TOPIC

Bank of Japan

The latest news and top stories on the Bank of Japan. A prominent Tokyo-based governmental body, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) serves as Japan’s central bank, established in 1882. Its primary mission is to maintain price stability and ensure financial system stability, aiming for a 2 per cent inflation target. Key activities include issuing banknotes, implementing monetary policy, providing settlement services and conducting economic research. The BOJ is notable for pioneering ultra-loose monetary policies, including Zero and Negative Interest Rate Policies, significantly influencing the global financial landscape as the central bank of the world’s fourth-largest economy.

A monitor displays long-term interest rates in Tokyo, Japan, on January 19, 2026. Photo: EPA

Bonds

Japan bond volatility raises contagion alarm for Asia’s stocks and debt

Japan’s yield spike is testing safe-haven assumptions, with markets debating whether the movement is local or systemic.

21 Jan 2026 - 3:11PM

International Property

Heightened tensions with China rattle Japan’s property market: analysts

11 Jan 2026 - 9:30AM

Japan

Bank of Japan’s historic rate increase signals new era for economy

19 Dec 2025 - 4:52PM

Banking & finance

Macroscope | Inflated asset prices show markets don’t always know best

With hyperinflated sectors across multiple asset markets, the next crash could be so severe that it prompts a restructuring of global finance.

6 Dec 2025 - 4:30PMvideocam

People take photos by the bull statue in Shanghai, on August 7. Photo: EPA

Hong Kong stock market

Hong Kong stocks edge higher as weak jobs data firms up rate-cut bets

Rates traders price in more than 90 per cent probability of a quarter-point reduction next week after private US labour market report.

4 Dec 2025 - 4:45PM

Hong Kong stock market

Hong Kong stocks stumble after 2 days of gains as investors await policy signals

Caution returns ahead of US Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan meetings, as well as China’s economic work conference.

3 Dec 2025 - 4:32PM

South Korea

Macroscope | South Korea’s challenges a taste of what’s to come for global economy

While South Korea has been a big beneficiary of the AI boom, the surge is also highlighting its domestic and geopolitical vulnerabilities.

20 Nov 2025 - 4:30PMvideocam

A cyclist rides past residential buildings in Seoul on November 11. Flat prices in the capital increased at the sharpest pace since 2018 last month while rents rose at the fastest clip on record. Photo: AFP

Japan

Japanese yen weakens to 9‑month low, hits 155 to US dollar amid uncertainties

Stocks and bond market slump as investors fret over expansionary fiscal plans, fading US rate-cut bets, and a China-Japan diplomatic row.

18 Nov 2025 - 5:43PM

Asia housing and property

The View | Why South Korea’s house prices continue to be out of control

Alarmist talk from the South Korean president, following three rounds of cooling measures, is not inspiring confidence.

3 Nov 2025 - 5:40PMvideocam

South Korea

Can South Korea and US seal a trade deal? Chances look slim

Trump has offered to cut tariffs if Seoul commits US$350 billion in investment.

25 Oct 2025 - 9:30AMvideocam

South Korean protesters attend a rally against US President Donald Trump’s tariffs policy on South Korea, near the US embassy in Seoul on Tuesday. The signs read “No Trump”. Photo: AP

Japan

Macroscope | Japan’s political turmoil will weigh heavily on its economy, and beyond

More than just who heads the government, the fate of Japan’s leadership race has implications for markets, regional economies and geopolitics.

18 Oct 2025 - 4:30PMvideocam

Japan

‘Mixed bag’: how Japan’s PM-in-waiting may fuel growth, defence – and debt

After the ruling Liberal Democratic Party elects new leader, economists assess what lies ahead.

6 Oct 2025 - 9:00PMvideocam

Japan

Macroscope | 4 reasons Japan’s yen safe haven trade is a distant memory

While the Japanese currency’s reputation as a safe haven was always overblown, the stability that supported it is now a thing of the past.

25 Sep 2025 - 4:30PMvideocam

Asia housing and property

The View | Asian governments may have a housing affordability crisis on their hands

From Singapore to Seoul, piecemeal efforts to expand affordability have only limited options for policymakers as housing prices rise.

15 Sep 2025 - 5:49PM

People look at Singapore’s skyline shrouded under rain clouds on September 11. Photo: AFP

United States

US stocks wobble as Wall Street wrangles with whether job market is too weak

Hopes that weak employment data would spur the Fed to cut interest rates were balanced by fears that an economic downturn is looming.

6 Sep 2025 - 5:18AMvideocam

The New York Stock Exchange. While the data on the US job market is disappointing, it is still not so weak that it is screaming a recession. Photo: AP

International Property

Japan’s property market booms with US$22.8 billion investment surge

Tokyo reigns as Asia’s top metro area, with US$13.2 billion in property deals in the first half of 2025, according to MSCI.

31 Aug 2025 - 10:00AM

Bank of Japan

Japan bond volatility raises contagion alarm for Asia’s stocks and debt

Japan’s yield spike is testing safe-haven assumptions, with markets debating whether the movement is local or systemic.

Heightened tensions with China rattle Japan’s property market: analysts

Bank of Japan’s historic rate increase signals new era for economy

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Macroscope | Inflated asset prices show markets don’t always know best

With hyperinflated sectors across multiple asset markets, the next crash could be so severe that it prompts a restructuring of global finance.

Hong Kong stocks edge higher as weak jobs data firms up rate-cut bets

Rates traders price in more than 90 per cent probability of a quarter-point reduction next week after private US labour market report.

Hong Kong stocks stumble after 2 days of gains as investors await policy signals

Caution returns ahead of US Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan meetings, as well as China’s economic work conference.

Macroscope | South Korea’s challenges a taste of what’s to come for global economy

While South Korea has been a big beneficiary of the AI boom, the surge is also highlighting its domestic and geopolitical vulnerabilities.

Japanese yen weakens to 9‑month low, hits 155 to US dollar amid uncertainties

Stocks and bond market slump as investors fret over expansionary fiscal plans, fading US rate-cut bets, and a China-Japan diplomatic row.

The View | Why South Korea’s house prices continue to be out of control

Alarmist talk from the South Korean president, following three rounds of cooling measures, is not inspiring confidence.

Can South Korea and US seal a trade deal? Chances look slim

Trump has offered to cut tariffs if Seoul commits US$350 billion in investment.

Macroscope | Japan’s political turmoil will weigh heavily on its economy, and beyond

More than just who heads the government, the fate of Japan’s leadership race has implications for markets, regional economies and geopolitics.

‘Mixed bag’: how Japan’s PM-in-waiting may fuel growth, defence – and debt

After the ruling Liberal Democratic Party elects new leader, economists assess what lies ahead.

Macroscope | 4 reasons Japan’s yen safe haven trade is a distant memory

While the Japanese currency’s reputation as a safe haven was always overblown, the stability that supported it is now a thing of the past.

The View | Asian governments may have a housing affordability crisis on their hands

From Singapore to Seoul, piecemeal efforts to expand affordability have only limited options for policymakers as housing prices rise.

US stocks wobble as Wall Street wrangles with whether job market is too weak

Hopes that weak employment data would spur the Fed to cut interest rates were balanced by fears that an economic downturn is looming.

Japan’s property market booms with US$22.8 billion investment surge

Tokyo reigns as Asia’s top metro area, with US$13.2 billion in property deals in the first half of 2025, according to MSCI.

Macroscope | Inflated asset prices show markets don’t always know best