Japan reports inflation hit 4%, 41-year high in December

TOKYO (AP) — Japan has reported its consumer inflation hit a 41-year high of 4% in December, as prices for everything from burgers to gas surged. That rate is still relatively low, compared to some other nations, including the U.S. But Japan, the world’s third largest economy, has been battling a totally different kind of problem for decades known as deflation, or the continual downward spiraling of prices. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said the last time core consumer prices rose that much was December 1981. The Federal Reserve and many other central banks have raised interest rates to tame inflation but the Bank of Japan has kept its benchmark rate at a longstanding level of minus 0.1%.