If Japan's economy is in trouble, you wouldn't know it from the stock market.
In what's shaping up to be a pretty forgettable year for global equity investors, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Japan is one of the few places providing double-digit returns that are backed by profit growth. The 12 percent gain for the Nikkei 225 stock average through last week came as its companies post record earnings, and valuations rose just 2.3 percent from the end of last year.
Even as a report Monday showed the nation fell back into recession, corporate Japan is proving it can increase profits without a stronger economy. Of course, executives have a powerful ally in global central bankers. After stimulus kicked off the share rally under Abe and Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda, the U.S. outlook for interest rates is re-establishing the yen's downward trajectory and boosting income at exporters.