Sitting in the Oval Office this week, Japanese leader Sanae Takaichi gave a master class in grinning and bearing a terrible situation in more ways than one.

The Iran conflict will have both direct and indirect effects on Japan’s economic, security, and energy outlook, as well as its geopolitical environment.

The Japanese yen continued its downtrend this week, raising the possibility that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will intervene as it nears a crucial level. The USD/JPY exchange rate was trading at 159.60, a few points below the all-time high of 161.95. It has soared by over 14.3% from its lowest point last year.

Japan‘s economy contracted at a 1.8% annualized rate in the third quarter of 2025, as President Donald Trump’s tariffs have caught up with the island nation’s exports. Trump reached a trade deal with Japan in July, announcing a 15% baseline ...

On October 21, Sanae Takaichi, the president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was voted in as the 104 th prime minister of Japan; the first woman selected for the nation’s highest post. Barely a month later, in her first parliamentary ...

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's new economic revitalisation minister, Minoru Kiuchi, said on Tuesday a weak yen has benefits to the economy and its demerits could be addressed by swiftly compiling a package of steps to ease the pain from rising living costs.

Both public sentiment and political trends in Japan mean that a firm approach toward China is likely to endure.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about economics, markets and policymaking throughout Asia. Déjà vu abounds in Tokyo. Markets are celebrating a Japanese prime minister dusting off the same-old-same-old ...

For years, India has ranked as the world’s fifth-largest economy, behind the US, China, Germany and Japan. Now it’s closing in on Japan, helped by its 1.4 billion-strong, relatively young population and by the shrinking size of Japan’s economy in dollar terms.

Global funds including Allianz Global Investors and Amundi are already hedging against stagflation with the Iran conflict nearing the one-month mark.