More than 95% of people in Japan feel prices have increased over the past year, a survey by the Bank of Japan has shown.

The share of respondents who felt higher prices compared with a year before rose to 95.1% in the latest December survey released Friday, from 94.7% in September.

The survey showed that 85.7% of respondents think prices will rise over the next year, up from 85.6%.

Respondents felt prices rose 17.0% on average over the past year, the fastest pace of increase since September 2006 when comparable data became available, up from 14.5% in September.

The survey found that respondents expect prices to rise 11.5% on average over the next year, up from 10.0%.

The diffusion index on household circumstances, calculated by the share of respondents answering they have become better off minus that of those saying they have become worse off, fell to minus 52.4 from minus 47.4, apparently because of higher prices for some food items.

The share of respondents who said household income increased over the past year fell to 17.1% from 19.0%.

The survey was conducted by mail between Nov. 7 and Dec. 3, covering 4,000 people age 20 or older nationwide. Valid responses came from 2,099 people.