China News Service, Tokyo, March 22 (Reporter Zhu Chenxi) Data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan on the 22nd showed that Japan’s core consumer price index (CPI) excluding fresh food in February increased by 2.8% year-on-year to 106.5, 30 consecutive months. Increased month-on-month.
Data show that rising food and accommodation prices are the main reason for the rise in CPI. In terms of food, the statistical categories with the largest pulling effects include snacks, processed foods, dining out, egg and dairy products, etc. Among them, the price of ice cream increased by 12.3% year-on-year, the price of cooked curry increased by 13.8% year-on-year, the price of fried chicken increased by 19.2% year-on-year, and the price of milk increased by 9.3% year-on-year. Food prices excluding fresh food increased by 5.3% year-on-year, and the overall price of fresh food increased by 2.5% year-on-year. As the tourism industry gradually recovered, accommodation fees for the month increased by 33.3% year-on-year.
The Japanese government's policy of suppressing electricity and city gas bills has been in effect for one year, but its effects have weakened. The electricity bill for the month fell by 2.5% year-on-year, and the gas bill fell by 13.8% year-on-year. The data also showed that Japan's core CPI in February expanded by 0.8 percentage points year-on-year compared with January.
Japan's core CPI growth has reached the 2% target set by the Bank of Japan for 23 consecutive months. The Bank of Japan decided to end its negative interest rate policy on the 19th of this month and raised the policy interest rate from minus 0.1% to a range of 0 to 0.1%, raising interest rates for the first time in 17 years. The Bank of Japan also canceled its yield curve control policy. (over)