Japan inches closer to inflation target

TOKYO, Mar 28 (AFP): Japanese consumer prices rose for the ninth consecutive month in February while unemployment fell to a more than six-year low, data showed today, suggesting Tokyo's efforts to combat years of falling prices and tepid growth were gathering steam.
The results are good news for a policy drive under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which is aimed at reigniting the once powerhouse economy. But the upbeat data were tempered, however, by mixed retail sales and household spending results ahead of the country's first sales tax hike since the late nineties.
The nationwide rise to an 8.0 per cent levy from 5.0 per cent may seem modest.