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July 01, 2026
 

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DEBT

Olivier Blanchard, professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 27, 2026
Japan invites Blanchard to panel in bid to boost global outreach
Sanae Takaichi’s administration wants to showcase its so-called responsible fiscal approach, even as it increases spending.
The Nippon Life Insurance headquarters in Osaka. Japan's major life insurers are continuing plans to increase private credit investment in the next fiscal year from April.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 12, 2026
Japan insurers still keen on private debt amid growing red flags
Life insurance companies have joined global investors in a private debt market binge in search of higher yields.
The OECD's deputy director of economic policy and research says an AI productivity surge, were it to increase employment, would lower debt across OECD countries, from the U.S. to Germany and Japan, by 10 percentage points from the roughly 150% of output the organization expects in 2036.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Feb 28, 2026
AI boom will be no free pass for debt-laden major economies
An AI productivity boom may help buy major economies more time to clean up their strained public finances, but it won’t do the heavy lifting.
The government's interest payments on outstanding debt are projected at ¥21.6 trillion in the year starting April 2029, up from the current year’s budgeted ¥10.5 trillion.
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2026
Japan sees interest payments doubling by 2029 as BOJ hikes rate
Interest payments are projected at ¥21.6 trillion ($139 billion) in the year starting April 2029, up from the current year’s budgeted ¥10.5 trillion.
The International Monetary Fund has issued a warning that a reduction of Japan's consumption tax would erode its fiscal space and add to fiscal risks.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 18, 2026
IMF urges Japan to avoid cutting sales tax amid higher expected borrowing costs
The fund described such a move as “an untargeted measure that would erode fiscal space and add to fiscal risks.”
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at a news conference on Monday following a landslide victory of her Liberal Democratic Party in Sunday’s Lower House election.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 12, 2026
Japan investors remain wary Takaichi will spur another meltdown
Worries that she would add to Japan’s mountain of public debt prompted yields to spike last month to the highest levels in decades.
The National Diet building in Tokyo. The Japanese government's total debt as of the end of December 2025 rose to a record ¥1.34 quadrillion.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 10, 2026
Japan government debt rises to record ¥1.34 quadrillion in 2025
Of the total balance, general government bonds stood at ¥1.09 quadrillion, up ¥6.27 trillion.
People wait to enter a gold shop in Hanoi on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 30, 2026
Heavy metal: Soaring gold price a crushing weight in Vietnam
The extraordinary run-up in gold prices has brought an unexpected windfall to many Vietnamese, but at a cost that weighs heavily for many.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi poses for a photograph with the African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa on Jan. 8.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 27, 2026
African nations send more money to China than they receive in new loans
A ONE Data report also highlighted a broader decline in bilateral finance flows and private external debt.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Yoshihiko Noda, co-leader of the newly formed Centrist Reform Alliance, participate in a debate with other party leaders on an internet program on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 25, 2026
Takaichi plays down concerns over feasibility of two-year consumption tax cut
The issue is expected to take center stage in the Feb. 8 Lower House election, as reining in rising prices remains a top priority in the minds of voters.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks in a news conference Monday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 19, 2026
Takaichi might surprise markets bracing for a big spender
Some stock and bond investors are anticipating Takaichi to act as an unrestrained fiscal dove after the election.
Noritaka Okabe, CEO of JPYC, has said that stablecoin issuers can become major buyers of government bonds.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 5, 2026
Stablecoins likely to be a factor, not a game changer, in Japan’s bond market
Issuers might not buy up enough long-term debt to make a big difference.
A Japanese flag flutters near the National Diet Building in Tokyo on Oct. 21.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jan 4, 2026
Japan policy wonks consumed by debate over how to measure fiscal woes
Ignoring the primary budget balance just obscures the problem, one side argues.
For fiscal 2026, the government plans to lower drug fees by 0.87% but raise medical service fees by 3.09%, the first increase above 3% in 30 years.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 27, 2025
Efforts to reduce burden on Japan’s working generation still limited
The budget bill allocates a record ¥39.06 trillion for social security-related expenses, up ¥760 billion from fiscal 2025, reflecting a rise in medical and nursing care costs.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 17.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 27, 2025
Japan set to see first primary balance surplus in 28 years in 2026
Securing a primary balance surplus has been a government goal for more than two decades.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy at the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 25, 2025
Private sector supports multiyear approach to primary budget balance
Members from the private sector supported the envisaged abolition of the current method and called on the government to check the primary balance over several fiscal years instead.
The average price of newly built condominiums in central Tokyo’s densely populated 23 wards now exceed ¥100 million.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Dec 25, 2025
Demand grows for housing loans of up to 50 years in Japan
With housing prices continuing to soar, many young homebuyers are be opting for superlong-term loans in an effort to keep their monthly payments at manageable levels.
The Finance Ministry in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 24, 2025
Japan budgeting for bond payments at 3% as debt servicing soars
The Finance Ministry will set a key rate used to calculate the country’s likely interest payments on bonds next fiscal year at 3.0%, the highest in nearly three decades
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell looks on as U.S. President Donald Trump holds a document during a tour of the Federal Reserve Board building in Washington in July.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2025
Will the U.S. Fed be allowed to do its job?
Will the central bank maintain enough autonomy and credibility to promote financial stability and employment if politics, debt and market exuberance head the other way?
Signals that the Bank of Japan may move toward higher interest rates highlight how the nation’s heavy debt and slow growth could push up global bond yields and expose similar fiscal risks in other advanced economies.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 16, 2025
The Japanese canary in the global debt coal mine
The Japanese government’s total debt as a share of gross domestic product is on the order of 230%, twice that of the U.S.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan falls in gut-wrenching fashion as Brazil strikes late to win World Cup clash
Brazil's Gabriel Martinelli (right) shoots past Japan defenders Shogo Taniguchi (left) and Takehiro Tomiyasu to score in the second half of a match in the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Houston on Monday.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

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