Prices of chocolate, sauces, bread, other items to rise

It is common sense that most prices in supermarkets are not sincere anyway because most of them are 59, 89, 1.29, 2.59, 3.99 etc. All over the world where I've been.

either the chocolatier company owners need more Porschez and mercedez (and dont forget their privately owned swimming pools), or the japanese gov needs our tax monies to foot the bill for the stadium: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/jun/29/tokyo-2020-olympics-stadium-cost

@sillygirl

Abenomics is really working right?

Exactly, it is. This is my comment to Dr. Krugman’s column at New York Times of October 26, 2013.

“I am afraid, sir, something is wrong with your analysis about Japanese economy you have made over the last ten months. What figures do you actually assess?

How many workers who only make less than two million yen which is around poverty line do you think we have? Because the consumption tax will go up to 8% from current 5%, housing market temporarily robust, which will increase GDP for short term. Corporate tax will be reduced significantly but what do you think they will do? They will just sit on cash because they can’t find new opportunities they would invest.

Due to cheap yen, commodity prices have gone up with no pay increase at all. Trade deficit has been negative during the last nine months also due to cheap yen. Co-pay for elderly and tax on pension has been increasing constantly. Thus, real purchasing power of general public won’t increase. Mr. Abe’s economic policy logically leads to a similar consequence to your 1% vs 99%. Stop praising his policy any more, please. 76% of Japanese do not feel that our economy has been improving by the latest poll.” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/25/opinion/krugman-addicted-to-the-apocalypse.html?comments&_r=0#permid=10361146

gees,

forget chocolate,

judging from Brian Wheway's post, it can be surmised that calculators, dictionaries, and elementary grammar books must be price out of this world.

according to amazon the price of this chocolate bar was $2.39 and its gone up to $2.26 that a 30 sent rise roughly 36 yen, thats nothing! stop whining! last year petrol in the uk dropped in price but it has steadily increased in price costing us motorists an extra 60 yen or 30 pence per gallon in six months, yet the price of crude oil has remained the same. the government is not getting any more tax it must be down to the petrol companies trying to make a fast buck, we will see when they relies there yearly tax reports, for some reason i bet they don't make a loss,

These price increases will, according to Abe, help the economy to recover. I think Abe needs to explain more clearly how that works as I'm confused as to how paying more for chocolate will lead to economic revival.

and people will tighten there spending further putting more pressure on consumption, oh and then theres the next tax rise! the battle for inflation is not over by a long shot

I wish I would've kept receipts from two years ago to now. Prices have gone waaaaay up and sizes way down. Just this week I've noticed that my cheap bananas that cost 99 yen are now three for that price. Used to be four. Green peppers used to be five to a bag, now four. Abenomics is a joke. Don't know about the rest of you but I haven't seen a pay increase.

I support the US in no way, but as a comparison, there are two elements that bother me here (related to food and tax):

First -- to '25years in Japan' and others: I think, until very recently, stores in the US simply gave the retail price. The tax was figured in at the counter. What is so difficult about looking at the price and doing the tax math in your head? How is it a deceptive practice of the store or producer? I am more happy to know their cost and if I have a tax beef, I keep it a separate issue from the product. Is the math so difficult? (of course, this does not apply to liquor ... that price is probably all tax, to a high percent, apart from the 'sales tax').

Second -- Can others here offer to your posts, if you are from outside the US, whether staple foods and goods are exempt from tax? Here - Tax on milk? Friggin' bananas?, vegetables? Essentials! And yeah, chocolate and grains too. Nice JP. 'Just stick it to the families.

Strangerland: "I believe the after-tax price is always shown as well, though it may be smaller. They made a law maybe 9 years ago that said after-tax prices must be displayed."

The law was that all prices be shown after tax, and some shops showed before tax prices in small print, but most did not. That changed with the tax increase, in which they were not required by law to show the after tax prices (though some do, in small print), which is why a lot of companies got away for a while with charging from 8% more up to 13% or so increase on products for a 3% tax increase (they kept the price the same as the taxed price on the tag, and charged 8% tax on top of that. 7-11 was the first to drop their product priced to keep the prices near the same overall with the 3% increase.

As for 業務スーパー you're both right. It's kind of like CostCo these days. The company was designed to cater to businesses like hotels/restaurants for bulk foods, but are now popular and somewhat tailored supermarkets for the individual shoppers who want to buy in bulk/large sizes, or can pick individual, cheaper products from among them.

Anyway, Abenomics strikes again! The BOJ is now struggling to defend itself, none of the 'trickle down' stuff Abe promised is working, and now the cost of imports are hurting large-sized companies as well (or at least, forcing them to jack up prices, which WILL hurt them later when customers stop buying). Shouldn't be a surprise household spending is finally up a percentage point -- we have zero choice if we want to buy even the staples these days.

crap!now Abenomic force us to find lower chocolate price solutions in Mars

They haven't changed the price for 41 years??? They reduced the already small bars at least 2 times in the last 15 years since I'm in Japan. Chocolates were 65 grams in 2000 now 45-50 ! Is this not price increase?

But I can see it works for Japanese - my wife always smiles when I check how much I pay per weight...

And nato is packed in small polystyrene boxes so this explains the rise! Basically everything is so well packed here - good that you can share easier and items don't brush to each other but so much packing material is used.

a 業務スーパー is a supermarket for businesses.

Stranger: Wrong again.

You mean it's not a supermarket, or it's not for businesses? Because I'm pretty sure it's a supermarket, and I'm pretty sure it's for businesses, so I don't see anything incorrect about what I've said.

Which would make you wrong in your assertion that I was wrong.

Stranger: Wrong again. 業務スーパー is a supermarket for businesses...and for anyone else that wants to buy there. Cash only, no membership cards or point cards which is great.

Great prices. Better than Costco any day.

10% to 20% hike in prices of food items? I don't know, but this is quite serious. Living in Japan is already expensive with negative real wage growth, but a 10% to 20% hike in food prices is really going to exacerbate things even more.

Recently, I have switched to eating like a free range chicken. It is a healthy alternative to prices rising and safer than the Mad Max diet of 1 can of dog food every 4 films.

YelnatsJUN. 29, 2015 - 08:20AM JST I use one bottle of bulldog sauce every three or four years.

< Though I bet you eat products containing wheat, more than once every three or four years? It's not a big challenge to adjust and eat less chocolate, wheat is much closer to a necessity food, and it HAS gone up in price more than once in the last 41 years. >

"Takano Foods is also raising the price of natto by more than 20% starting from July." "Food manufacturers say the weaker yen has raised the cost of importing raw materials such as wheat flour. Packaging materials have also become more expensive. "

Failing to see the correlation here. Yet again, the apathetic Japanese consumer is expected to dig deeper into their pockets. Where are the wage hikes? This place is going down the tubes.

For the non-Japanese speakers, a 八百屋さん is a vegetable shop, and a 業務スーパー is a supermarket for businesses.

@TrevorPeace I live in an area where there are 八百屋さん, 業務スーパーand a nursery where one can pick produce. Sometimes produce is bundled up and so it'll be cleared out quickly. I love checking out prices between the 八百屋さん in my neighborhood and the one over at the next station. The nursery is great because the tax is included in all the prices shown. Plus, the prices are way cheaper (well, most of the time) than the 八百屋さん. I guess you don't have a greengrocer in your area so you have to put up with prepackaged produce.

@gaijintraveller Thumbs up... sad but true. Wages are stagnant.くるしぃ-----!

In other country prices have already gone up despite government trying to control.

Yen seems to have weakened too much. Isn't it time BOJ stopped monetary easing?

Thank you Abe and tourist for help the economy. Now the Japanese middle/low class has to suffer for it.

What ever happened to the high quality? = Abenomics / Corporate mentality

The quantities have been shrinking in order to keep the prices the same

ditto for the quality

And now crowd is going to blame Abe or Abenomics while whole world not only Japan is experience same thing happening and lot worst.

MapleGJun. 29, 2015 - 08:46AM JST It' almost defies description that the price that chocolate has not risen in 41 years. I can't think of any other country in the world that could make that claim.

Ever considered that the stuff was overpriced years ago ? I wonder how much minimum wage rose in 41 years. Just look at what you pay for chocolate overseas which is much larger in size and much thicker .

The quantities have been shrinking in order to keep the prices the same. That game is beginning to come apart.

Free diet! things are getting to be too expensive!

Papiguilio said-- Also can shops just display the paying price instead of the price without the tax. I feel thats somewhat of a scam.

It is ridiculous. We all know that tax has gone up so there is no need to keep displaying the tax in small writing and the cost without tax in big writing. It is just a form of deception.

Thankfully, some places I shop at just shows the price including tax.

Packaging provides jobs I guess.

Higher chocolate prices are a global issue, caused by increased global demand and local supply issues in the cocoa producing regions.

If the rising price of chocolate in Japan was do to a weakening yen, or the political leanings of its elected officials, why are the prices continuing to rise in the US where the dollar is getting stronger.

Small farms unwilling or unable to modernize production to keep up with the worlds growing demand for cocoa means higher prices for everyone.

It' almost defies description that the price that chocolate has not risen in 41 years. I can't think of any other country in the world that could make that claim

I believe the after-tax price is always shown as well, though it may be smaller. They made a law maybe 9 years ago that said after-tax prices must be displayed.

The price of the chocolate may not have gone up but the bars are certainly smaller. I agree about shops showing the pre-tax price on goods, that should be illegal. It confuses my poor mother in law every time.

I use one bottle of bulldog sauce every three or four years.

It is only a moment of acceleration of that process of "more package, less product". The product inside package sometimes takes only 1/3 or even only 1/4 of space. And indication of weight/volume is tiny so as to lure the consumer. I am about sure that the 6 pack soft cream ice creams have gone smaller than let's say 5 years ago. Since there is nearly no competition nor indications of price per weight/volume, this is simply a scam endorsed by authorities. I can't think of other countries doing so at large scale (maybe for limited products as luxury goods...) Note that in Europe, it is forbidden for all standard consumer goods, so food. My family (wife and 3 kids) can't have family price when buying. Glad for my purse to come back to my home country soon to be able to buy yogourts, ice creams, vegetables, chocolate !... at their real price. This system is against families so no wonder people think they wouldn't make ends meet.

Consumption tax has gone up.

Prices are going up

The only thing that isn't going up is wages. In real terms they are going down.

huh? again?

Also can shops just display the paying price instead of the price without the tax. I feel thats somewhat of a scam.

Like I said. Nobody can stop the inevitable. Many people dont know the true meaning of Abenomics. But Abenomics is a necessary evil. Getting poorer but keep working. We cant really compete against china. Thatsbwhy we have to weaken ¥ so we can still sell stuff overseas.

Packaging materials have also become more expensive.

Triple bottom line: People, Planet, Profit.

Superfluous packaging benefits none of the above.

Abenomics - a word not heard in a long time - is really working right? More things off the table in my house.

it is there in this article...replaced by "Morinaga."

Prices of chocolate, sauces, bread, other items to rise.

Food manufacturers say the weaker yen has raised the cost of importing raw materials such as wheat flour.

So glad it is not my hard-earned paycheck going to support Abenomics. Kuroda probably thinks this is good news, since it may increase inflation. Good lord, Japan really is in a mess.

.

Abenomics - a word not heard in a long time - is really working right? More things off the table in my house.

The prices of several food items will increase in July and August, some for the first time in decades. but...quantities are reduced drastically :(

I wonder if these companies aren't doing their part to try and get the inflation rate to 2%! I know it is silly to say, but I wouldn't put anything past this government, as they desperately try and fleece the average consumer/citizen anyway they can!

Lower the packaging, lower the costs. Nothing like over-doing packaging in Japan! Can someone please tell me where I go to a supermarket and buy fruit and vegetables from bins where they're not packaged in plastic!? I 'd like to choose my own purchases, thank you!

But, but...

inflation is only 0.1%? how is this possible?