Japan's economy minister offers sanguine view on inflation

TOKYO, Aug 4 : Japan has seen only moderate rises in consumer prices so far with the pass-through of higher costs from the Middle East conflict remaining limited, Economy Minister Minoru Kiuchi said on Tuesday, offering a sanguine view on inflationary risks.The assessment contrasts with that of the Bank of Japan, which last week issued its strongest warning to date on the risks of inflation overshooting its 2 per cent target."The overall consumer price index rose 1.7 per cent year-on-year in June, showing only moderate rises," Kiuchi told a news conference, when asked about the BOJ's warning."We do need to be vigilant to the possibility that costs could be gradually passed onto food and other consumer goods from summer through autumn," he added. But average real wages are expected to incre