Consumer inflation in the Tokyo metropolitan area picked up slightly in January, government data showed Friday, supporting the Bank of Japan’s plan to pursue more interest-rate increases.

Core inflation in Japan's capital hit 2.5%, marking the fastest annual pace in nearly a year, well exceeding the central bank's 2% target and keeping alive market expectations for further interest rate hikes.

The central bank is likely to pause a while before bringing the rate up to 0.75%, the highest rate since 1995.