Roland Kelts: I do. I think it's a canary in a coal mine. It doesn't help Japan's marriage rates—and therefore birth rates—that a growing number of businesses now cater to the rise of parties ...

Modern Japan sounds like a sci-fi premise ... designed to help working mothers and, hopefully, boost birth rates. "The longer we work, the less children we have," Koike said.

The Bank of Japan predicted growth of just 0.5 percent, cutting its previous forecast in half, and decided against another hike in interest rates ... and outpacing wage increases for most of ...

Roland Kelts: I do. I think it's a canary in a coal mine. It doesn't help Japan's marriage rates—and therefore birth rates—that a growing number of businesses now cater to the rise of parties ...

Japan has been struggling to cope with a combination of anaemic economic growth and a shrinking population for over 30 years. 2025 marks the tipping point when the rising costs outstrip the country's ...

Japan’s already low birth rates have further declined. Last year, the nation’s “total fertility rate,” which indicates the number of children a woman is expected to give birth to during ...

Japan's central bank held ... This has given the central bank room to raise rates as it seeks to normalize its monetary policy on the back of a virtuous cycle of wage and price growth.

There are signs of progress in policymakers' efforts to strengthen Japan's economy, including steady wage growth ... the BOJ would refrain from raising rates in July, with the next rate hike ...

Japan puts "social cohesion and societal harmony well ahead of any desire for diversity". But there has been a "major shift in policy". In the past few years, "radical" changes to visa and work ...

The Bank of Japan plans to launch its own survey ... The central bank intends to use the results of its independent wage hike survey as a reference in determining whether to raise or lower its policy ...