Japan's core consumer inflation accelerated to a 40-year high in October due to currency weakness and pressure on import costs, which the central bank is not paying attention to with its ultra-low interest rate policy, Reuters reported.

The nationwide core consumer price index (CPI) rose 3.6 percent from a year earlier, exceeding the increase economists expected in September.

This is the biggest jump since February 1982, when the Middle East crisis sparked by the Iran-Iraq war led to disruptions in crude oil supplies and a spike in energy prices.

The rise in the index, which excludes volatility in fresh produce prices but includes petroleum products, confirmed that inflation remained above the Bank of Japan (BOJ) target of 2% for the seventh straight month. But economists don't expect the BOJ to join the global trend of higher interest rates because it sees the acceleration in inflation this year as an episode of rising costs that will disappear when import costs stop rising.

Foreign supply restrictions have driven up the prices of imported food, manufactured goods and manufacturing parts, and the yen, which has fallen by more than 20 percent this year in dollar terms.

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda reiterated a pledge to maintain monetary stimulus to achieve wage growth and sustainable and stable inflation. The central bank is keeping long-term interest rates near zero and short-term rates at minus 0.1%.

October data showed rising commodity prices and the weakness of the yen led to a 15.2% increase in energy costs, while food, excluding perishables, rose 5.9%, the fastest increase since March 1981.

The Bank of Japan predicts that average prices for the fiscal year through March 2023 will be 3% higher than in 2021-2022, but price increases for 2023-2024 will be halved as commodities and other cost-push factors weaken.