Real wages in Japan declined for a fourth straight month in April, according to data from the labor ministry released Thursday, as pay increases continued to fall short of price rises.

On an inflation-adjusted basis, wages were down 1.8% in April year on year, with the inflation figure used for the calculation that month set at 4.1%.

Rising food prices have hit households hard, especially those for rice, which were up 98.4% year on year in April.