Japan last week struck a trade deal with the U.S. that lowers tariffs on cars and other goods to 15% in exchange for a U.S.-bound $550 billion Japanese investment package.

Japan’s central bank should raise rates when its policy board meets this week, and failure to do so will weaken the yen and exacerbate inflation, said Takeshi Niinami, chief executive officer of Suntory Holdings Ltd.

Rei Ihara, food sector analyst at UBS Securities, said the scope for further price hikes is narrowing, as Japan's Engel coefficient, the share of household spending on food, hit 28.3% in 2024, the highest in 43 years.

India's finished steel imports dropped nearly 30% in the first three months of the financial year that started in April, due to a persistent fall in shipments from China and Japan, according to provisional government data reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.

William Sposato is a Tokyo-based journalist who has been a contributor to Foreign Policy since 2015. He has been following Japan’s politics and economics for more than 20 years, working at Reuters and the Wall Street Journal. He is also the co-author of a 2021 book on the Carlos Ghosn affair and its impact on Japan.

Japan strictly prohibits drone flights near nuclear power plants under its 2016 Drone Act, with violations punishable by up to a year in prison or a maximum fine of 500,000 yen or approximately $3,370.

Japan's bond market faces stern tests this week, from domestic political ructions and a possible hawkish shift at the central bank to global risks stemming from the Federal Reserve. Japan's long-dated government bond (JGB) yields remain near record peaks after the ruling coalition lost its majority in upper house elections.