Japan core consumer prices up 1.4% in April, slowed by free school lunches

TOKYO - Japan's core consumer prices in April rose 1.4 percent from a year earlier, with the increase partly curbed by the launch of a free lunch program at public elementary schools, government data showed Friday.

The increase in the nationwide consumer price index, excluding volatile fresh food, followed a 1.8 percent rise in March and marked the lowest level since March 2022, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.