In a report released Friday, the Japanese government said that core consumer prices are the main indicator of price increases in Japan. Subsidy program organized to support tourism in order to reduce the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. It reported in October that it experienced the sharpest drop in the past nine years due to low energy prices.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, the nationwide core consumer price index, which does not include fresh food items whose prices change rapidly, fell for the third consecutive month in October, down 0.7 percent compared to the same month of the previous year.

The core consumer price index fell 0.7 percent most recently in March 2011, when a major earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan hit.

The decrease in accommodation prices was 37.1 percent in October compared to the same month of the previous year. Prices in this sector also fell 30.0 percent in September.

Crude oil prices declined in October, as concerns about economic growth increased due to the resurgence of Covid-19 cases. According to the latest data, kerosene prices fell 13.6 percent and gasoline prices fell 9.2 percent.

Mizuho Securities Co. “There appears to be a big drop due to the ‘Take a Trip’ campaign and the loss of impact of tax hikes,” said Yasunari Ueno, Chief Market Economist, in a statement in local media.

According to Ueno, when the government’s support policy focuses mainly on preventing the economy from collapsing, demand continues to be suppressed and the CPI is expected to remain negative in the short term.