Japan's core consumer price index (CPI) for March rose 2.2 percent from a year earlier, topping expectations for a 2.1 percent rise from a Reuters poll. Excluding the effects of the consumption sales tax hike in April 2014, the nationwide consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.2 percent, above expectations for a 0.1 percent rise. It was flat in February for the first time since May 2013.