A customer shops for groceries at a supermarket in Tokyo on July 24, 2026.
Core inflation accelerated in Japan in June, official data showed on July 24 as the Middle East war and a weak yen pushed up prices for consumers in the world's fourth-biggest economy.
The reading of 1.6 percent from the internal affairs ministry, which excludes food prices, compares with 1.4 percent in May and was in line with average market expectations.
The ministry blamed higher costs of imported energy products, driven up by the strangling of the Strait of Hormuz, which feeds through to other product prices.
A falling yen, which overnight hit a fresh four-decade low against the U.S. dollar, also increases the cost of imports like oil and food for resource-poor Japan.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has moved to shield consumers from the sharp rise in oil prices resulting from the Middle East conflict with fuel and energy subsidies.
Excluding food and energy prices, inflation eased to 1.7 percent from 1.8 percent in May, just below market consensus of 1.8 percent.
The latest data meant that Japan's core inflation has been below the Bank of Japan's 2 percent target for five straight months.
The central bank hiked interest rates to a 31-year high in June.
The BoJ is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at its next meeting on July 31 but most economists predict a hike in December.
