TOKYO -- Economists increasingly see Japanese consumer price growth languishing in negative territory for the rest of the year, with declines among a growing range of everyday goods raising a red flag.
The consumer price index excluding fresh food sank 0.5% on the year in July, falling for a fifth straight month, government data released Friday shows. This marks the sharpest drop since March 2013, just before the Bank of Japan launched its massive monetary easing program.
