Japan's factories, retailers rev up; some in BOJ urge debate on rates

Tokyo

JAPAN'S best run of growth in a decade looks set to stretch into 2018, with data on Thursday showing most factories and consumers stepping up a gear, giving policymakers more reasons to discuss an end to crisis-era stimulus.

Industrial production marked its first back-to-back months of increases this year, with a 0.6 per cent rise in November following a 0.5 per cent gain in October, the government said. Factories are churning out memory chips for smart phones and semiconductor manufacturing equipment to fill orders from Asia and North America.