TOKYO, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Japan's core consumer prices increased in June from a year earlier owing to rising costs for energy, the government said in a report on Friday.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, core consumer prices, excluding fresh food prices because of their volatility, rose 0.8 percent in June from a year earlier.

This compares to a 0.7 percent increase logged a month earlier, the statistics bureau said, with the latest reading coming in line with median analysts' expectations.

The bureau also said that June marked the 18th consecutive month that prices have risen, although they remain some way below the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) long-standing goal of achieving a 2 percent inflation rate.

As for the "core-core" consumer price index, which excludes both fresh food and energy prices, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said that prices increased 0.2 percent from a year earlier.