Japan's core consumer price index rose 0.1 percent in July from a year earlier, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said in a report on Friday.
The reading for July, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, came on the back of a 0.2 percent on year decline logged a month earlier and exceeded median economists' forecasts for a 0.1 percent retraction.
Meanwhile, Tokyo's core CPI declined 0.2 percent on year in August, the ministry reported, following a 0.1 percent drop a month earlier.
Consumer prices in the Tokyo Metropolitan area are largely seen as precursor of prices across the country and Japan's central bank pays particular attention to this leading indicator.
The corporate goods price index in Japan, on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis, is comprehensively tracked as these supply-side price pressures and increases in the index often precede upward movement in Japan's CPI.
The latest data released by the ministry are the first following the government changing the data's base year to 2010 from 2005.