Most Japanese treat Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's new economic program, dubbed "Abenomics," with a heavy dose of skepticism. (CNN)

After two "lost decades", Japan has begun a risky monetary gamble. Abenomics has the potential to make or break Japanese savings, the Asian century and global recovery. (South China Morning Post)

On the Tokyo foreign exchange market on Monday, the yen weakened to the upper 99 range against the dollar, following a weekend meeting of the Group of 20 financial leaders in Washington. (NHK)

Trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum agreed Sunday to promote free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region, just a day after Japan's entry into negotiations for a free trade pact involving many of the APEC economies was approved. (Kyodo)

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Saturday that the IMF will examine possible effects from advanced economies' future exit from their current ultraeasy monetary policies on emerging economies and the global capital market. (Jiji Press)

Finance ministers from the world's largest economies endorsed Japan's recently launched easy-money policy Friday, downplaying previous concerns that the strategy could give Japan an unfair trade advantage. (USA Today)

Japan won approval from participating countries to join talks on a U.S.-led Asia Pacific free trade agreement, central to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plans to open the economy to more competition and revive growth. (Reuters)

The yen fell on Friday as macro funds resumed selling after Japan said the Group of 20 accepted its stance that its aggressive monetary expansion was aimed at beating deflation and not at competitive devaluation. (Reuters)

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said that Group of 20 nations understand the case for Japan's unprecedented monetary stimulus and indicated that he expects no censure for the yen's slide. (Bloomberg)

A small rise in Japanese exports, improving business confidence and surging investment flows demonstrated early successes for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's radical pro-growth strategy, but firms have yet to see signs of a sustained boost to economic activity. (Reuters)

The Japanese government decided Wednesday to set up special economic zones mainly in the metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, where drastic deregulation and preferential tax measures will be implemented in line with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic policy, dubbed Abenomics. (Jiji Press)

Japan's trade deficit more than quadrupled on year to $3.7 billion in March, government data shows. (SBS)

Japan's consumer confidence in March improved for the 3rd straight month to hit the highest level in almost 6 years. (NHK)

New Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda will face a test of his ability to persuade at a meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Washington, where he will have to explain that Japan's drastic monetary easing policy is designed to end deflation, not target exchange rates. (Yomiuri)

Banks in Japan including "shinkin" banks are estimated to suffer losses totaling 12.5 trillion yen from a uniform rise of 2 percentage points in short- and long-term interest rates, the Bank of Japan said in a report Wednesday. (Jiji Press)

The International Monetary Fund sharply raised its economic growth estimate for Japan in a report released Tuesday, saying the central banks' new monetary easing policy will provide substantial stimulus. (Japan Times)

Japan and the European Union have launched negotiations on concluding an economic partnership agreement. (Yomiuri)

Japan's demand for gold, amid a global slump that saw prices tumble around $125 an ounce on Monday, owes partly to the declining value of the yen against the dollar. (foxbusiness.com)

Japan's Finance Ministry said Monday it has decided to resume issuance of inflation-linked government bonds after a hiatus since autumn 2008, when the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers triggered the global financial crisis. (Jiji Press)

The Japanese government decided Monday to make Japanese yen loans easier to use by adopting measures including lower interest rates, aiming to support infrastructure exports by Japanese firms. (Jiji Press)