Japan's consumer prices decline first time in four years

Tokyo: Japan's consumer prices dropped for the first time in four years in 2016 by 0.3% from a year earlier, the government said on Friday.

It shows the country is still grappling with deflationary pressure despite the Bank of Japan (BOJ)'s numerous monetary easing measures, Xinhua news agency cited the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications as saying.

The overall index in 2016 including fresh food retreated 0.1% but the core-core CPI, excluding both food and energy for their price volatility, increased 0.3%, marking an uptick for the third successive year.

In December alone, the core consumer price index, excluding volatile fresh food prices, fell 0.2% from a year earlier, owing in part to lower energy prices, the ministry's latest data said.

The decline marks the tenth straight month of retreat, the ministry said.

As for the core CPI for Tokyo's 23 wards in January, widely regarded as a gauge of price moves across the country in the coming months, prices fell 0.3% in the recording month.

The decline comes on the heels of a 0.6% decline in December, which marks the 11th consecutive monthly decline, the ministry said.