Economics
For decades, Japan has served as the preeminent cornerstone creditor to the United States, providing a critical stream of capital for American liabilities. However, this relationship is evolving at a precarious juncture for the U.S. external position. By the end of 2025, the U.S. net international investment position
Economics
Japan’s massive foreign currency reserves are demonstrating remarkable resilience in the face of aggressive currency market interventions by monetary authorities. As of the end of June 2026, the nation’s total foreign reserve portfolio stood at a commanding $1.29 trillion (equivalent to over 200 trillion yen), effectively maintaining
Economics
The release of Deutsche Bank’s "Mapping the World’s Prices - 2026" report confirms a full inversion in the global macroeconomic landscape: the definitive redrawing of the cost-of-living map. Since this index began in 2012, Tokyo has transitioned from a symbol of prohibitive expense to the
payments
Travel Wallet’s formal entry into the Japanese market takes the localized South Korean FinTech into the realm of a highly competitive environment against legacy banks over cross-border FX. By exporting its proprietary payment rails to Tokyo, the firm is signaling that its ambitions lie in becoming a foundational
banking
NCR Voyix (NYSE: VYX) has reached a definitive agreement to sell its Japanese bank technology solutions business to Tokyo-based IT giant NTT DATA, further streamlining its global portfolio, The transaction, which includes the operations of NCR Commerce Japan, is expected to close by the end of 2026. While financial
stablecoins
LINE NEXT announced today the integration of the yen-denominated stablecoin JPYC into its upcoming Web3 wallet, "Unify" in order to accelerate the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency in Japan. The announcement, made during the WebX conference, signals a transition from experimental blockchain projects to tangible implementations, leveraging the
foreign exchange
In a bid to accelerate the shift from savings to assets among Japanese households, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC Group) has announced the immediate launch of a new service allowing individual customers to accumulate foreign currency deposits via credit card payments. This initiative—a collaboration between Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
central bank
In December 2025, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) submitted its semi-annual "Report on Currency and Monetary Control" to the Diet, covering the developments in the first half of fiscal year 2025 (April through September). The report offers a comprehensive detailed account of the Japanese economy’s performance,
credit card
Aplus, a member of the SBI Shinsei Bank Group, and SBI VC Trade, a consolidated subsidiary of SBI Holdings engaged in the cryptocurrency exchange business, have collaborated to add Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and XRP handled by SBI VC Trade as exchange rewards for the point service (Aplus Points) of
banking
After the market close on April 30, 2025, MUFG announced that it has revised its earnings target for profits attributable to owners of parent and its year-end dividend forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, both previously announced on November 14, 2024, to take into account recent