Japanese inflation is back, with consumer inflation now more than 1 per cent for the first time this decade. That should be a cause for rejoicing. Since 1990, the Japanese economy has, after all, been bedevilled by deflation, a symptom of the lack of economic activity.

Sadly, it appears to be the wrong type of inflation. Rather than what economists call “demand-pull” inflation – where prices rise because of buoyant economic demand – Paul Jackson of Société Générale suggests this is “cost-push” inflation. Corporate goods price inflation – the costs paid by companies – has leapt to 3.9 per cent, its highest in nearly 30 years. Some of this must be passed on in consumer prices.