Japan's top ministers have denied a media report that Tokyo is considering calling an end to deflation, adding that policymakers are focused on ensuring the economy doesn't revert to a protracted period of falling prices.
Kyodo News reported over the weekend that Japan was considering making an announcement of an end to deflation in the wake of rising prices, a move that would turn a new page for the world's fourth-largest economy after decades of economic stagnation.
The weekend report cited sources with knowledge of the matter and comes amid growing market bets that the Bank of Japan will soon exit its ultraeasy policy settings.
Economy minister Yoshitaka Shindo said the government was currently not thinking about calling an end to deflation.
The government will strive to ensure that wage growth in Japan exceeds inflation, so that the economy would not slip back into a period of prolonged price declines, he said.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki echoed the economy minister's views.
"I am aware of the media report that we are considering announcing an end to deflation. But there's no truth to such report," Suzuki told reporters after a Cabinet meeting.