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News Bulletin

March 31, 2010

RECENT RELEASE

2009 yearly average results of Consumer Price Index Released

   [Introduction]
   The SBJ released the 2009 calendar year Consumer Price Index (CPI) on January 29, 2010.
   The CPI is an index to measure the average price movements of various goods and services purchased by households throughout the country. The data are utilized for various policies, measures, and the revision of pensions, etc.

   At the end of every month, the SBJ also releases preliminary figures of the monthly CPI for Ku-area of Tokyo for the current month and the final figures of them for the whole country for the preceding month. And every April, the average index figures for the fiscal year are released.

   [Summary]
   Japan's "All items" index of consumer prices stood at 100.3 in 2009 (2005=100), a decrease of 1.4% over the previous year.
   The "All items index excluding fresh food" stood at 100.3, a decrease of 1.3%.
   The "All items index excluding food (excluding alcoholic beverages) and energy" stood at 98.6, a decrease of 0.7%.
   Main factors behind the change of the price (index) in 2009 were as follows;

Main factors behind the change of the price (index) in 2009:

? "Gasoline" and "Kerosene" fell drastically due to a steep fall of oil prices which had hiked in previous year.

? "Electricity" and "Gas" fell due to a fall in the price of oil and liquefied natural gas.

? "National expressway tolls" fell, mainly due to the expansion of discounts for vehicles equipped with the ETC system.

? "Durable goods" such as "TV sets (LCD)" and "Personal computers" fell, mainly because of the influence of technological innovation and performance upgrades for them.

? "Package tours to overseas locations" fell due to a fall in the price of fuel sur-charge.

? "Delivery fees" rose mainly due to the fact that the medical system was revised aiming for higher quality maternity care.

By basic classification

   Among sub-indices for the ten major groups, "Housing" fell by 0.2% from the previous year, mainly due to a fall in "Rent". "Fuel, light & water charges" fell by 4.2%, mainly due to a fall in "Other fuel & light (Kerosene)". "Furniture & household utensils" fell by 2.2%, mainly due to a fall in "Household durables". "Clothes & footwear" fell by 0.9%, mainly due to a fall in "Clothes". "Medical care" fell by 0.1%, mainly due to a fall in "Medicines & health fortification". "Transportation & communication" fell by 4.9%, mainly due to a fall in "Private transportation" which includes "Gasoline". "Reading & recreation" fell by 2.5%, mainly due to a fall in "Recreational durables". "Miscellaneous" fell by 0.4%, mainly due to a fall in "Toilet articles".
   On the other hand, "Food" rose by 0.2%, mainly due to a rise in "Cakes & candies". "Education" rose by 0.9%, mainly due to a rise in "School fees".

By goods and services classification

The "Goods" index fell by 2.4% from the previous year resulting from falls in "Petroleum products", the price of which rose suddenly in the previous year.
The "Services" index fell by 0.2%, mainly due to a fall in "Services related to communication, reading & recreation" such as "Package tours to overseas locations" which fell drastically by the fall of fuel price.

Figure1: All Items Index of Consumer Prices and Percentage Change from the Previous Year

      (Source) Consumer Price Index (SBJ)
       The 2009 yearly average results for Japan were released on January 29, 2010, and the Annual Report will be published in March.
       For further survey information, see the web site below.
        http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/cpi/index.htm

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