Economics
Government’s New Math Shows Japan Inflation Back Below Zero
- Rejigged CPI items show prices not rising as earlier thought
- More weight to lower phone fees, a Suga priority, is key cause
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Japan’s inflation dropped sharply below zero as a re-shuffling of items in the consumer-price basket highlights Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s focus on votes rather than price growth.
Sharply reduced cellphone charges pushed by Suga got a larger weighting in the inflation calculations after a twice-a-decade revision. The update aimed to ensure the figures more accurately match the buying patterns of contemporary consumers.