Hitoshi Nakamura comments

Typical JT government mouthpiece propaganda piece.

This article goes all out to attribute the upcoming price hikes for 614 food and drink items primarily to factors outside the control of the government and the BOJ. “It’s the rain in Brazil stupid!”

While these are certainly contributing factors, the article does not appear to adequately account for the significant impact of yen depreciation on import costs as a major driver of food inflation in Japan.

The article cites reasons such as heat, drought and rain (climate change being the underlying cause hinted at) as justifications for the price hikes by major Japanese food companies. However, a weaker yen makes importing ALL raw commodities substantially more expensive for Japanese firms.

There is no mention of how the over 30% depreciation of the yen against the US dollar since early 2022 is raising import costs across the board, including for food ingredients and finished products Japan relies on from overseas.

For a nation that imports about 60% of its food supply , the yen's dramatic slide is likely the primary culprit behind broad-based food inflation rather than just higher commodity prices alone.

The article also does not consider how yen weakness may be prompting Japanese food companies to raise prices preemptively to protect profit margins from further currency impacts down the line.

While rising logistics costs are briefly cited, an honest article would have explored whether those increased transportation expenses are themselves partially driven by higher fuel import bills due to the weaker yen.

So while factors like commodity prices and logistics costs are valid reasons mentioned, the article seems to be written to purposely overlook / deflect from the yen's depreciation as a critical factor squeezing Japanese food companies' costs and contributing to this latest round of price hikes across a wide range of products.

A more balanced analysis acknowledging currency impacts appears warranted given Japan's heavy import dependence for food. 

Japan Today would make the editors of Pravda blush.