Japan in June 2026: the most important developments in economy
Japan's economy in June 2026 was defined by an AI-driven stock market boom and a sliding yen. On June 1 SoftBank Group overtook Toyota as Japan's most valuable company, and on June 12 chip maker Kioxia took that position. The Nikkei stock index hit records, passing 71,000 on June 18 and 72,000 on June 22. It was also volatile: it fell over 4% on June 8, dropped 2,565 points on June 23 and lost 3,005 points on June 26, one of its largest falls on record.
The yen weakened to about 160 per dollar early in the month and reached a 40-year low around 162 on June 30, levels last seen in 1986. Finance Minister Katayama repeatedly said Japan was ready to act at any time. On June 16 the Bank of Japan raised its key rate to 1%, the highest since 1995. BOJ Governor Ueda's hospitalization complicated communication ahead of the meeting, and Deputy Governor Uchida spoke at the news conference afterward. Japan's trade balance turned to a deficit in May.
The Iran war affected energy supply. A shortage of naphtha hit supplies of plastic bags, trays and gloves, and the government approved extra budgets for fuel subsidies and energy costs, reported at figures between $19 billion and $230 billion. Japan planned to restart old nuclear reactors and later narrowed its reliance on the Middle East for naphtha. A government plan released on June 24 and 25 targets public-private investment of about $2.3 trillion, or 370 trillion yen, across 17 sectors, and Japan announced a $26 billion package for domestic AI development.
China's exports of key minerals to Japan stayed low, and China added 20 Japanese firms to its export ban list on June 29. Japan sent a delegation to Greenland to assess rare earth extraction and proposed a joint G7 critical minerals stockpile.
Among companies, Honda's CEO apologized for the company's loss and won investor backing on June 26, Starbucks explored selling its stake in its Japan business, and Nissan began Magnite production in Egypt.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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