Happy New Year! Welcome to the one hundred forty-fifth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. We are pleased to announce the "Product of the Year 2025": the 50-year mortgage! In the face of sky-rocketing real estate prices, where even second-hand apartments in Tokyo change hands at over 100 million yen, and a third consecutive year of declining real wages, spreading out ...

Happy New Year! Welcome to the one hundred forty-fifth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. We are pleased to announce the "Product of the Year 2025": the 50-year mortgage! In the face of sky-rocketing real estate prices, where even second-hand apartments in Tokyo change hands at over 100 million yen, and a third consecutive year of declining real wages, spreading out ...

Welcome to the one hundred forty-third edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. We have done it! Not only is the Bank of Japan the only major central bank to raise its policy rate this year, it has done so twice. Well done, Ueda-san & team, leading us further down the path to normalization. With consumer prices, in particular food, still running hot, there is certainly room for further hikes in 2026, even if the "underlying" inflation is (again) expected to cool down towards the target range of.

Welcome to the one hundred forty-third edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. We have done it! Not only is the Bank of Japan the only major central bank to raise its policy rate this year, it has done so twice. Well done, Ueda-san & team, leading us further down the path to normalization. With consumer prices, in particular food, still running hot, there is certainly room for further hikes in 2026, even if the "underlying" inflation is (again) expected to cool down towards the target range of.

Welcome to the one hundred thirty-ninth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. We are hearing that now is the best time since the pandemic to visit Kyoto. You will still see some late autumn foliage, the Japanese Yen is moving closer to its 160 JPY/USD ceiling (or beyond 180 JPY/EUR) if you are a foreign visitor, and Chinese tourists have all but disappeared. Was tackling overtourism on your bingo card for Takaichi's first actions? A supplementary budget certainly was. Coming in at JPY 17.7t

Welcome to the one hundred thirty-ninth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. We are hearing that now is the best time since the pandemic to visit Kyoto. You will still see some late autumn foliage, the Japanese Yen is moving closer to its 160 JPY/USD ceiling (or beyond 180 JPY/EUR) if you are a foreign visitor, and Chinese tourists have all but disappeared. Was tackling overtourism on your bingo card for Takaichi's first actions? A supplementary budget certainly was. Coming in at JPY 17.7t