A key index reflecting the state of the Japanese economy dropped in January for the first time in four months, due partly to a halt in auto production amid the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, government data showed Tuesday. The Cabinet Office's coincident index of business conditions for the reporting month fell 0.5 point from December to 94.3 against the 2015 base of 100, according to the preliminary data. The January fall came after a 0.4 point rise in December. The office maintained its assessment that the domestic economy is "weakening" for the fifth straight month. The i...
