ECONOMY

The Japanese government moved Tuesday to give the least-paid workers their second-biggest raise in the past 20 years. (Nikkei)

A record high 13.5 percent of existing housing units in Japan were vacant as of last Oct. 1, up 0.4 percentage point from five years earlier when the survey was last conducted, the government said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

Tokyo shares rose to a fresh six-month closing high on Tuesday, buoyed by a weaker yen and robust earnings from blue chips like Nissan Motor Co, suggesting some sectors were weathering the impact of a recent sales tax hike. (Reuters)

Tokyo stocks rose 0.46 percent Monday to close at a fresh six-month high as Japanese earnings season gets into full swing. (brecorder.com)

Japan can increase its female workforce by about one million if it takes steps to improve the working environment for women raising children, the government said in its annual economic and fiscal white paper on Friday. (Jiji Press)

The government plans to join shale gas development in Mexico, aiming to start imports of the cheap natural gas in the mid-2020s, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. (The Japan News)

Tokyo stocks surged 1.13 percent Friday, with its benchmark the Nikkei stock index ending at a six- month high following yen's depreciation. (globalpost.com)

Members of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, agreed on Thursday to enhance its cooperation with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government. (Jiji Press)

Tokyo stocks lost modest early gains to finish down 0.29 percent on Thursday, but a slightly stronger yen helped prop up the Japanese market. (The Standard)

Japan registered a 7,598.4 billion yen deficit in goods trade for the six months through June, the biggest on record for any six-month period, due partly to slow growth in exports and a surge in imports amid the prolonged halt of nuclear power plants, the government said Thursday. (Kyodo)