The December 2022 price increase in Japan reached its highest point since 1981 at four percent, compared with 3.7 percent in November. Statistics from the country's Ministry of Administrative Affairs and Communications showed this.

The main driver of price increases in December was the rise in energy prices, the cost of which rose by 15.2 percent over the month. In particular, electricity prices rose 21.3 percent and gas prices 23.3 percent. Excluding fuel prices, inflation also broke records at 3 percent. Food products in Japan rose 7 percent in December, while clothing rose 2.9 percent. The cost of transportation and telecommunications services also rose by 2.1 percent.

The country's price growth rate is calculated based on energy costs, but does not take into account the prices of perishables, as they are subject to too much variation. Annual inflation continued to accelerate for the ninth month in a row, exceeding the target level set by the Bank of Japan by a factor of two.

The pace of price increases in the country is increasing amid a weakening yen and the rise in prices of imported goods, writes the Financial Times. The national currency depreciated by about 0.4 percent against the dollar after the report was published.