Speaking this month at an international finance conference in Tokyo, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan used an unusual turn of phrase to sell the assembled crowd on her plan to revive the economy, the New York Times reported. “Just shut your mouths and invest everything in me,” Ms. Takaichi declared, quoting a line from the popular manga series “Attack on Titan” — a reference that several in the room admitted was lost on them. “Japan is back. Invest in Japan,” she continued. Ms.

Shinsei Trust and Banking is set to issue a yen-based stablecoin next year, in the hopes that it will achieve widespread adoption as a global settlement currency domestically and internationally. With introduction set for the April to June quarter, it's likely to be Japan's first bank-backed stablecoin, the Japan Times reported. "The transition to a 'token economy,' where all real-world assets are tokenized and tokens permeate society as a means of settlement, is now an irreversible societal trend,” SBI Holdings President Yoshitaka Kitao said in a statement on Tuesday.

Big Japanese manufacturers' business sentiment hit a four-year high in the three months to December, a closely watched survey showed on Monday, reinforcing market expectations the central bank will raise interest rates this week, Reuters reported. But firms expect conditions to worsen three months ahead as they fret over the impact of higher U.S. tariffs and soft consumption, highlighting uncertainty over how far the Bank of Japan (BOJ) could eventually push up borrowing costs.

Japanese companies sold a record amount of yen-denominated bonds targeting individuals this year, in the latest sign that sticky inflation is causing households to shift more of their $14.3 trillion of financial assets into riskier investments, Bloomberg News reported. The note sales climbed to about ¥2.76 trillion ($17.6 billion) as of Dec. 10, surpassing last year’s full-year record of ¥2.73 trillion, according to compiled data.

Japanese companies said strained diplomatic relations with China are their primary concern as they head into 2026, followed closely by U.S. trade policies, a Reuters survey showed on Thursday, Reuters reported. Ties between the Asian neighbours have deteriorated since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament last month that a hypothetical Chinese attack on democratically governed Taiwan could trigger a Japanese military response.

Japan’s economy shrank in the three months through September, the government confirmed in a revised report, giving some justification for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s stimulus package announced last month, Bloomberg News reported. Gross domestic product fell at an annualized pace of 2.3% in the third quarter, as revised figures showed business spending and housing investment came in weaker than preliminary figures. The contraction was deeper than the initial reading of a 1.8% fall, and was the first in six quarters.

Japan's economic revitalisation minister, Minoru Kiuchi, called on the central bank to closely communicate with the government in setting monetary policy on Friday, but did not voice opposition to a near-term interest rate hike, Reuters reported. Asked about growing prospects of an interest rate hike by the central bank in December, Kiuchi said that specific policy means was for the Bank of Japan to decide.

Japanese household spending unexpectedly slumped at the fastest pace in nearly two years in October, government data showed Friday, raising concerns about the economic outlook as the Bank of Japan gears up for a rate hike as early as this month, Reuters reported. Consumer spending fell 3.0% in October from a year earlier, internal affairs ministry data showed, the first decrease in six months and falling at the steepest pace since January 2024. It was worse than the median market forecast for a 1.0% rise.

Japan's financial regulator is moving to mandate that crypto exchanges in the country maintain liability reserves to protect customers from losses stemming from hacks and security breaches, Decrypt.com reported. The Financial Services Agency plans to submit legislation to parliament in 2026 that would require exchanges to set aside reserves for compensating customers in the event of losses from cyberattacks or other incidents, The Nikkei reported on Monday.

A massive ¥21.3 trillion ($136 billion) stimulus package was approved by the Cabinet of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Friday, the Japan Times reported. It’s the largest stimulus package since the pandemic, although it’s smaller than it might have been, with some legislators earlier pushing for ¥25 trillion of support. The package includes ¥17.7 trillion of spending, ¥2.7 trillion in tax breaks and ¥900 billion in special account spending.