TOKYO, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Japan's core consumer prices rose 2.1 percent in April from a year earlier, surpassing for the first time since 2015 the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) inflation goal of 2 percent.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the nationwide core consumer price index, excluding volatile fresh food items, rose for the eighth consecutive month.
This has been a result of resource-poor Japan facing surging costs for energy and raw materials amid the depreciation of the yen which further pushes up import costs.
The ministry also said that the nation's core consumer inflation in April came on the heels of a 0.8 percent rise in March, as the effects of lower mobile phone data fees continues to wane. ■