The Speed of Markets and the Long Clock of Social Change
From bonds and the yen to Mexican crude, the BOJ’s policy battle, founders, university patents, the United Nations, El Niño, regional renewal and Tokyo art—today’s changes explained through history.
Four Stories to Read First
Bonds, energy, the BOJ and founders
Japan Market Desk
July 16 Tokyo mid-session report
Chip Selling Widens the Gap Between the Nikkei and TOPIX
At the cited intraday checks, the Nikkei was down 2.33% and TOPIX 0.92%. Tokyo Electron provides the lesson in why a price-weighted index and a capitalization-weighted index can show different versions of the same session. All figures are intraday, not closing values.
Read the mid-session report →Four More From July 16
Flight, robots, workers and daily life
Today’s Edition: 14 News Stories
Ten new stories plus four from July 16
Takaichi Rejects Blame as Japan’s Bond Yields Reach Multidecade Highs
Who moves interest rates? Learn how fiscal policy, BOJ independence and confidence in the yen meet in Japan’s postwar bond history.
Mexican Crude Reaches Japan as Tokyo Diversifies Beyond the Middle East
One tanker opens a lesson in the oil shocks, strategic reserves, refinery design and the real meaning of supply diversification.
Inside the BOJ Revolt: The Battle Over Negative Interest Rates
Why did the 2016 decision divide the board? Revisit deflation, bank profits, expectations and the long road to an exit.
Startup World Cup Tokyo Brings Japan’s Next Founders to the Stage
Japan moves beyond a postwar economy centered on large firms toward founders who think about risk, capital and global markets.
Japan’s Universities Put 280 Patented Technologies on Display
What moves an invention from a laboratory to a company and product? A guide to TLOs, university startups and the “valley of death.”
Japan Takes Its Sustainable-Development Case to the United Nations
Beyond setting goals, how should implementation by cities, companies and citizens be measured? Japan’s aid history offers context.
El Niño Is Expected to Persist Through Autumn—What It Means for Japan
Learn how distant Pacific temperatures influence typhoons, late heat, farming and power demand—and why forecasts remain uncertain.
West Izu Turns Forest Restoration, Trails and Wood-Fired Dining Into a Circular Economy
Neglected woodland becomes a link among tourism, timber, food and employment—an experiment in using local resources completely.
More Than 150 Artists to Transform Tokyo’s Tennoz Waterfront
From warehouse district to cultural quarter: art, commerce and urban renewal meet along a changing Tokyo waterfront.
Hamamatsu’s Harayoru Connects Farmers, Chefs and Creators After Dark
A shared meal creates commerce and trust. Explore Enshu agriculture, local sourcing and the social power of gathering.
SkyDrive’s Flying Car Makes a High-Speed Flight Over the Seto Inland Sea
Could electric vertical flight change island transport and city travel? Learn about certification, safety and commercialization.
Humanoids, Farm Robots and Factory AI Gather in Tokyo
As machines become working tools, Japan must confront labor shortages, productivity, safety and responsibility.
Foreign Workers Send More Than ¥1 Trillion Home From Japan
Remittances sustain families and hometowns while revealing the realities of Japanese wages, the weak yen and migration policy.
Japan Considers New Benefits for Low-Income and Seriously Ill Residents
Eligibility, funding and application barriers explain the different roles of cash benefits and social insurance.
Today’s Gateways
Weather, horoscope, regions and archive
15. Today’s Art Choice
Italian Futurism
Italian Futurism—An Explosion of Speed, Machinery and Cities
Financial markets, oil tankers, startups and the modern city become one movement of diagonals, repetition and fractured geometry. Learn why this early-20th-century avant-garde still fits today—and why its political shadow matters.
Read the art story →