Japan making smooth progress to inflation target

Consumer prices in Japan climbed 0.4 per cent in 2013for the first full-year increase in five years amid aggressivemonetary easing, the government said on Friday. The core consumer price index of inflation, which excludes freshfood, stood at 100.1 last year against a base of 100 for 2010, theMinistry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. The government and the Bank of Japan vowed to pull the world'sthird-largest economy out of 15 years of deflation. In April, thecentral bank decided to take aggressive monetary easing measures toachieve an inflation target of 2 per cent within about 2 years. Economic and Revitalization Minister Akira Amari told a newsconference that the economy is "proceeding smoothly" toward achievingthe target. But he added that wage hikes would be important for future economicgrowth. "A virtuous cycle will be realized when wages are increased to a level sufficient to absorb price rises," the minister said.