Rising prices of daily necessities could hurt household sentiment, Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said on Friday, suggesting that mounting inflationary pressure is emerging as a risk to the country's fragile economy.
Japan's core consumer inflation rose 2.1% year-on-year in April, exceeding the central bank's 2% target for the first time in seven years, due largely to surging fuel and raw material costs.
Kuroda said it was undesirable for prices to rise too much when household income growth remains weak.