Japan's economy minister KIUCHI said cost rises from the Middle East conflict have so far shown limited pass-through to consumer prices and offered a relatively upbeat assessment of inflation risk. He noted June headline CPI rose 1.7% YoY, indicating price gains remain moderate. KIUCHI made the comments after last week's Bank of Japan warning that upside inflation risks had increased. He added authorities must remain vigilant, saying costs could gradually transmit to food and other consumer pric

President Trump said whether Iran admits it or not, we are discussing a solution to a problem they caused that has persisted for decades.

The Bank of Japan said on Monday global AI-related demand could place sustained upward pressure on Japanese inflation, a development that could reinforce the case for its recent policy tightening. It noted that while AI adoption should raise productivity over the medium to long term and exert downward pressure on prices as firms and workers adjust, in the short term AI-driven investment could lift demand and push prices higher, potentially outweighing productivity gains. The BOJ flagged rising global producer prices partly driven by Middle East-related oil moves and partly by a positive global demand shock for AI-related goods, and said those spillovers, combined with import-cost increases from yen depreciation, could keep domestic inflation elevated for some time.