Japan’s consumer prices excluding fresh food quickened for a third month to 3.7% from a year earlier in May, according to a Ministry of Internal Affairs release Friday. That’s the fastest pace since January 2023. Food inflation was again a major driver, with the price of rice — the nation’s staple food — jumping 102% from a year earlier. Service prices, a metric closely watched by the BOJ, rose 1.4% from a year earlier, slightly more than 1.3% in April. Japan’s inflation has been accelerating of late and has stayed at or above the BOJ’s 2% target for more than three years.