It was called "endaka" — a Japanese term for currency strength that sapped the economy — and reversing it was supposed to help end deflation and stoke growth.

Parts of the recipe aren't coming out as advertised.

Less than two years after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office and championed policies that drove the yen down 16 percent against the dollar, more than a decade of entrenched deflation is in the rear-view mirror.