Tokyo's pick to head the Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Monday ruled out purchases of foreign bonds to stoke the economy, as the country faced criticism it was engineering a yen devaluation.

Japan eased out of recession in the last quarter of 2012, with modest growth analysts said Friday underpins a strengthening economy, as the government and central bank up their fight against deflation.

Japan nominated a senior finance ministry official Thursday for the top job at the Asian Development Bank, as Tokyo looks to keep hold of a role it has held for almost 50 years.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) Thursday wrapped up its last policy meeting under governor Masaaki Shirakawa, making way for new management who back a major policy shift driven by aggressive easing measures.

Japan and the European Union are to hold a summit this month to formally launch negotiations on a huge free trade deal, a report said Sunday.

Japan's public pension fund, the world's largest, recorded investment gains of US$56 billion in October-December, its second best quarter on record, on the back of strong domestic equities, while the yen's fall helped boost the performance of foreign assets.

Japan's jobless rate edged down to 4.2 percent in January while the struggling economy remained mired in deflation, official data showed Friday.

Japan's parliament on Tuesday passed a US$142 billion extra budget that forms a key part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to tackle the deflation that has dogged the economy for years.

Japan's government will sell around a third of its stake in Japan Tobacco Inc., the world's No. 3 tobacco company, to raise about US$10.4 billion for reconstruction of areas devastated by a 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The yen hit a 33-month low against the U.S. dollar on Monday as the likelihood of sharply easier monetary policy in Japan grew, while Italian stocks and bonds gained in anticipation of the results of national elections.