Japan's seasonally adjusted consumer confidence index rose to 43.6 in May, up 0.4 points from the previous month, Cabinet Office data showed June 2.

Subcategories of consumer perception regarding overall livelihood, income growth and employment all ticked up in May by 0.7, 0.6 and 0.1 points, respectively, while willingness to buy durable goods remained unchanged.

Some 78.0% of people surveyed in April expected prices to go up over the next year, while 15.1% expected no change and only 4.0% expected a decrease, compared to 78.9%, 15.2% and 3.3% respectively in April.