Prices of over 10,000 food items in Japan to be hiked: survey

Time for employers to get with the game and raise salaries, now that corporate profits are near record highs again thanks to the cheap yen and that cut in the corporate tax rate a few years ago. If the corporations refuse, then the govt needs to put their tax rate back up again.

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14620201

Why do I get the impression most of these companies are being opportunistic and just using the war as an excuse to hike prices when they don't really need to?

There should be complete transparency by these companies with breakdowns why they need to do what they're doing.

As I get through my 30s, I really want to drink less alcohol.

Its so easy to drink in Japan, and cheap and sold everywhere.

I wouldn’t be able to fathom the fortune I’ve tossed toward alcohol over the years. I guess now with it becoming even more expensive, would be as good of a time as ever.

At my local supermarket, the price of onions has more than tripled.

The price (and lack of) of onions is mainly due weather. A drought in Hokkaido (for winter onions) and too much rain in Kyushu (for spring ones).

@LDTM @divinda

Perhaps we could eat less onions for a while?

The price (and lack of) of onions is mainly due weather. A drought in Hokkaido (for winter onions) and too much rain in Kyushu (for spring ones).

In essence, Japan does not import enough because they cheat their trading partners by making artificial barriers to protect local farmers and make locals foot the cost when local farmers can't produce enough.

The soaring prices have stoked fears of stagflation, a situation in which an economy experiences inflation during a recession, with post-pandemic recovery likely to be hindered as spending declines in struggling households.

The one thing that could avert that is directing all the subsidies and stimulus the LDP is giving to oil wholesalers, hotels, venture capital etc. to the people, the actual consumers.

Other nations have already moved on such anti-inflationary measures as rebates and negative sales taxes on segments of items.

1.25 dollars store

My advice is to zero consumption tax on food fresh and processed.

This is what happens when JAPAN follows uneducated scantions and war by taking sides.

When I arrived in Japan in 2005, a 500ml glass of beer at a pub cost ¥500. It still costs ¥500 in 2022. How is that possible?

gov doing nothing about that.instead of giving away piles of cash for unecesseary outdated US weapons etc use these money for lowering VAT for basic food asap.make VAT 0% and this will help to people more than invest in some outdated ovepriced rockets!

How is that possible?

My guess would be that they weighed up the options of increasing salaries over the past 20 years, or keeping beer at the same prices, and the latter was the cheaper option. If they whack the price of beer up, this country will fall apart at the seams.

The farmers are paid pitifully for their produce but by the time the consumables get to the consumer then price hikes of hundreds of times have occurred already.

Example: a lowly persimmon is bought by JA for 1 yen and the consumer pays 100-150 yen.

13% more is negligible in the scheme of things.

Still, the poor are going to get poorer…

This is what happens when JAPAN follows uneducated scantions and war by taking sides.

Exactly this.

This is what you wanted. Doesn't matter if your head is in the sand now. You banged on, and now it's caught up to you...

Don't know whyfors with all the negativities in this story. The whole world is suffering from inflation, many from a much higher base. Japan on the other hand is finally getting the inflation target its central bank desired and it has been a long time coming.

This should be a cause to celebrate, at least for retirees with money under the mattress, now they can put it in the bank again. Also as JeffLee point out, next step is salaries increase.

In essence, Japan does not import enough because they cheat their trading partners by making artificial barriers to protect local farmers and make locals foot the cost when local farmers can't produce enough.

In the case of onions, this is completely untrue. American onions practically stole the market from Hokkaido several years back when the Hokkaido farmers weren't responding to buyers' needs. Literally tens of thousands of tons of onions were imported without any being rejected. Even now, there are considerable imports from China.

This should be a cause to celebrate, at least for retirees with money under the mattress, now they can put it in the bank again. Also as JeffLee point out, next step is salaries increase.

High interest rates on savings accounts and rising wages.

2 things that will not be happening in Japan, not with the LDP in power.

I am glad they are at least STARTING to admit it is in part due to the devaluation of the yen. Until now they've blamed even the cost of domestically produced soap on the war in Ukraine (before talking about the soap company's increased profits).

The funniest, or I guess saddest, part is watching the BOJ and government honestly scratch their heads and ask:

"We've succeeded in devaluating the yen and inflation, but why oh why aren't people spending MORE on things that have tripled in costs while their pay has not gone up at all?!? I don't get it!! Maybe another GoTo campaign? ¥2000 to parents if they will have three more kids? ¥100,000 to anyone over 100, deducted from their social welfare payments?"

JST

The farmers are paid pitifully for their produce but by the time the consumables get to the consumer then price hikes of hundreds of times have occurred already.

Example: a lowly persimmon is bought by JA for 1 yen and the consumer pays 100-150 yen.

13% more is negligible in the scheme of things.

Still, the poor are going to get poorer…

I do not doubt that what you say is true but could you kindly give us your source as it seems extravagant.

"We've succeeded in devaluating the yen and inflation, but why oh why aren't people spending MORE on things that have tripled in costs while their pay has not gone up at all?!? I don't get it!! Maybe another GoTo campaign? ¥2000 to parents if they will have three more kids? ¥100,000 to anyone over 100, deducted from their social welfare payments?"

This is probably how it goes for the more innocent lower ranking bureaucrats.

The top rank and LDP probably realize the game is to raise themselves no matter how deep the populace sinks.

@Sh1mon M4sada

Why would anyone in their right mind celebrate higher prices? Just because JGOV and their ponzi-economic model aim for 2% annual inflation (not limited to Japan), doesn't mean it is good for anyone. It also doesn't matter what you do with your cash, unless you invest it of course. Money in the bank, or money under the mattress, it will debase at the same rate. As for wage increases . . . . well, I'll hold off on the celebratory nama birus until i see the extra figures on my paycheck.

Plus I expect inflation to be around 8-10% at the end year in Japan. 

So 10% of inflation tax plus most of those security guards going to the higher tax rate (from 5 to 10%) means 15% in addition taxes on the poorest people.

Seems unlikely. 10% is possible in US with nominal wage increase of 5%. I do not see Japanese wages growing at more than 2 % by the end of this year (and it would be more than twice the current 1%). Current inflation is likely to put a big break on demand and inflation fortunately is unlikely to get over 5% by the end of this year.

The inflation that LDP and BOJ wanted (or any other country's CB for that matter) was demand-induced inflation where a strong economy causes the job market to raise salaries and the extra disposable income in households creates an increase in demand causing prices to rise, instead what we got is inflation caused by supply scarcity (oil and gas for example), and more expensive exports due to weak yen. Certainly, not an occasion to celebrate.

This should be a cause to celebrate, at least for retirees with money under the mattress, now they can put it in the bank again. Also as JeffLee point out, next step is salaries increase.

…..

As long as you buy the beers then I’ll celebrate!

Oh well, when the flu has settled and the skirmish in Ukraine has finished, maybe the prices will be decreased, or maybe not.

Kuroda san 2 days ago.

“Rapid yen weakening not due to the central bank policy”

and the most important thing for a central bank is supposed to be credibility…

@ sweets will rise by an average of 12 percent

Good news for me. Less temptation for afternoon teas and cakes.... and ice creams!

Beer.

I am speculating a bit but the brewery could have reduced to amount of expensive malt used in their mash and increased the amount of cheap adjuncts, i.e. rice.

The marketing costs for a product like beer cost more than the cost of the beer so they may have reduced their marketing costs by cutting how much they spent on TV advertising.

Beer #2

More than 50% of the trucks on the roads in Japan are empty. There was far less backhauling than in North America. Perhaps the beer companies have reduced costs by improving their logistics.

Its so easy to drink in Japan, and cheap and sold everywhere.

You never wondered why that is? They’re going to need a lot more than fire water to douse the growing disenchantment and disaffection evident all round.

More hikes except for salaries...

Start growing wheat Japan if that's what you wish to eat!!

I have been paying attention to the local wholesale supermarket, Gyomu-Super, the subsidiary company of Kobe Bussann Co,ltd in the Kansai region of Japan.

The prices coming from this major food manufacturer help us anticipate the representative distribution cost because they compete with other companies regarding the low prices of food items.

Salary increases has already started for some....

https://www.ft.com/content/efd01cd4-c348-464a-9fc2-61d473541632

Kishida's aim is for at least 3% across the board with tech workers much more inline with global competition.

If you're in tourism, you may have to wait a while.

A journey to the peak has many steps, this is just one, though the most important one has been achieved.

@Mark The climate in Japan is not suitable for growing wheat for pan bread.

Quite a bit of winter wheat is grown in Japan but it is low in protein and not suitable for bread.

Don't you worry, Old Blind Kuroda, still practicing "Abenomics" over at the Central Bank, will somehow FAIL to see any "meaningful" inflation in all these headlines and price rises. Just "temporary" all this...get it? No change in policy!!

Because the Japanese economy is so "healthy", you see, he's got to keep interest rates at...zero?

With over 60% of the entire GDP still dependent on the domestic, not international, market in Japan, and with most companies doing business overseas already offshoring much if not most of their production, and keeping profits outside the country, can we please focus on how a weak yen plus no wage increases and widespread, permanent price inflationary pressures instead of on how Japan Inc. is doing in markets overseas??

(Meanwhile, Japan's Money Printers go BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR........)

Hito - dead right.

Inflating the money supply inevitably leads to price rises. BoJ is carrying on with their lunatic policies despite those price rises. In fact most major central banks are doing something similar. Jamie Dimon is right to forecast a coming crisis.

Japan is on the path to becoming a poor country. It will be much faster once the war in Taiwan is going to happens within a few months. Watch China taking economic retaliation against Japan and blocks the shipping lanes to Japan!

Japan's prices of everything will go beyond the roof!

Septim Dynasty

I quite agree. The future is going to be very bleak for the Japanese people. Massive inflation and a catastrophically collapsing currency but not a hint of a wage rises. Social unrest is on the horizon but at least all the foreigners can get out before it all begins.

Now that most sectors have limited competition and tightly controlled markets, prices are going up. The artificial low prices of the past were not sustainable and their only goal was to wipe out competition.

The middle man mark up is greed driven and totally unnecessary. They contribute nothing, yet are the most demanding.

A growing number of Japanese companies are selling products at higher prices as the coronavirus pandemic and Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine have caused the cost of everything from wheat to crude oil to rise.

Japan's inability to implement any type of Covid-19 strategy, other than quarantining returnees in government facilities is wreaking havoc in the economy here.

Actually I'm surprised the forecasted increases won't be higher.

Maybe they will be.

Inflation sucks especially as wages are stagnant, but I lost 4kg in May, just by eating 13% less.

Saved 30% on my food budget by never eating out.

adapt and live life.

Again, will salaries be raised to accommodate the hike in prices?

lost 4kg in May, just by eating 13% less.

The way things are going, by this time next year there’ll be nothing left of you!

@proxy that's nonsense Japan wheat makes excellent bread!

Japans inflation is mostly self inflicted. I've said it many times before, get lower the import tariffs on many food products, especially rice.

I bought some meat today. The package was the same price, but the cut was 40% smaller.

Our Glorious Leaders have broken the globalised economy for their own political benefit, and we will now have to pay the price. It will get worse. Inflation, shortages, poverty, hunger, famines and wars.

Increase your income however you can to protect yourself and your family from what your government are doing to you.

From all the basic necessities that are going to become more expensive alcohol is one that can increase price without problem. Lots of people live nice and productive lives without ever touching a beer; that can't be said about seasonings and much more necessary products.

On the good side, this may help reducing the exaggerated way plastic is used in Japan for no valid reason, not likely to happen but that would be a way to reduce costs.

. Lots of people live nice and productive lives without ever touching a beer; 

And for many people it is the only thing they look forward to after working a meaningless job for a terrible salary. And im pretty sure people could be equally as productive without seasoning.