ECONOMY – 7

The latest official business readings show that Japan's economy is on track for its sixth year of sustained growth in 2018, though the boom cycle has yet to be fully reflected in household incomes. (Nikkei)

Tokyo stocks are continuing to plummet on Tuesday afternoon, following the overnight plunge in New York. (NHK)

The population of foreign workers set a record of about 1.28 million in late October as rapidly graying Japan continued to rely on foreign trainees and students to make up for its labor shortage, the labor ministry said Friday. (Japan Times)

Japan's Consumer Price Index for the year 2017 rose for the first time in 2 years. (NHK)

The Japanese and Chinese governments are in the final stage of discussions on a social security agreement aimed at resolving the issue of double payments of pension premiums by Japanese and Chinese employees dispatched to each other’s countries, it has been learned. (the-japan-news.com)

Japan's department store sales at existing locations grew for the first time in three years in 2017, edging up 0.1% to 5.95 trillion yen ($53.9 billion), the Japan Department Stores Association said Tuesday. (Nikkei)

-Top negotiators from the 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership member economies have agreed to sign a free trade deal dubbed TPP 11 without the United States in the Chilean capital of Santiago on March 8. (Jiji)

The Bank of Japan maintained its massive monetary stimulus program and kept its price and economic forecasts unchanged. In a small sign of progress, it said inflation expectations had stopped falling. (Japan Times)

The Japanese government has submitted a record draft budget of 97.7 trillion yen, or more than 880-billion dollars, for the fiscal year starting in April. (NHK)

Many bond market participants were caught off guard on Jan. 9 when the Bank of Japan unexpectedly reduced its purchases of government bonds, instantly pushing yields higher. In the nine days that followed, long-term rates -- yields on 10 year Japanese Government Bonds -- hit 0.090%, the highest since July 2017. (Nikkei)