According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, prices rose 3.3 percent in June from a year earlier.
The pace of the increase in the nationwide consumer price index (CPI), excluding fresh food prices because of their volatility, accelerated from 3.2 percent in May and remained above the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) 2 percent inflation target.
The statistics bureau attributed price hikes in food and electricity charges to the CPI climb.
The core-core CPI, a gauge closest to the U.S. measure of core inflation, which strips away both energy and food prices, rose 4.2 percent in June, slowing from 4.3 percent in May, the ministry also said.
Analysts here believed that the figure boosted the likelihood of an upward revision to the BOJ's inflation outlook for the current fiscal year ahead of its two-day policy-setting meeting next week.
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