Japan's cup noodle binge is sign of the times

The breakfast of champions!

Now the majority of young people have irregular employment and that is all they can afford to eat. It is not because they love the food. I'm guessing they will have lots of chemically induced diseases over the next few decades.

any bets on a forthcoming Cup Noodle scandal?

Head in the sand economics, plus high level corruption will eventually be the undoing of Japan. Could easily become a third world economy in just one generation unless there are some major reforms.

So you are telling me that the only thing that Abe has achieved with his stupid Abenomics is to have people eat more cup noodles?

Just bow and sob toward it, that fixes everything else

Policymakers are worried. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said this month that weakness is starting to show up in consumer spending, but he expects a tight labour market to support household spending in the future

Kuroda, you are an idiot. How does a tight labour market support household spending when nearly half are not full time and are struggling to get by on a daily basis?

With private consumption accounting for roughly 60% of the economy, this renewed frugality is a signal that Japanese policymakers could struggle with yet another year of disappointing growth and low inflation

correction: With private consumption accounting for roughly 60% of the economy, this renewed frugality is a signal that Japan is in SERIOUS trouble and we may be heading toward a Greece like scenario.

The main reason for the weak rebound in consumer spending is sluggish wages, with nominal wages lagging broad price rises caused by the 2014 sales tax hike

Of course it is. That's why you have to raise the minimum wage and cut overtime. Give the masses money to spend and time to spend it.

Unfortunately, that sorry sack of an excuse for a PM is not listening. He doesn't care. But someone in the opposition party should bring this up. "Thanks to you, the people of our country are now poverty ridden and are so poor that they can only afford to eat cheap instant noodles. You, sir, have impoverished this country and put it on a trajectory to ruin."

Thanks PM Abe for your "beautiful Japan"!

The inventor/founder of Nissan created CupNoodle so poor people would be able to find food to eat. He certainly has a market now.

Don't hate on me... but I like instant ramen better than restaurant ramen. I don't eat either very often, but honestly I would take a cheesy curry Nissan cup noodle over Hachiban, Iwamotoya, Ramen Kagetsu, or the zillion other ramen places out there.

I've seen them as low as 80 yen.

Sorry, but there IS stuff you can buy that, while perhaps not the healthiest in the world, is healthier than this for the same price of cheaper. The ONLY advantage that cup noodles and such foods has is that they are non-perishable. I can see them being handed out and eaten at evacuation centers where supplies are not ample, but otherwise there's not really any excuse. They are HORRIBLE for the body on ever level.

Spending on noodles is growing at the fastest pace since Abe took office in late 2012

Congratulations Mr Abenomics, your politic is giving people a bright future, soon or later, most won't be able to afford more than the price of a cup noodle for lunch & diner, that is of course, for the luckiest ones who will be able to afford 2 meals per day.

yeah, 180yen is on the high end. i think they are talking about the Nissin brand.

i also believe they are not good for everyday consumption. although i have an uncle who eats only instant food (cup ramen, yakisoba etc) for as long as i can remember and he's still alive and kickin' at 105 years old. i guess he's just lucky.

Those things are so unhealthy, and the smell is ghastly.

I will never forget when United had them as the snack food one flight. What a stench.

People will be spending more on health care in the future if this is what they are consuming every day.

Cup noodles, costing as little as 180 yen, are a favorite for penny pinchers. Average monthly spending on cup noodles surged 26.1% in January-March from a year earlier, government data show - the fourth straight quarter of double-digit growth.

Cup noodles that cost 180 yen are "high end" products down here, you can find plenty of penny-pinching priced cup noodles down here for 100 yen or less. Must be Tokyo-centric again.

They are loaded with enough sodium to choke a mule.