Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released its inflation data late Thursday evening. Japan's national consumer price index (CPI) fell to an annual rate of 0.2% in July from 0.4% in June, in line with expectations.

Japan's national CPI excluding fresh food declined to an annual rate of 0.0% in July from 0.1% in June, beating expectations for a 0.2% decrease.

Household spending in Japan were down at annual rate of 0.2% in July, missing forecasts of a 1.3% increase, after a 2.0% fall in June.

Japan's unemployment rate fell to 3.3% in July from 3.4%. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 3.4%. The participation rate was down to 59.6% in July from 60.0% in June.

According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, retail sales in Japan climbed at an annual rate of 1.6% in July, exceeding expectations for a 1.1% rise, after a 0.9% gain in June.