Year-on-year, the biggest price increases were reported for: fuel, light and water (+4.9 percent), culture and recreation (+3.8 percent), furniture and household utensils (+3.3 percent); clothes and footware (+3.4 percent) and food (+2.9 percent). Cost of transportation and communication increased by 2.6 percent, education by 2.2 percent, medical care by 1.5 percent and housing by 0.2 percent.
Core consumer prices increased 2.7 percent in November from a year earlier while the core consumer price index, which includes oil products but excludes fresh food prices increased 2.7 percent.
Core consumer prices in Tokyo, available a month before the nationwide data, rose 2.3 percent in December.
