Year-on-year, prices increased less for food (2.5 percent compared to 3.6 percent in November), namely fresh food (13.8 percent from 21.6 percent); fresh fish and seafood (4.4 percent from 5.8 percent); vegetables (15.3 percent from 24.4 percent) and fruits (8.8 percent from 11.9 percent). Inflation also eased for clothing and footwear (0.6 percent from 1 percent); medical care (0.8 percent from 0.9 percent) and culture and recreation (0.5 percent from 0.8 percent).
In addition, prices continued to fall for housing (-0.2 percent, the same as in November); fuel, light and water charges (-4.8 percent from -5.8 percent) and transport and communication (-0.7 percent from -1.5 percent).
On a monthly basis, consumer prices declined 0.2 percent after being flat in November.
In Tokyo, consumer prices edged up 0.1 percent in January after being unchanged in December and better than expectations of a flat reading. Core consumer prices, which exclude fresh food, declined 0.3 percent from a year earlier, following a 0.6 percent drop in December and compared to market estimates of 0.4 percent fall.
