Japan February unemployment rate 2.6% (expected 2.4%, prior 2.4% also)

While these numbers for February as not as good as those in January they are a long way from being of concern. Japanese firms have mentioned the difficulty in finding labour, so perhaps they'll find something positive to take away from this data.

• Japan's CEOs less upbeat on the economy, cautious ahead of wage hikes kicking in

The bigger focus was on the inflation data:

• Tokyo area March inflation data: Headline 2.6% y/y (prior 2.6%)