Consumer prices declined 0.1 percent in 2012, completing a fourth consecutive year of decline and showing the nation remains mired in deflation amid falling durable goods prices.
The core consumer price index, excluding fresh foods, stood at 99.7 against the 2010 base of 100, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said in a preliminary report Friday. In December alone, the core CPI fell 0.2 percent from the previous year to 99.4, the second straight monthly decline.
The data were released after the Bank of Japan agreed to a 2 percent inflation target Tuesday after coming under intense government pressure to take more aggressive action against chronic deflation.