-- Tokyo core consumer prices rose 1.5% in April from a year earlier, slowing from 1.7% in March and marking a third straight month below the Bank of Japan's 2% target, government data showed Friday.
The increase in the core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food, was below the median market forecast of 1.8% and the slowest since March 2022. It is also the fifth consecutive month of deceleration, the longest such stretch since 2009.
A separate index that strips out both fresh food and energy rose 1.9% in April, softer than the 2.3% reading in March. Overall consumer prices increased 1.5% during the month in review.