Japan’s Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Friday, “it is important to follow up on the implementation of wage hikes along with the country's growth strategy.”

Earlier on, a Bank of Japan (BOJ) official noted that an upward pressure in wholesale inflation is broadening.

These comments come after the country’s wholesale price inflation jumped to a record high of 9% YoY in November amid supply bottlenecks and rising raw material costs.

Market reaction

USD/JPY is posting small losses amid a broadly weaker US dollar and upbeat Japan’s data. The spot was last seen trading at 113.35, down 0.06% on a daily basis.