Consumer prices in Japan were up 0.9 percent on year in February, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday.
That exceeded forecasts for an increase of 0.7 percent and accelerated from 0.5 percent in January.
On a monthly basis, inflation added 0.4 percent following the flat reading in the previous month.
Core CPI, which excludes volatile food prices, rose 0.6 percent on year after gaining 0.2 percent a month earlier.
