Key consumer prices, excluding volatile prices for perishable foods, dropped 0.9 percent in February from a year earlier, down for the 29th month in a row, the government said in a preliminary report released Friday.
The core consumer price index for Tokyo's 23 wards -- a leading index of nationwide price moves -- stood at 97.7 against the 2000 base of 100, the Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry said.
The drop was smaller than the 1.2 percent fall recorded in January, and marked the first time since November 2000 that prices have fallen by less than 1 percent, but this does not indicate any significant change, a ministry official said.