Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s faltering bid to conquer years of deflation received a fresh blow today as official data showed consumer prices fell for the first time in over two years.
The decline comes just a day after Abe pledged to refocus on his "Abenomics" growth project, following months of divisive debate over new rules for pacifist Japan’s military.
The 0.1 percent fall in so-called core inflation – not including volatile fresh food – was the first since April 2013, and underlines Tokyo’s struggles to turn around years of stagnant or falling prices that have weighed on the world’s number three economy.
(Source: The Malaysian Insider)