Japan last week struck a trade deal with the U.S. that lowers tariffs on cars and other goods to 15% in exchange for a U.S.-bound $550 billion Japanese investment package.

Japan’s central bank should raise rates when its policy board meets this week, and failure to do so will weaken the yen and exacerbate inflation, said Takeshi Niinami, chief executive officer of Suntory Holdings Ltd.

A tsunami warning is displayed on a television in Yokohama, near Tokyo, Wednesday, July 30, 2025, after Japan issued alerts following a strong earthquakes off the Kamchatka Peninsula. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)(Eugene Hoshiko / AP) TOKYO — Japan’s ...

When Japanese ice pop maker Akagi Nyugyo raised its prices a meagre 10 yen in 2016, its sombre-faced management appeared in a one-minute commercial, bowing silently in apology as a melancholy folk song lamented the inevitability of price hikes.

William Sposato is a Tokyo-based journalist who has been a contributor to Foreign Policy since 2015. He has been following Japan’s politics and economics for more than 20 years, working at Reuters and the Wall Street Journal. He is also the co-author of a 2021 book on the Carlos Ghosn affair and its impact on Japan.

Japan strictly prohibits drone flights near nuclear power plants under its 2016 Drone Act, with violations punishable by up to a year in prison or a maximum fine of 500,000 yen or approximately $3,370.

Japan's bond market faces stern tests this week, from domestic political ructions and a possible hawkish shift at the central bank to global risks stemming from the Federal Reserve. Japan's long-dated government bond (JGB) yields remain near record peaks after the ruling coalition lost its majority in upper house elections.