared a 72-hour truce as Russia marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in May. In March, Ukraine and Russia said they'd observe a 30-day moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure, following calls with Trump, though each accused the other of breaching the accord. Two-thirds of Russians favor ending the war at the current positions, while a quarter want to continue fighting, according to Denis Volkov, director of the independent Levada Center pollster in Moscow. "For most Russians, the end of the war, but not a return to the former borders, is a welcome scenario,' he said.
NHK
2 hours ago
- NHK
Japan's real wages dropped for 6th month in June
Japan's inflation-adjusted wages fell for a sixth straight month in June as surging prices continued to outpace salary increases. Preliminary data released by the labor ministry on Wednesday show that real pay fell 1.3 percent compared with the same month last year. The ministry surveyed about 30,000 businesses nationwide with at least five employees. Workers took home 511,210 yen, or just under 3,500 dollars, on average in June. That includes base pay, overtime and bonus payments. The nominal amount is up 2.5 percent year-on-year, and has risen for 42 consecutive months. Base wages increased 2.1 percent, while other pay including bonuses rose 3 percent. Ministry officials say base pay is steadily increasing but real wages continue to slide.
