Japan's consumer prices rise in June, first time in 14 months

Japan's consumer prices rose 0.4 percent in June, up for the first time in 14 months, the internal affairs ministry said Friday, attributing the rise to higher energy prices and a weaker yen. The core consumer price index (CPI), excluding fresh foods, stood at 100.0 against the 2010 base of 100, said the ministry, unchanged from a year earlier in May. In the nationwide CPI, energy prices grew 7.0 percent, including electricity prices which rose 9.8 percent and gasoline prices which increased 6.4 percent. Akira Amari, economic and fiscal minister, said moderate rise in prices should be accepted as part of an economic recovery led by consumption. The tendency may indicate that price falls, which have lasted for more than one decade, have come to a halt, said the ministry.