Owing to rising prices for energy and food, Japan’s core consumer prices rose 2.1 per cent in May from a year earlier, staying above the central bank’s inflation target for a second straight month, the government said in a report on Friday.

The national core consumer price index—which excludes volatile fresh food items—rose for the ninth consecutive month in May, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, according to Xinhua.

With the yen’s ongoing weakening driving up import costs for resource-scarce Japan, the statistics bureau’s data revealed that inflation is persisting and showing no signs of abating.

The statistics agency also said that the recent increase in inflation was partly aided by the declining annual impact of decreasing mobile data prices.

According to the statistics, kerosene prices increased by 25.1%, while energy costs increased by 17.1% from a year earlier.

In contrast, despite government subsidies, the price of gasoline increased 13.1% over the recording period.

With some merchants being compelled to pass on growing prices to consumers, which might impair demand, food prices, excluding perishables, increased by 2.7%, which was the quickest rate of increase in around seven years.

The opposition parties have been criticizing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s administration for not doing enough to address the problem of rising costs, which will be one of the main topics of discussion at the upper house elections next month.

The Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) has remained steadfastly committed to maintaining its ultra-easy monetary policy, believing that the current rise in inflation will be temporary.

The core-core CPI, meanwhile, excluding both energy and fresh food prices, was up 0.8 per cent, the bureau said, marking the second straight month of increase.

But other central banks in Europe and the US have hiked their interest rates to combat inflation, with a widening interest rate gap between the BOJ and other central banks adding to the yen’s weakness and putting pressure on the bank to adjust its long-held dovish policy.
(with inputs from IANS)