Japan's seasonally adjusted consumer confidence index edged up 0.5 points to 43.8 in July, the Cabinet Office said Aug. 2.

Subcategories of consumer perception regarding overall livelihood, income growth and willingness to buy durable goods were up in the month, while consumer perception on employment was unchanged.

The percentage of respondents who expect prices to increase a year ahead was 75.8% in July, down 3.4% points from the previous month; 16.9% expect prices to stay the same, up 2.8% points from June; while 4.2% expect prices to go down, up 0.5% points.