Japan reported a 1.3 percent on-year rise in its nationwide core consumer price index (CPI) for the month of December, a sign that the economy is making progress on ending years of deflation.
The reading was above expectations for a 1.2 percent rise in a Reuters poll and marked a fresh five-year high.
(Read more: Will 2% inflation be enough for Japan?)
December's reading also brings inflation one step closer to the Bank of Japan's 2 percent target under Abenomics – a series of policy measured unrolled by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to dig the Japanese economy out of a rut.
