Hidden beneath the headlines about Japan's continual failure to reach its inflation target is a quiet reflation of its economy.
It took almost two decades, but Japan finally notched a record for the size of its economy in 2016, one of the most significant signs yet that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's reflation policies have had an impact on underlying fundamentals.
Despite population declines on the order of more than a quarter million people a year, and in the face of muted productivity gains, Japan's nominal gross domestic product totaled ¥537 trillion ($6.1 trillion) last year, government data showed Monday. Last year was the first time that nominal GDP, which is unadjusted for price changes, hit a record since 1997.