Prices of wine, jam rise

Funny that the prices on these products did not go down in price when the yen was strong for so many years! The consumer always has to take the pill.

My goodness, wine importers are surely making enough money already on European wines. The prices are already scandalous without putting them up even more.

Damn we're in a Jam.

Good comments. Well there you go... Abenomics. Sadly the increases are for non-discretionary items, so less money is left to spend on other things. I know some of the beneficiaries will thumb me down for this, but I call 'em like I see 'em.

I agree that the annoying thing is that when yen went from GBP 250 to current 130 ish, prices of wine and whiskey did not really drop at all. So why they should go up now is scandalous.

My question is how did Japanese people ever buy wine, jam and seasonings when the yen/dollar rate was 240 a mere 25 years ago?

Real wine was a rare treat, for birthdays, Christmases and seductions only. Most Japanese if they drank wine at all drank a rather nasty, sickly-sweet but relatively cheap concoction called 'honey wine' that sold in them days for I think it was ¥800 for issho-bin. One bottle would last a long time because you really didn't want to drink too much of it.

Jam for everyday use contained very little by way of fruit; volume came from the use of gums, fillers, gelatine, etc. and tended to taste pretty much the same regardless of what fruit the label claimed the jam was based on.

Seasonings was soy sauce and katsuo-bushi.

The price of good Scotch, on the other hand, has come down to very reasonable levels from what it was, and there is a much bigger selection; it used to be Johnny Kuro or Chevas Regal if you were trying to impress, and Johnny Aka or White Horse otherwise.

The dollar bought an average of 239 yen in 1985.

The dollar bought an average of 239 yen in 1985.

The rate was 241 in 1978 and 201 in 1979. It then fluctuated for a few years falling to 254 in 1985 but from then on it gained strength. It averaged around 200 in 1986, around 150 in 1987, and the mid 120s in 1988

I agree completely with Sherman,but Alcohol on a whole in Japan is still a bargain! Cheers

What the strong yen did was to keep prices from rising rather than falling. That's the way it works here in most cases. In cases of brand names such as Porche, they keep the price steep so as not lose the brand image regardless of the currency fluctuation.

What they usually do is keep the same price but reduce the volume. Go to KALDI or Shinanoya or other discount shops, and you can find lots of bargains. Just make it a rule to never buy anything that's not on sale, and you won't feel the pinch -- yet. The wild cards in this equation are the prices of electricity (raising the cost of chilled and frozen foods) and gasoline (raising the costs for transport and delivery).

Both companies attributed the price hike to higher costs of grapes due to a poor harvest in Europe, Sankei Shimbun reported.

Hello, Oz, Cali and Chile.

Serrano,I have been in Japan for 25 years and the dollar at that time was about 150?Don't know when it was 250

My question is how did the Japanese ever import anything when it took over 200 yen to get a dollar?

My question is how did Japanese people ever buy wine, jam and seasonings when the yen/dollar rate was 240 a mere 25 years ago?

It hasn`t been 240 to the dollar for 50 years!!

9％ price rises???

Hurrah for Abenomics!

Lets get Japan back to bring the most costly nation to live in again!!!

My question is how did Japanese people ever buy wine, jam and seasonings when the yen/dollar rate was 240 a mere 25 years ago?

it's alright by drinking one bottle less/month will compensate for any price hike !