Tokyo, Rabi'II 29, 1438, January 27, 2017, SPA -- Consumer prices in Japan were down 0.2 percent year-on-year in December, marking the 10th consecutive month of declines, dpa quoted the government as saying on Friday. The Bank of Japan started to take aggressive monetary easing steps to overcome deflation in March 2013, aiming to reach its goal of 2 percent inflation within 2 years. However, December's reading, amid sluggish consumer spending and falling global energy prices, is well below target. The core consumer price index, excluding fresh food, stood at 99.8 in December against a base of 100 for 2015, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. The ministry also reported consumer prices fell 0.4 percent in 2016, marking the first decline in four years. In January 2016, the bank adopted negative interest rates to combat deflation and prop up the world's third-largest economy. -- SPA 03:13 LOCAL TIME 00:13 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w320590