The yen strengthened to around 152 against the dollar on September 8, reaching its strongest level in about six months after gaining nearly 7 yen in roughly a week as investors focused on prospects for a narrowing interest-rate gap between Japan and the United States. (News On Japan)

Japan's inflation-adjusted real wages rose 2.4% in July from a year earlier, marking a seventh consecutive monthly increase as higher base salaries and easing price pressures improved workers' purchasing power. (News On Japan)

Rakuten Mobile faces a new test of its network quality after KDDI decided to scale back roaming support from September 2026, ending access to its network in areas where Rakuten already has its own base stations while continuing service in mountainous and sparsely populated regions. (News On Japan)

Japanese homebuyers are facing growing uncertainty as mortgage costs rise alongside a sharp increase in interest rates, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond briefly topping 3% last week for the first time in about 30 years. (News On Japan)

Japan's foreign exchange reserves fell by a record amount in August, reflecting the impact of currency market intervention by the government and the Bank of Japan at the end of July, the Finance Ministry said on September 7. (News On Japan)