Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released its inflation data on late Thursday evening. Japan's national consumer price index (CPI) declined to an annual rate of 0.0% in January from 0.2% in December, in line with expectations.

Inflation was mainly driven by declines in fuel and communication prices. Fuel prices slid 6.7% year-on-year in January, while communication prices declined 2.4%.

Japan's national CPI excluding fresh food fell to an annual rate of 0.0% in January from 0.1%, beating expectations for a drop to -0.2%.

The Bank of Japan's inflation target is 2%.