As for the consumer price index (CPI, all items less fresh food), the year-on-year rate of change registered minus 2.4 percent in August 2009. Thereafter, the rate of decline moderated at a steady pace, recovering to 0 percent in fiscal 2011. The year-on-year rate of change in the CPI for the past two months, for which data is available, registered 0.2 percent.
Looking at a breakdown by item, the rates of change are negative for items that are infrequently purchased and for which prices have declined substantially as a result of technological innovation, such as personal computers and televisions, whereas they are around 1.9 percent for those purchased more than about once a month.