Rakuraku comments

MeiyouwentiToday  07:44 am JST

What’s causing the recent depreciation of the yen is high interest rates in the U.S. and other industrialized countries, factors outside BOJ’s or LDP’s control. The J gov should give more subsidies to rice growers to ensure stable supplies of rice.

Don’t you think that having short-term real rates in Japan at -3% has nothing to do with the depreciation of the JPY? If the BOJ hiked the rate to 2% (where it should be), you would see the JPY skyrocket. Of course, this would have all types of terrible consequences (in particular, repayment of mortgages at variable rates). Anyway, Japan is responsible for its money printing, not other countries.

TriringToday  09:20 am JST

Basically it's a combination of several factors running simultaneously for the US dollar appreciation.

The US dollar has always been strong when there is a major military conflict.

Combined with the limitation in major crude oil suppliers due to the embargo and finally the relatively high interest rate compared to the yen results to the high appreciation to the US dollar.

Japan throwing her US dollar into the market is a lost cause.

Onthe other hand, once the Ukrainians wins then you will see the dollar sinking back to it's normal level.

It is less a question of USD appreciation than JPY depreciation. As you can read in the article, the JPY is at its lowest against the EUR since the creation of the EUR in 1999.

YankeeXToday  08:13 am JST

1985 Plaza Accord BOJ prints to stimulate Asset prices rise Inflation BOJ increases rates in 1992 Crash of 1992

2012 Abenomics BOJ prints to stimulate Asset prices rise Inflation BOJ refusing to raise rates what's next ???

A lot of similarities to the past....Yes same mistakes are repeated again and and again and again. Memories are short and each new generation forgets what happens to the previous one

Yes same mistakes are repeated again and again and again.

Each new generation forgets the mistakes the previous one did.

This is the result of abenomics and twelve years of money printing.

No, it's actually the result of the US Fed and US economic trends. The Biden economy is so strong that currency traders now believe that the Fed is starting to feel that lower interest rates are no longer needed to give a boost, as the "boosting" has largely already been achieved.

I don’t think so. The JPY has depreciated against all major currencies not only the USD. For ex if you look at the EUR USD it has been rather stable showing it is more a JPY depreciation than a USD appreciation ( I know it all depends the period you look at but at least it is true if you look at the last leg of the depreciation over the past year).

fluctuations are not based on fundamentals

On the contrary, it is perfectly in line with fundamentals. Ten years of Abenomics, which merely kicked the can down the road, have destroyed the JPY, making the ordinary Japanese much poorer.

wallaceToday  10:39 am JST

Many Japanese people discard their garbage on the streets, as well as along rivers and other beautiful places. This behavior is shameful.

Maybe but compare a large city like Tokyo and a large City like Paris and it is day and night.

All people arriving in Japan can’t believe how clean it is. According to my own experience this is what they all say after a few hours in Japan.

Fighto!Today  08:05 am JST

There is no reason Japan cannot ultimately replace France as the most visited place on earth - perhaps by 2040.

Japan is only 70% of France in terms of area, and 70% of it is mountains. So the available space compared to France is much smaller.

itsonlyrocknrollToday  01:39 pm JST

There is no problem that cannot be solved when implementing smart management.

No need for walls fences, or barriers. 

Bureaucrats, governors armed with taxpayers money are the problem here.

Smart Management is very vague? Concretely what could it be?

casadeoctaneToday  09:49 am JST

Welcome to a "tourism country" where qualified professionals earn the same here that minimum wage employees earn in the developed world

Yes but this is not the topic here. I climbed Mount Fuji 25 years ago when Japan was not a tourist destination. There were so many people during the last 45 minutes of the ascent that it felt like being in Shibuya on a Friday night! I can’t imagine what it must be like now with the hordes of tourists. It was necessary to do something.

EdwinToday  08:45 am JST

With all the money somebody spends to get to Japan and travel around Japan, they are going to get upset and not see the castle because their ticket cost about one Big Mac more than for a local. 

If you find Japan to be so offensive, just return to your home country.

What you say is extremely far from the truth.

Price for non residents 5 USD.

Price for non resident 30 USD

Does a big cost 25 USD???

in Japan it is 3 USD. In US 5 to 6 USD.

@JeffLee 

This is why all the hand-wringing over Japan’s national debt is ridiculous. Most of the “debt” is in the public sector.

The BOJ at this stage has two choices:

1. Continue to cap yield at a level below the market level. The consequence of this approach includes the current problem of persistent JPY depreciation, imported inflation, and weak consumption. 2. Let the yield move to a more natural level to void problem of choice 1. However, it means higher interest payments when the government refinances its debt, leaving less money for important expenditures like education, energy transition…etc and probably higher tax.

Currency depreciation and imported inflation are the limits of perpetually growing public debt, regardless of who owns this debt or the currency in which it is denominated.

itsonlyrocknrollToday  05:42 pm JST

Look these climbers must take reasonability, financial with personal liability insurance.

It is outrageous the J tax payer, the rescue services be accountable, put in danger.

Nothing in this article indicates that the cost of the rescue is borne by the taxpayer instead of the rescued person footing the bill. But maybe you read this somewhere else.

sakurasukiToday  07:20 am JST

More tourists = more xenophobia.

But more money, Central Govt love it but local Govt doesn't like Tourist attitude. 

https://japantoday.com/category/national/japan's-tax-revenue-from-int'l-travelers-likely-triples-in-fy-2023

-8( +4 / -12 )

Basically those who directly benefit from tourism (government , hotels, restaurants ) love it, person who do not benefit directly and are bothered by it don’t. This is common sense. Won’t you complain if there was a tourist spot in front of your house with a lot of noisy and poorly behaved people?

uaintseemeToday  09:45 am JST

Japan will do everything they can to promote "raising a family" except putting a cap on over-time so that people can go home on time and actually have the energy to...you know what, with their spouses. Simple problem, simple solution

Italy, Spain and Germany with a European type of work life balance have exactly the same 1.2 fertility rate as Japan. So probably not the main cause.

Japan was very slow to act on this issue because the medical lobby opposed it, as the treatment of these allergies is an important source of income for them.

All family and friends visiting tell me they love them but are too expensive in their countries (around 10,000 USD in US and 5,000 EUR in France). They are surprised to see that so many people can afford them in Japan.

sakurasukiToday  07:12 am JST

for any change it will decades in japan.

Often true, but an overgeneralization. Look at how quickly payment by Suica or other IC cards spread in Japan. Foreign tourists are amazed by the fact that these cards can be used nationwide, not only for transport but also in convenience stores, chain restaurants, and more.

David Van Den BergToday  11:30 am JST

This process is going to be much slower than paper tickets.

Get out your phone, switch it on, unlock the screen, start up the app all before you can scan.

Nothing to see with phone. The QR code will be on the paper ticket instead of the magnetic bands.

"French people have gotten into the habit of going to see Japanese films the same way they go to see American films.

I have no statistics but I would be surprised if more than 20 % of French go to see Japanese movies (« Perfect day » was a big hit there) but 100% of French watch American movies.

People complain about these leaks, which is totally justified, but at the same time, they share the smallest details of their private lives on social media...

Lets add just a bit of honesty to this story.!. Japan does NOT include the prices of fuel and food in their GDP / CPI! If they did , the actual rate of inflation would be well over 20%. Literally everything we buy at the grocery store has gone up dramatically or the quantity has been reduced for the same price ! The jgov has been subsidizing fuel prices (car and home) for 4 years ! It has NOT been passed on to us consumers! It is corporate greed/ welfare at its worst!

They have a CPI that includes everything. Then they have a core CPI which is CPI - energy price. And also core core which is CPI - energy - fresh food.

all countries also calculate various measures of inflation. If you want to see the whole picture just look at the CPI. The reason to calculate cord and core is that energy and fresh food price change very quickly. Vegetables price like spinach, cabbage, lettuce… can vary a lot from one week to another (due to weather…etc). . So it make sense to show one measure of CPI that excludes it.

Ok thanks for you research.

Anyway vive la France!

This is the most beautiful country in the world.

things.

Take France. One will find a lot of headlines 77 million international visitors 2023.

But if you look for tourists you get a very different number.

2 different French associations have slightly different numbers 

One says 39 million the other 29 million tourists! 

To give an example, one of my siblings have already been 5 times to France this year, all for work, so a foreign visitor but not a tourist!

I understand your point about the difference foreign tourists and visitors. I was basing my figures on what is provide by the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings

It is confusing to know what they actually put inside. Sometimes they mention tourists sometimes visitors!

This is a desirability ranking

More objective and meaningful is the actual number of foreign visitors for each country which is:

1) France 79 Mio

2) Spain 71 Mio

3) US 51 Mio

4)Turkey 51 Mio

5) Italy 50 Mio

6) Mexico 39

these are 2022 numbers which are not meaningful for Japan as it was just reopening to tourism. For Japan better to compare with 2019 which was 32 Mio.

So Japan is probably number 7.

Desert TortoiseToday  07:27 am JST

The solution to a declining total fertility rate is a major change in the work-life balance

i used to think like this but actually Work-life balance is probably not really the cause. Japan, Germany, and Italy have very different work-life balances but the same low fertility rate of 1.3.

In addition, the work-life balance was even worse after WWII because the Japanese rebuilt their country from ashes and were working even more than now. Yet, Japan had a baby boom with an average of 5 kids per family.

The fall in fertility happens everywhere in the developed world and is the result of a lack of hope about the future and the idea that having a family is just one choice among other.

Nice for Miyazaki Hayao to receive it while still alive. Congratulations as well to all the other staff of the studio that made it possible because of course it is the fruit of collective work.

YeahRightToday  11:21 am JST

Why is a Shinto mikoshi being carried to a Buddhist temple? I know that Asakusa Shrine is right next door to Senso-ji Temple, but someone seems to be mixing up their religions. Good thing I'm atheist and don't have to worry about such superstitious rituals.

I guess because during a long period of Japanese history the 2 religions sort of mixed together in a synchretism called Shinbutsu-shūgō (神佛習合).

This is only at the time of Meiji with the rise of nationalism that the 2 religions became clearly separated again, Shintoism becoming a tool of nationalism.

WeiWeiToday  01:14 pm JST

RakurakuToday  09:23 am JST

almakukacToday  07:50 am JST

They also start to cut wages of employees who are not in senior management position when they reach their late forties to early fifties. The cut is progressive but can reach 30 % to 50% over the years!

You mean illegally, right? Otherwise that's against the law.

Not illegally. At least I know that the 3 largest banks (Mizuho, SMBC and MUFJ do it and they obviously would never break the law. 

I know this seems crazy when you are not from Japan but it is what happens

That is not correct as it would be illegal. You can check the average salary for those companies snd it steadily increases until the mandatory retirement age of 60.

What happens at 60, you can be rehired to your old position with a meager salary to work those inbetween years 60-65 before you can receive 

I am talking about the late forties to 60 years old period.

I am saying this because I know several people to which it happened and they told me it is the way the system works.

Please refer to the article below that explains this. You will see that after 50 the income actually drops except for executives.

https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/709568?display=b

What you are talking about is an additional cut for people who want to continue to work from 60 to 65. They are rehired on one year renewable contract and again their salary is cut by an additional 30 % to 50%. compare to the salary they had when they reach 60. This is a second cut. maybe only for banks. I don’t know.

WeiWeiToday  01:14 pm JST

RakurakuToday  09:23 am JST

almakukacToday  07:50 am JST

They also start to cut wages of employees who are not in senior management position when they reach their late forties to early fifties. The cut is progressive but can reach 30 % to 50% over the years!

You mean illegally, right? Otherwise that's against the law.

Not illegally. At least I know that the 3 largest banks (Mizuho, SMBC and MUFJ do it and they obviously would never break the law. 

I know this seems crazy when you are not from Japan but it is what happens

That is not correct as it would be illegal. You can check the average salary for those companies snd it steadily increases until the mandatory retirement age of 60.

What happens at 60, you can be rehired to your old position with a meager salary to work those inbetween years 60-65 before you can receive 

I am talking about the late forties to 60 years old period.

I am saying this because I know several people to which it happened and they told me it is the way the system works.

Please refer to the article below that explains this. You will see that after 50 the income actually drops except for executives.

https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/709568?display=b

What you are talking about is an additional cut for people who want to continue to work from 60 to 65. They are rehired on one year renewable contract and again their salary is cut by an additional 30 % to 50%. compare to the salary they had when they reach 60. This is a second cut. maybe only for banks. I don’t know.

almakukacToday  07:50 am JST

They also start to cut wages of employees who are not in senior management position when they reach their late forties to early fifties. The cut is progressive but can reach 30 % to 50% over the years!

You mean illegally, right? Otherwise that's against the law.

Not illegally. At least I know that the 3 largest banks (Mizuho, SMBC and MUFJ do it and they obviously would never break the law.

I know this seems crazy when you are not from Japan but it is what happens.

Nearly impossible but they often offer early retirement packages that are sometimes very generous (2 years of salary).

They also start to cut wages of employees who are not in senior management position when they reach their late forties to early fifties. The cut is progressive but can reach 30 % to 50% over the years!