Japan posted a trade deficit for the fifth year straight in 2025, according to government data, as concerns continued to grow over President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the political rift with neighboring China.

Japan's exports grew 5.1% in December, missing the 6.1% rise, expected by analysts polled by Reuters. Shipments to mainland China, Japan's largest trading partner, climbed 5.6%, while exports to Hong Kong surged 31.

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will dissolve parliament on Friday, paving the way for an early election on 8 February that she hopes will translate her strong public polling into a big majority in the lower house.

Its current nominal rate is 0.75%; estimates by central-bank researchers peg Japan’s neutral rate in the range of 1-2.5%, according to Goldman Sachs, another bank. That looks in line with what the bond market is betting on.

The yields on Japan's long-term debt pulled back early on Wednesday after Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama urged investors to remain calm.

Sanae Takaichi made history by becoming Japan’s first female Prime Minister in October; now she’s gambling it at the polls. Here’s why.

A sightseeing helicopter carrying three people has gone missing near Mount Aso, one of Japan's most active volcanoes. The aircraft took off from a zoo in Aso City at 10:52 local time (01:52 GMT) on Tuesday for a 10-minute tour but never returned, local reports say, quoting police.

Now Gen Z seems more obsessed with Japan than other generations. The statistics agree. In 2025, Netflix said that anime viewership tripled over the past five years. American Express Travel’s research into its own booking data found that Japan’s popularity skyrocketed among Gen Z and Millennials.