Japan
Hayami says weak yen no solution to Japan's woes
JAPAN - Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami said on Tuesday it was neither possible nor desirable for Japan to try manipulating foreign exchange rates, maintaining that a weaker yen was no solution to its economic woes.
Japan jobless rate hits new high
JAPAN - Japan's unemployment has reached a new record high of 5.6%.
Speech by Shigemitsu Sugisaki of the IMF
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Global Prospects after September 11 and Implications for Japan' Sugisaki said that the Bank of Japan should set a deadline to end deflation and stop a cycle of falling prices in the world's second largest economy.
IMF official calls for Japan deflation deadline
US - A top International Monetary Fund (IMF) and former Japan Finance Ministry official said on Friday the Bank of Japan should set a deadline to end deflation and stop a cycle of falling prices in the world's second largest economy.
NZ's Brash - Encouraging signs from US
NEW ZEALAND - Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Donald Brash said Friday that there are "encouraging" signs of improvement from the U.S. but Japan remains the biggest risk to the local economy.
BOJ's Hayami - FX moves need further monitoring
JAPAN - Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami said Friday the 0.8% decline in Japanese consumer prices last year was "normal," apparently attempting to downplay concerns about deflation weighing on the economy.
BIS research papers
RESEARCH - Research from the BIS 'Comparing monetary policy operating procedures across the United States, Japan and the euro area', Monetary and Economic Department, Bank for International Settlements, December 2001.
The yen's fundamental weakness
FEATURE - The currency's depreciation stems not from government policy but the state of the economy says Haruhiko Kuroda, Japan's viceminister of finance for international affairs.
US comments push down on yen
US - Mixed messages from the US administration have helped Japan's currency touch new lows.
Bank of Japan Monetary Policy Meeting
MINUTES - Minutes of the Bank of Japan, Monetary Policy Meeting on 18, 19 December 2001.
Bank of Japan Monetary Policy Meeting
MINUTES - Minutes of the Bank of Japan, Monetary Policy Meeting on 29 November 2001.
Bank of Japan Monthly Report January 2002
REPORT - Bank of Japan Monthly Report of Recent Economic and Financial Developments, January 2002.
Research Papers from the Bank of Japan
RESEARCH - Monetary and Economic Studies (2002) by the Bank of Japan Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, 18 January 2002.
Bank of Japan report spurs fear of new crisis
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan considers the state of the Japanese economy to be grim. In its monthly report on recent economic and financial developments, the central bank concluded that the economy was "deteriorating broadly".
Bank of Japan Statement - Monetary Policy Meeting
NEWS RELEASE - Statement from the Bank of Japan regarding the Monetary Policy Meeting held on 16 January 2002.
China's bank chief criticises low value of yen
CHINA - The governor of China's central bank offered an unambiguous criticism on Tuesday of the Japanese yen's recent depreciation, saying it was putting pressure on the Chinese currency and would bring no good to Japan or the rest of Asia.
IMF chief calls for open markets
US - The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has blasted the US, the European Union and Japan for continuing to aid farmers and manufacturers within their countries at the expense of poor nations.
Japan to unfreeze deposits of Afghan central bank
AFGHANISTAN - The Japanese government said Tuesday it will unfreeze the 77 million yen in deposits held in Japan by Afghanistan's central bank in line with the inauguration of an interim administration in the war-torn country.
Japan says yen's fall 'too rapid'
JAPAN - Japan's finance minister has said the yen has been falling too fast, remarks which prompted the currency's biggest rally since September.
Speech by Kazuo Ueda of the Bank of Japan
SPEECH/ PAPER - A paper based on a speech given by Kazuo Ueda, Member of the Policy Board of the Bank of Japan, at the semi-annual meeting of the Japan Society of Monetary Economics on 29 September 2001. Previously this was only available in Japanese…
Japan seeks support for bank rescue
JAPAN - Japanese finance minister Heizo Takenaka is on his way to Washington in a bid to enlist US support for bailing out Japan's top banks, many of which are burdened by a mountain of bad debt.
BIS c bankers see Japan's recession into 2002
SWITZERLAND - Japan's economic slump will continue throughout 2002, central bank governors from 11 major countries agreed during a monthly meeting of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) on Monday.
BOJ's Hayami - yen's fall too steep
JAPAN - The yen's recent fall has been too steep for his liking but an exchange rate of 130 to the dollar would benefit Japanese exporters, Bank of Japan governor Masaru Hayami said in a newspaper interview.
BOJ to provide special loans for failed bank
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) said on Friday that it had decided to provide special non-collateralised loans to failed second-tier regional bank Ishikawa Bank Ltd to ensure it will not run into liquidity problems.