TOKYO - Japan recorded 21,359 welfare applications in August, up 0.1 percent from the same month last year as persistent inflation continued to bite, government data showed Wednesday.

The figure marked the highest number of August applications in the past decade and also the second consecutive month of year-on-year growth, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

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Newly approved welfare cases decreased 0.1 percent, while the total number of households on welfare rose to 1,652,380, a 0.05 percent increase from last year.

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The ministry urged those struggling financially to seek support from local authorities, highlighting the need for ongoing attention to economic pressures affecting citizens' lives.

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Japan's core consumer prices rose 2.4 percent in September from a year earlier, as climbing prices for energy and food continue to weigh on households despite government efforts to slow their rises.