ECONOMY

As trade talks between Japan and the US look likely to start soon, and the price of oil drops in Japan, the value of the Yen is increasingly under threat of deflation. (newsonjapan.com)

The average price of all types of land in urban areas rose last year for the first time since 1992 as the growing influx of foreign tourists rejuvenated real estate investment, the government said Tuesday. (Japan Times)

The Japanese economy will likely once again be assessed as "recovering at a moderate pace" in the government's monthly report due out Wednesday, which also will note potential risks from overseas economies. (Nikkei)

Japan will tighten oversight of pay for foreign employees through ordinances issued Friday, aiming to address major concerns over working conditions as the country prepares to accept more labor from abroad starting next month. (Nikkei)

Since the 2008 global financial crisis, expansionary monetary policy has been the order of the day in most of the major advanced economies. (Japan Times)

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga denied a media report Thursday that the government is considering introducing a minimum wage for specific industrial sectors that would apply to workers nationwide, regardless of where they live. (Japan Times)

The inflation outlook is looking dismal for the Bank of Japan as cheaper oil and falling mobile phone charges threaten to push price growth toward zero by mid-summer. (Japan Times)

Japanese employees and companies are expected to continue shouldering a relatively high ratio of taxes to income. Officials say that on average, 42.8 percent of income will go to taxes and social welfare premiums in fiscal 2019. (NHK)

The Bank of Japan can abandon its 2 percent inflation target or suspend efforts to achieve it once the job market is tight enough because the public is better off having prices fall, not rise, an economic adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. (Japan Today)

Japan recorded its biggest trade deficit in almost five years in January, extending its run of red ink to a fourth month as exports to China tumbled. (NHK)