The data comes hours before the Bank of Japan (BOJ) concludes its two-day policy meeting that began on Thursday.
While government subsidies pushed down utility bills, prices rose for a range of food and daily necessities in a sign that steady inflation was taking hold in the world's third-largest economy.
"The persistent stickiness of inflation means the BOJ will need to revise up their inflation forecasts at its October meeting," said Gabriel Ng, an economist at Capital Economics.
After hitting a peak of 4.2% in January, core inflation continued to slow as the effects of last year's sharp rises in fuel and raw material prices dissipate.
But some analysts say the slowdown has not been as large as expected due to steady rises in food prices, and could keep inflation above the BOJ's target longer than initially thought.
Persons:
Kazuo Ueda, Gabriel Ng, Ueda, Leika Kihara, Shri Navaratnam, Sam Holmes
Organizations:
Bank of Japan, Capital Economics, Thomson
Locations:
TOKYO