In this week’s news roundup, we report on the Bank of Japan’s decision to raise interest rates. Yen buying gained momentum as a result, and the Japanese currency finally strengthened against the dollar. The rest of the news this week is dominated by the Paris Olympics. At the time of writing Japan sits fifth in the medal table with eight golds, three silvers and five bronze medals. We look at the nation’s highlights so far.
Yen Strengthens Against the Dollar After the Bank of Japan Raises Interest Rates
For the first time since mid-March, the Japanese currency strengthened to ¥148 against the dollar on Thursday. The increase came on the back of the decision by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to raise interest rates. According to market sources, yen buying gained momentum shortly after the announcement of the rate hike on Wednesday. The BOJ increased its key interest rate to approximately 0.25% from the previous range of 0% to 0.1%. Back in March, it raised borrowing costs for the first time in 17 years. Japan had been the last country in the world with negative interest rates.
Asked at a press conference whether it was a hasty move, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda replied, “Things will become easier if we adjust rates now, only a little. It will depend on what incoming data shows, but if they come in line with or even overshoot our forecasts, we will make an additional adjustment to short-term interest rates.” The BOJ also decided to halve its monthly pace of bond buying by ¥400 billion every quarter. It currently buys around ¥6 trillion worth of government bonds a month. That’ll be reduced to ¥3 trillion by the first quarter of 2026.
Japan Wins Three Judo Gold Medals
Japanese athletes got off to a positive start at the Paris Olympics, winning four gold medals on the opening weekend of the Games. Two of those came in judo. Natsumi Tsunoda delivered the country’s first gold in the -48 kg competition on Saturday. She defeated Mongolia’s Baasankhuu Bavuudorj in the final by scoring a waza-ari with her signature tomoe-nage throw. Japan’s second judo gold came from Hifumi Abe in the men’s -66 kg competition. He beat Brazil’s Willian Lima by ippon in the final to defend the title he won in Tokyo three years ago.
It was a bittersweet day for the Abe family, though, after Hifumi’s sister, Uta, lost to Uzbekistan’s Diyora Keldiyorova in the second round and left the arena in floods of tears. Japan’s third judo gold came from Takanori Nagase in the -81 kg category. He took on Georgia’s Tato Grigalashvili, winner of the last three world championships, in the final. Nagase scored a waza-ari with a tani-otoshi early on. He then executed the same technique to win the contest by ippon. Other Japanese medalists in judo included Sanshiro Murao, Soichi Hashimoto, Haruka Funakubo and Ryuju Nagayama.
Shinnosuke Oka Wins Surprise All-Around Gymnastics Gold
It was billed as a battle between China’s Zhang Boheng and Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto. In the end, though, it was Hashimoto’s compatriot Shinnosuke Oka who stood on top of the podium after the men’s all-around gymnastics final. The 20-year-old Okayama city native finished with a score of 86.832, edging out Zhang by 0.233 points. Oka’s gold medal extended Japan’s win streak in the all-around event to four following Kohei Uchimura’s triumphs in London and Rio and Hashimoto’s victory in Tokyo. It was his second gold of the Games after he helped Japan claim a dramatic team victory on Monday.
Japan’s chance looked like it had gone. Going into the final apparatus — the horizontal bar — China had a significant lead of 3.267. Barring anything dramatic happening, they would be taking home their first men’s team all-around artistic gymnastics gold since 2012. Then up stepped Su Weide. He fell twice, scoring just 11.60. Suddenly, the Japanese team were back in with a chance. All eyes were then on Hashimoto. The team captain and talisman had been struggling, but produced a solid score of 14.566. The 15.265 points required of Zhang then proved too much. Japan were champions for a record eighth time.
Coco Yoshizawa and Yuto Horigome Both Top the Podium in Street Skateboarding
It was a Japan one-two in women’s street skateboarding. Coco Yoshizawa, 14, edged out compatriot Liz Akama, 15, to take the gold. At one stage a clean-sweep looked on the cards for Japan with Funa Nakayama, a bronze medalist from the Tokyo Games, also in contention. However, she failed to register a score on any of her five best trick attempts in the final and ended up in seventh. Yoshizawa is the second successive Japanese Olympic champion in the event. Momiji Nishiya, who took home the gold three years ago, failed to qualify this time around.
In the men’s competition, Yuto Horigome retained the title he won in Tokyo three years ago. This time, though, his victory was in front of a crowd of 5,000 spectators, including legendary rapper Snoop Dogg. With one trick left to perform, the 25-year-old Japanese skateboarder had to pull something special out of the bag. He was a long way back from leaders Nyjah Huston and Jagger Eaton, both from the United States. He then produced a stunning 270 nollie bluntslide down the 10-stair round rail. Receiving a score of 97.08, he secured a second successive gold medal.
Fencing Gold for Koki Kano
Japan’s other gold medal this week came from Koki Kano. He defeated France’s Yannick Borel 15-9 in the men’s individual epee fencing final on Sunday to become the first Japanese fencer to top the podium in an individual event. “I wanted to come here and get gold in the individual and I just did it,” he said. Four days after Koki’s triumph, Japan won a first ever medal in women’s foil fencing. Yuka Ueno, Komaki Kikuchi, Sera Azuma and Karin Miyawaki defeated the Canadian team 33-32 to claim the bronze. The United States won gold after beating Italy 45-39.
Japan’s eventing team, meanwhile, picked up the country’s first equestrian medal since 1932. They finished third behind Great Britain and France. After the event, Yoshiaki Oiwa’s selfie with his horse MGH Grafton Street went viral. He competed alongside Kazuma Tomoto (Vinci de la Vigne), Ryuzo Kitajima (Cekatinka) and Toshiyuki Tanaka (Jefferson). Japan’s other medal this week came in the pool from 18-year-old Tomoyuki Matsushita. He finished second in the 400 individual medley behind French sensation Leon Marchand. “I had many challenges to overcome in this competition and I am so happy,” Matsushita said after the race. Daiya Seto finished seventh.
Son Heung-Min | Picture courtesy of the J-League
Tottenham Score Late Winner To Beat Vissel Kobe
In other sports news, Tottenham Hotspur defeated Vissel Kobe 3-2 at the Japan National Stadium on Saturday. Mikey Moore, 16, scored the winner in the 88th minute. Pedro Porro and Son Heung-min also netted for the English side. Kobe’s goals came from Yuya Osako and Jean Patric. Brighton & Hove Albion, meanwhile, followed up their 5-1 thrashing of Kashima Antlers with a 4-2 win over Tokyo Verdy at the National Stadium on Sunday. Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart hit 10 goals in their two games in Japan. They defeated Kyoto Sanga 5-3 and Sanfrecce Hiroshima 5-2.
In soccer transfer news, Kuryu Matsuki, 21, completed his transfer from FC Tokyo to English Premier League club Southampton. He will be immediately loaned out to Turkish side Göztepe. “I want to build on the range of experiences I have had at FC Tokyo and keep taking on challenges in the way I am accustomed to doing,” said Matsuki via his former club’s website. He is Southampton’s third Japanese recruit this summer after right-back Yukinari Sugawara and 17-year-old striker Rento Takaoka. The latter has signed an initial pre-contract agreement. It will become official when he turns 18 next March.
