Japan unexpectedly swung into a current account deficit in October as its massive goods and services trade deficit eradicated the benefits of solid income from overseas investment. (MarketWatch)

The Japanese government on Monday downgraded the country's July-September economic growth read to an annualized rate of 1.1 percent, down from 1.9 percent released last month. (Xinhua)

A ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization has reached an agreement on some points for global trade liberalization. (NHK)

Ministers from the countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade talks began a crucial session of negotiations Saturday in Singapore in a last-minute effort to strike a basic agreement by the year's end. (Kyodo)

Members of a government panel broadly agreed Friday to draft a long-term national energy plan stating that nuclear power is an "important" source of electricity in resource-poor Japan, even as the country struggles to recover from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis. (Kyodo)

Tokyo is the most expensive city in Asia for expatriates, despite a sharply weaker yen, a survey showed Thursday. Beijing was second, jumping up the ranking from fifth place last year. (plushasia.com)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet approved a $182 billion package on Thursday to pull the economy out of deflation, but doubts remain about the impact. (Reuters)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is readying a $182 billion economic package this week in his latest bid to pull the economy out of deflation, but the new measures will not require the government to sell more debt. (Reuters)

The Japanese government's planned economic stimulus package will likely be worth about 53 billion dollars. (NHK)

Structural reforms to enhance productivity-by facilitating asset reallocation, enabling innovative business models, and speeding up economic metabolism-are the central feature of the so-called third arrow of Abenomics. (ACCJ Journal)

Having celebrated the 50th anniversary of its national healthcare system in 2011, the Japanese government, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, trained their sights on making Japan’s medical knowhow a central pillar of its soft power in the region and around the world. (ACCJ Journal)

The Japanese government and the ruling bloc have agreed to pay lump-sum benefits of 10,000 yen per child to middle-income families, on top of existing childcare benefits, to ease the impact of the consumption tax hike set for next April, informed sources said Monday. (Jiji Press)

Many private-sector think tanks expect Japan's gross domestic product growth for July-September will be revised down from the preliminary readings following the release of corporate activity data by the Ministry of Finance on Monday. (Jiji Press)

As part of countermeasures against so-called black companies that force young employees to work extremely long hours without overtime pay, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has decided to ask companies that hire students through Hello Work job placement offices to reveal their employee turnover rates from next fiscal year. (Yomiuri)

Before popping the champagne corks over the biggest increase in Japanese consumer prices since 1998, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should remember that where rising costs come from is just as important as the rate of increase. (Bloomberg)

Japan, China and South Korea have made some progress in three-way free trade talks, especially in the fields of market access and intellectual property, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said Friday. (Kyodo)

Japanese consumer inflation accelerated to a five-year high and factory output rose for a second straight month in October, more evidence a recovery in the world's third-largest economy is on track to extend into 2014. (Reuters)

Japan's agriculture ministry plans to set the country's rice production target for 2014 at 7.65 million tons, down 260,000 tons from this year's target, ministry officials said Thursday. (Jiji Press)

The Japanese government is preparing to spend more than 49 billion dollars in economic stimulus to counter the negative effects of a tax hike next April. (NHK)

An advisory panel set up by Japan's financial regulator will consider stripping oversight for setting Tibor, the yen benchmark interest rate, from the banking group now responsible for its administration, said people with knowledge of the potential supervisory overhaul. (Reuters)