Consumer prices in Japan rose at their fastest pace in 23 years in April,following an increases in sales tax.
Prices rose 3.2% compared with the same period last year, beatinganalysts' forecasts of a 3.1% jump.
The government raised its sales tax rate from 5% to 8% on 1 April.
Japan has been battling deflation, or falling prices, for best part of thepast two decades, and policymakers have said that ending that cycle is key toreviving the country's economy.
Falling consumer prices hurt domestic demand as consumers and businessestend to put off purchases in the hope of getting a cheaper deal later on.
'Start rising'
The Japanese government has takenvarious steps over the past few months to try and reverse this trend, and haveset a target of a 2% inflation rate.
The measures, which include boostingthe country's money supply, have started to have an impact and consumer pricesin the country have now risen for 11 months in a row.
The hope is that once prices start torise, it may force consumers and business to spend more money and not hold backon purchases, as they may have to pay more later on.
But there have been some concerns thathigher inflation may trigger a decline in spending.
Data released on Friday showed thathousehold spending fell 4.6% in April, compared to a year earlier.
That follows a 4.4% decline in retailsales during the month.
However, analysts said the decline inspending was in part due to consumers rushing to make purchases ahead of thetax rise. That had been evident in March, when sales surged 11% - the fastestpace of growth since March 1997.
"Consumer spending has declined asexpected in April, but this is likely to be minor blip and will not affect theongoing recovery," Martin Schulz, of Fujitsu Research Institute told theBBC.
"Both consumer spending and retailsales will start rising in the latter half of the year."
Bu Mr Schulz added the government needsto introduce reforms in key sectors of the economy for the recovery to sustainin the long run
伴随着消费税的增加，日本消费物价指数在4月上涨到23年来的新高
物价比去年同期上涨了3.2%，超过了分析人士3.1%涨幅的预期
政府在4月1日将消费税率从5%涨到8%，在过去的二十年里，日本一直在对抗通货紧缩,或价格下跌, 政策制定者表示,结束这样的恶性循环，是恢复国家的经济的关键。
消费价格下降会损害影响国内需求，因为消费者和企业倾因为想得到便宜的交易而倾向于推迟购买,。
开始上涨
日本政府在过去的几个月中采取了各种措施来逆转这一趋势，也曾经设下2%的通胀目标
采取的各种措施,其中包括增加国家的货币供应,已经开始产生影响，消费者价格指数已连续11个月上扬。
希望一旦价格开始上升,能迫使消费者和企业花更多的钱,而不是抑制购买,因为他们以后可能要花更多的钱。
但是也有一些担心认为通货膨胀会引发消费下降。
周五公布的数据显示, 与去年同期相比，4月份家庭支出下降了4.6%,零售销售下降了4.4%
然而,分析师表示,支出下降的部分原因是消费者在消费税增加前争相购买导致。证据很明显，那就是3月份的销量猛增11%——这是1997年3月以来的最快增长速度。
“消费和零售销售将在今年下半年开始增长。”
但是布马丁·舒尔茨先生补充说，为经济复苏长期维持。政府需要引进对重点经济领域的改革。
4月份消费者支出如预期的下降,但这可能是微不足道的小插曲,不会影响持续的复苏,” 富士通研究所的马丁·舒尔茨如是告诉BBC
Prices rose 3.2% compared with the same period last year, beatinganalysts' forecasts of a 3.1% jump.
The government raised its sales tax rate from 5% to 8% on 1 April.
Japan has been battling deflation, or falling prices, for best part of thepast two decades, and policymakers have said that ending that cycle is key toreviving the country's economy.
Falling consumer prices hurt domestic demand as consumers and businessestend to put off purchases in the hope of getting a cheaper deal later on.
'Start rising'
The Japanese government has takenvarious steps over the past few months to try and reverse this trend, and haveset a target of a 2% inflation rate.
The measures, which include boostingthe country's money supply, have started to have an impact and consumer pricesin the country have now risen for 11 months in a row.
The hope is that once prices start torise, it may force consumers and business to spend more money and not hold backon purchases, as they may have to pay more later on.
But there have been some concerns thathigher inflation may trigger a decline in spending.
Data released on Friday showed thathousehold spending fell 4.6% in April, compared to a year earlier.
That follows a 4.4% decline in retailsales during the month.
However, analysts said the decline inspending was in part due to consumers rushing to make purchases ahead of thetax rise. That had been evident in March, when sales surged 11% - the fastestpace of growth since March 1997.
"Consumer spending has declined asexpected in April, but this is likely to be minor blip and will not affect theongoing recovery," Martin Schulz, of Fujitsu Research Institute told theBBC.
"Both consumer spending and retailsales will start rising in the latter half of the year."
Bu Mr Schulz added the government needsto introduce reforms in key sectors of the economy for the recovery to sustainin the long run
伴随着消费税的增加，日本消费物价指数在4月上涨到23年来的新高
物价比去年同期上涨了3.2%，超过了分析人士3.1%涨幅的预期
政府在4月1日将消费税率从5%涨到8%，在过去的二十年里，日本一直在对抗通货紧缩,或价格下跌, 政策制定者表示,结束这样的恶性循环，是恢复国家的经济的关键。
消费价格下降会损害影响国内需求，因为消费者和企业倾因为想得到便宜的交易而倾向于推迟购买,。
开始上涨
日本政府在过去的几个月中采取了各种措施来逆转这一趋势，也曾经设下2%的通胀目标
采取的各种措施,其中包括增加国家的货币供应,已经开始产生影响，消费者价格指数已连续11个月上扬。
希望一旦价格开始上升,能迫使消费者和企业花更多的钱,而不是抑制购买,因为他们以后可能要花更多的钱。
但是也有一些担心认为通货膨胀会引发消费下降。
周五公布的数据显示, 与去年同期相比，4月份家庭支出下降了4.6%,零售销售下降了4.4%
然而,分析师表示,支出下降的部分原因是消费者在消费税增加前争相购买导致。证据很明显，那就是3月份的销量猛增11%——这是1997年3月以来的最快增长速度。
“消费和零售销售将在今年下半年开始增长。”
但是布马丁·舒尔茨先生补充说，为经济复苏长期维持。政府需要引进对重点经济领域的改革。
4月份消费者支出如预期的下降,但这可能是微不足道的小插曲,不会影响持续的复苏,” 富士通研究所的马丁·舒尔茨如是告诉BBC
