The unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.5 percent in March, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday.
That was higher than forecasts for 2.4 percent, which would have been unchanged from the February reading.
The jobs-to-applicant ratio was 1.26, surpassing expectations for 1.25 and up from 1.24 in the previous month.
The participation rate was 63.3 percent, in line with expectations and up from 63.2 percent.