A growing number of Japanese firms are raising prices as they grapple with a jump in materials, transportation and labor costs, although a slim majority remains skittish about doing so, a survey conducted on behalf of Reuters showed.

The results highlight apparent progress, albeit slow and uneven, in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's fight to rid the country of deflation — seen as the root of decades of economic malaise.

But analysts say that because higher costs, and not growth in demand, are behind the price rises, the danger is that consumers are more likely to keep a lid on spending over the longer-term, complicating the country's path to sustainable growth.