The key gauge of Tokyo's consumer prices fell 1.2 percent in August from a year earlier for a record 23rd consecutive month of decline, the government said Friday in a preliminary report.
The decline was blamed primarily on drops in housing rents, personal computers and clothing prices.
The consumer price index for Tokyo's 23 wards, a leading index of nationwide price moves, stood at 98.9 against the new 2000 base of 100, adopted this month, the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications said.