Japan's core consumer prices for items excluding fresh products rose 2.2 percent in June from a year earlier, driven by energy costs, government data showed Friday.
Excluding energy, the increase was just one percent compared to a year earlier, according to data released by the interior affairs ministry.
Japan's central bank has a longstanding goal of reaching two percent inflation, but it regards the current price increases as temporary and linked to soaring energy costs driven by the war in Ukraine.
As a result, it has maintained its monetary easing policies at a time when central banks elsewhere are hiking rates to tackle inflation.
On Thursday, the bank raised its inflation forecasts, projecting 2.3 percent for the fiscal year 2022/23, up from a previous expectation of 1.9 percent.
