The nation's core consumer prices fell a record 0.7 percent in May from a year earlier, while Tokyo prices fell 0.6 percent in June, down for a record 22nd straight month, the government said Friday.
The nationwide price data and the preliminary figure for Tokyo's 23 wards, a leading indicator, underscore the government's assessment that consumer prices are weakening, it said.
Heizo Takenaka, state minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, said the latest reading clearly indicates prices are falling but added that does not mean the economy has entered a deflationary spiral.