Producer prices in Japan were down 0.4 percent on month in February, the Bank of Japan said on Friday.
That was beneath expectations for a decline of 0.3 percent following the flat reading in January.
On a yearly basis, producer prices climbed 8.2 percent - shy of forecasts for 8.4 percent and down from 9.5 percent in the previous month.
Export prices were up 0.3 percent on month and 0.5 percent on year, the bank said, while import prices fell 0.9 percent on month and climbed 3.1 percent on year.
