Japan inflation accelerates on rising material and energy costs

CPI hits 0.8% in March, but 2.2% when impact of cut in mobile fees excluded

Apr 22 (Nikkein) - Inflation in Japan is continuing to accelerate, hitting a 26-month high as more businesses pass on rising raw material and energy costs to consumers.

According to official data released on Friday, Japan's core consumer price index -- all items less fresh foods -- rose 0.8% in March from a year earlier, marking the sharpest rise since Jan. 2020. January's inflation rate was 0.2%, and February's was 0.6%.

Mobile communication charges dropped 52.7%, an effect of major carriers' introduction of low-cost plans last April. Excluding the impact of this decline, the inflation rate was about 2.2% in March -- a level above the Bank of Japan's price stability target of 2%.

In March, the price of electricity rose 21.6%, while the cost of cooking oil increased 34.7%.

"Electricity and city gas bills increased, and [items in the energy category] led to a 0.05-point increase in the overall increase," compared to the previous month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications noted in a news release.

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