Overall consumer prices in Japan were up 1.1 percent on year in March, says rttnews.
That was in line with expectations and down from 1.5 percent in February.
Core CPI, which excludes volatile food prices, gained an annual 0.9 percent - again matching forecasts and down from 1.0 percent in the previous month.
On a monthly basis, overall inflation fell 0.4 percent and core CPI was down 0.1 percent.