Higher crude oil prices and higher costs of education born from a greater demand for training are helping to lift Japan out of its long-term battle with deflation, according to Mizuho Investors Securities.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Koji Ochiai, chief market economist at the Japanese investment house, said that these factors are offsetting continuing depreciation in other sectors such as house prices and consumer technologies.

"Surging commodities and some services that face few competitive alternatives are pushing up overall prices," he commented.

Japan is a net importer of crude oil and gas, with more than 90 per cent of its energy needs being satisfied by imports, meaning rising commodity prices quickly impact on inflation figures.

Late last year, Japanese energy group Nippon Oil made a final investment decision to push ahead with the Papua New Guinea liquefied natural gas project in a bid to boost its capacity to meet domestic energy demands.

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