TOKYO, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The core consumer prices in the Japanese capital Tokyo increased to a 41-year high in January from a year earlier, the government said in a report on Friday.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the core consumer price index (CPI), excluding volatile fresh food items, for Tokyo rose 4.3 percent, marking the highest level since May 1981.
Core CPI for Tokyo is a barometer of nationwide inflation in the coming months, and January's reading was the eighth straight month it had topped the Bank of Japan's 2-percent inflation target.
The statistics bureau also said core consumer prices in the Japanese capital increased for a 17th straight month overall. ■