Embattled insurer American International Group Inc. is close to selling its Japanese headquarters for around $1 billion to help pay off its debt to Washington, The Wall Street Journal said Monday.

Sumitomo Mitsui is taking over Citigroup’s Japan brokerage businesses, both sides said Friday, as part of a bigger plan to restructure the struggling U.S. bank. The deal is Japan’s first acquisition of a leading brokerage by a bank.

Japanese stocks advanced while those in Australia and New Zealand dipped in quiet trading Friday with most of the region’s markets closed and investors awaiting key events in the coming week.

Japan’s jobless rate jumped to its highest in more than four years in March and household spending extended its slide, underscoring the ongoing pain for the world’s second-biggest economy. Prices also fell, fueling concerns about deflation.

Japan says its jobless rate rose and household spending fell in March.

Softbank Corp., Japan’s third-biggest mobile carrier, said Thursday that it sank into a loss in the fiscal fourth quarter on one-time costs, including launching a superfast Internet service.

Japan’s central bank has kept its benchmark interest rate steady amid signs that the country’s economic picture may be brightening.

Japan’s struggling manufacturers are showing signs of life as the government said Thursday that industrial production rose for the first time in six months in March.

Japan’s government says industrial production in March rose 1.6 percent, the first increase in six months.

Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday it overcame a large quarterly loss to book a fiscal year profit that was well above forecasts, and vowed to stay in the black for the current fiscal year.