Japan Convenience Store Sales in Feb. Updated March 25, 2026.

Japan convenience store sales rise 1.6% in Feb., up for 12 months

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260323/p2g/00m/0bu/036000c

Ideas

The idea of higher spending per customer can be seen it two ways such as prices increased due to the continue inflation situation in Japan which meant customers spent more on whatever they bought. The second reason might be due to the increase in foreign visitors to Japan and as been suggested many foreign visitors are keen to visit some Japanese convenience stores and buy some of the products.

Coffee prices at Starbucks and Tullys at the major coffee chains remain relatively high so its  understandable that Japanese consumers would get the 100 yen convenience store coffee, or what it used to be as Japanese consumers, as anywhere are always looking try to and save money.

Of course the warm weather or any weather that is different than the season, will induce consumes to buy cold drinks and ice cream in the winter or any other product that might that not be in-line with the seasonal weather.

That doesn't mean the normal seasonal weather products are not going to be bought as of course hot coffee will be bought year round and of course ice-americano cold coffee with be bought year round too.

There is significant competition among the seven Japanese convenience stores so of course they will have all kinds of campaigns in Japan to try and get more Japanese consumers and even maybe foreign visitors to enter their stores and buy products.

Japan restaurants and department stores that offer what are called bentos for lunch and dinner are always trying to get mor sales and more customers to buy their products so its no surprise that they might offer larger than normal portions for whatever such at restaurants and even maybe, again, larger bento boxed lunch and dinner offerings to get customers to buy more.

And yes, of course heavy snow and rain might have reduced the flow of traffic into some Japanese convenience stores or conbinis as known in Japan, as because of the snow and rain consumers didn't make their usual daily stop at the conbini.

What's interesting about Japanese convenience stores, is whenever I would go to a conbini in the Yokohama area, which is near Tokyo, I would usually only see foreign students working at the conbini, You could see their name-tags written in katakana with their name  either Chinese, Vietnamese, or some other Asian spelled name. 

That could be a situation where Japanese students don't want to work at Japanese convenience stores or the pay might be too low for what they want as Japanese convenience stores have very low profit margins and can't afford to pay a lot or they just pay the required minimum wage that most likely regular Japanese students don't like and won't work at convenience stores so, as suggested in other articles there are thousands of foreign students now working there at conbinis can't get the regular Japanese student to work there because of the low hourly rate.

Have a nice day!

Japan Firms and Wage Hikes: Ideas Later.Updated March 27, 2026.

Japan firms mark 3rd straight year of over 5% wage hikes: survey

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260323/p2g/00m/0bu/046000c

Ideas

It's good that Japanese companies are finally beginning to give their workers the wages they need to live in an inflation society like Japan these days.

Unfortunately, many Japanese have become too westernized and don't think about the long-term benefits of their employees but only about the quarter to quarter benefits of the stockholders.

At the same time, there is a supposed labor shortage in Japan which means if companies don't increase the wages of their employees some or many potentially could quit and move to another company that is paying higher wages. And now its not uncommon or not a bad thing to quit and change companies in Japan, as it was years ago.

The challenges is many or most of the small and mid-size companies just don't have the needed resources to match the pay of the large name-brand companies in Japan which means up to 70 percent of the Japanese workforce might not get a high enough wage increase that is larger than what is inflation in Japan, which then means consumer spending in Japan is not going to be where it should be to help the economy grow.

The Japanese economy is 90 percent plus small and mid-size companies and not the large name-brand companies that makes the news everyday, which means many or most of these small companies no one hears about but they basically keep the Japanese economy going forward despite, again, all the news the large companies get.

Yes, sustained wage increases will be a real challenge if inflation in Japan also stays above the BOJ 2 percent target level. A company can only give what it can give, meaning if its profit margin is limited, especially for small and mid-size companies they might not be able to do more than a 5 percent wage increase, if even that.

Of course companies in the services sector, with very thin profits margins might not able to give 5 percent as many service companies use just contract and part-time workers at their companies.

An increase of 14, 300 yen per month is something but it might not be enough needed for many workers in small and mid-size companies as maybe their disposable income has been shrinking every year almost since the end of the pandemic, which means their purchasing power in the Japanese economy is not enough to really help the economy grow if they spend or even spend at all.

You can't blame the companies, at least too much, as they too have budget constraints and have to work within their budgets to fit in the needed wage increases for their employees and maybe they would like to offer higher wage increases but they just can't do it without creating challenges for other parts of their company.

Ever since the 2008 financial crisis many companies have begun to use more non-regular and part-time employees as a way to cut costs. The challenge with that is the pay for these two groups is well below what is needed for a so-called living wage meaning they can work a non regular job and or a part-time job and be able to pay their month or weekly bills.

Not all non regular workers are students or those who just want to work part-time or a non regular job but real people with maybe children and maybe working women who need to make a good wage to help take care of their families.

Too many countries and companies treat non-regular workers as second class citizens and the same with part-time workers and some think they have limited skills and shouldn't be paid a real living wage.

A wage increase of 16, 356 yen per month is good and needed but can it be enough to overcome the constant inflation situation in Japan. Only time will tell if there is an increase in consumer spending in Japan, then maybe it is/was enough get the Japanese economy moving again.

If its not enough it will be seen soon enough as for example as the Golden Week holiday period will be approaching fast after the wage increases take affect in April and when May comes around with the Golden Week holiday period if there is an increase or a decrease in consumer spending it might be indicative of how much or even how little the wage increases have helped the economy.

And yes, unfortunately, as usual, small and mid-size companies are only going to get an increase of 12,361 yen per month and it might not be enough to get the 70 percent of workers at the small and mid-size companies to begin to spend as maybe still their disposable incomes are still going to be less than needed to help the Japanese economy grow again.

Have a nice day!

Japan Core Consumer Prices in Feb. Ideas Later.

Japan core consumer prices in Feb. rise 1.6% on yr, lowest in nearly 4 yrs

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260324/p2g/00m/0bu/013000c

Article to be deleted after ideas.

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's core consumer prices in February rose 1.6 percent from a year earlier, climbing less than 2 percent for the first time in nearly four years, government data showed Tuesday, though higher crude oil prices amid the Iran war will add to upward pressure.

The rise of the nationwide consumer price index, excluding volatile fresh food, followed a 2.0 percent increase in January, largely reflecting the government's subsidy program to curb electricity bills from January to March, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

The inflation rate fell below the Bank of Japan's 2 percent target for the first time since a 0.8 percent rise in March 2022, when sharply lower mobile communications fees held down the rate before the Ukraine war led to surging crude oil and raw material prices in the subsequent months.

Despite the core CPI reading of less than 2 percent, the BOJ is likely to stay on its path of continuing to raise interest rates, analysts said, as the central bank monitors underlying inflation accompanied by strong wage growth rather than the core CPI, which is often affected by one-off factors.

A ministry official said it remains unclear to what extent and when the recent rise in crude oil prices will be seen in the core CPI reading, but added there is a possibility a "wide range" of products and services will be affected.

Since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, leading to the effective halt of crude oil and other shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, gasoline prices in Japan have hit record highs, while companies have also faced difficulties in procuring heavy oil used for heating and other purposes.

As countermeasures, the government has begun to release oil from stockpiles and resumed gasoline subsidies to mitigate the impact on people's livelihoods.

The Middle East conflict has also driven the U.S. dollar up toward the 160 yen line in a flight to safety, a level last seen in 2024, with the weaker yen adding to import costs for resource-scarce Japan.

In the reported month, energy costs fell 9.1 percent from a year earlier, following a 5.2 percent decline in January, as gasoline prices plunged 14.9 percent thanks to the end of a provisional tax on the fuel in December, while electricity bills decreased 8.0 percent.

The core CPI also benefited from a deceleration of food prices, which climbed 5.7 percent in February, excluding fresh items, down from a 6.2 percent increase in the previous month.

Bank of Japan keeps rate unchanged: Ideas later.

Bank of Japan keeps policy rate unchanged as Iran war complicates next step decision

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260319/p2g/00m/0bu/023000c

Article to be deleted after ideas.

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Bank of Japan on Thursday kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged, as developments in the Middle East complicate the future path of its monetary policy.

With the Iran war threatening to drive up inflation and dampen economic growth, the central bank is bracing for the upside and downside risks to the price and economic outlooks.

BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said at a press conference after its two-day policy meeting through Thursday that he "needs more time" to understand the impact the war will have on the economy.

"We have decided to keep the policy unchanged as risks associated with rising crude oil prices have newly emerged," Ueda said. "We will make an appropriate policy decision next month after examining the new risk scenario and outlook when more data become available."

The bank has been seeking to normalize its monetary policy since it ended unconventional monetary easing two years ago to stably achieve its 2 percent inflation target.

If the central bank continues raising its policy interest rate to tame possible higher inflation at a time when an energy price surge threatens to dent demand, the move could add pressure on growth, while leaving the policy intact could fuel inflation coupled with the yen's recent weakening. A weaker yen increases import costs.

Still, Ueda said more policymakers are aware of the upside risk to inflation.

The U.S. Federal Reserve, which also decided to keep its rate steady at its meeting through Wednesday, also warned of higher inflation with Fed chief Jerome Powell emphasizing uncertainty over the U.S. economic outlook from the Iran war.

At the policy meeting, the BOJ left the key rate at around 0.75 percent for the second consecutive meeting.

The Japanese central bank lifted its policy rate to a 30-year high of around 0.75 percent from 0.5 percent at its December meeting.

The latest decision to stand pat on the rate was delivered in an eight-to-one vote, with hawkish policymaker Hajime Takata proposing a rate hike to around 1.0 percent.

The nationwide core consumer price index, excluding volatile fresh food, in Japan is expected to come under "upward pressure," affected by the rise in crude oil prices, the bank said in a post-meeting statement.

The yen's recent depreciation against the U.S. dollar is also threatening to raise import costs for resource-poor Japan.

The dollar came within striking distance of the 160 yen mark overnight, a level unseen since 2024 prior to the BOJ's meeting, prompting Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama to say Japanese authorities are on "full guard" and ready to consider all possible options.

In the wake of the U.S.-Israeli launch of attacks on Iran, the dollar has drawn buying, as a safe-haven asset in times of crisis. Tokyo shares have also faced steep declines with uncertainties heightening over the effects of the Middle East crisis on inflation and the broader economy.

The war with Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which many oil tankers pass, including those bound for Japan. There has also been damage to liquefied natural gas export facilities.

Soaring crude oil prices will likely push up the prices of many products, from gasoline to plastics. Electricity and gas bills could also rise if liquefied natural gas prices climb alongside oil prices.

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Foreign Visitors to Japan in Feb. Updated March 22, 2026.

Foreign visitors to Japan in February set monthly record of 3.47 mil.

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260318/p2g/00m/0na/041000c

Ideas

Japan is increasingly seeing foreign visitor numbers that rival some EU countries but still have a ways to go to catch Spain and France.

At the same time some in Japan, especially in Osaka and the Kyoto area, now think there are too many foreign tourists as over-crowding has become a major challenge or at least according to some in those areas.

Most likely 99 percent or whatever percent you want to use are polite well-behaved guests in Japan but its always the few that standout that cause problems for everyone that causes local officials to consider ways to reduce foreign tourism in their area.

There are always many stereotypes related to the relationship between Japan and South Korea and of course the WW 2 experiences that South Korea suffered will probably never completely go away but it seems, as far a traveling to Japan, many South Koreans see Japan as a safe place and and an easy place to visit and as the Japanese yen is now weak, it gives South Korean consumers more purchasing power to spend in Japan.

Having lived in South Korea for many years, I often took the Seoul Gimpo to Tokyo Haneda flight either by KAL, JAL, or ANA, as the fight was only 2 hours so it was easy to go to Tokyo for a few days a few times a year.

But before the pandemic getting a ticket was very easy but after the pandemic when Japan opened up again in 2023, getting a ticket was almost impossible and the ticket prices had almost doubled from the pre-pandemic time to the post-pandemic period.

Its interesting that US visitors to Japan is setting visitor records as the price for a round trip ticket to Japan and back from the US is easily around $2,000 dollars and with inflation still a challenge in the US who can afford to go to Japan these days from such a far away place.

If you stay a week an add in hotel, food, and buying whatever, you are easily going to spend over $4,000 dollars for your trip, which again, many people in the US really can't afford to spend that much money with inflation being such a challenge in the US these days.

China used to be Japan's largest foreign visitor population but as diplomatic relations between the two countries, again, are now challenged many Chinese are going to other places such as Vietnam and Thailand.

But as my sources in Japan have been saying there are still some Chinese going to Japan but not on group tours but as individuals or families not taking tours but doing things themselves in Japan.

Japan, doesn't seem to get it sometimes, or for this situation maybe they do, as the diplomatic strain between the two countries might, just might have been a deliberate attempt to reduce the number of foreign tourists to Japan or at least from China as a way to reduce the over-crowding situation in the Osaka and Kyoto areas. 

But who knows as the above paragraph might be completely in-correct as what happened between Japan and China is just the latest between the two countries as Japan seems to take 2 steps forward and then 3 steps back with the comments it makes that always seem to upset China.

The new Prime Minister is an ultra conservative, and as such, puts Japan first above diplomatic relations in the region, and it doesn't seem like there isn't going to be any kind of apology or back-tracking on what was said as Japanese official rarely apologize for much of anything these days.

So the strained diplomatic relationship between the two countries appears to be entrenched for now until one decides for business or economic reasons to begin to thaw out the tense situation and things will begin to get back to some kind of normalcy.

Have a nice day!

Japanese Major Firms and Wage Increases: Ideas Later. To be continued.

Major Japan firms offer large pay hikes in spring negotiations

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260318/p2g/00m/0bu/032000c

Article to be deleted after ideas.

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Many major Japanese companies, including Toyota Motor Corp., on Wednesday fully met their labor unions' demands for wage hikes in annual negotiations, despite the expected increase in costs from higher crude oil prices.

Ideas

Its no surprise that major Japanese companies are meeting the wage hike demands of their labor unions as they have the needed resources to do it and of course they will eventually pass-on the wage increases, which are a cost, to the next in the supply chain including of course the final retail customer.

The challenge of course will be what are small and mid-size companies going to do, as up to 70 percent of all workers in Japan work for small and mid-size companies and not the large name-brand companies that always makes the news, as again, many of the small and mid-size companies just don't have the resources or even the profit margins to match what large companies are planning on doing.

And it's estimated that up to 90 percent or more of businesses in Japan are in the small and mid-size category and again not in the large company category.

Article

Unions, however, at smaller companies could struggle to win similar wage hikes. Such firms tend to find it harder to pass on higher costs to their customers, especially with the rise in oil and other material prices caused by the crisis in the Middle East.

Ideas

Part of the challenge for small companies in Japan is that many of them might be suppliers to large companies and the large companies, while illegal, might tell the small companies if you increase the prices of the supplies we buy from you we might not keep you as a supplier. 

So as such many small companies which might supply large companies are reluctant to try and pass-on their costs to the larger companies for fear of losing significant business contracts.

Article

Seen as a trendsetter at the annual "shunto" wage talks, Toyota, the world's largest carmaker by volume, fully met its labor union's pay hike and bonus payment demands for the sixth consecutive year.

Ideas

Back around the year 2,000 or sometime like that Toyota, as the story goes or is suggested Toyota decided not increase the wages of its employees as it wanted to be competitive with the up and coming Chinese firms. As such most or many other Japanese companies did the same thing and didn't increase wages, which might have been the beginning of the deflation era in Japan.

So most likely as Toyota is going to increase wages most likely most of many of the large companies are going increase their wages too. And the reason is, as there is a supposed labor shortage in Japan other companies don't want their existing employees quitting and moving to another company, so companies increase their wage as a way to keep their existing employees.

Article

The automaker is proposing pay increases of up to 21,580 yen ($135) per month while accepting its union's request for an annual bonus equivalent to 7.3 months' pay, down 0.3 month from last year's record-high payment. 

Ideas

Only a company, with the financial resources like Toyota, can afford to pay the wage increase as listed and certainly the annual bonus of 7.3 months' pay, which many other companies except a few of the large companies can afford to do.

Of course many or most of the 90 percent of the small business in Japan just don't have the needed resources to pay the kind of wage increases that Toyota or even Honda can as they can only do so much, which means some or many of the employees who work at the small companies in Japan, potentially might be looking for a way to move to a larger companies that pays more.

Article

Honda Motor Co., which expects its first full-year net loss in the year ending March 31 since its listing nearly 70 years ago, accepted an 18,500 yen pay hike request, while Suzuki Motor Corp. offered a pay increase of 20,500 yen, exceeding its union's demand.

Ideas

Even though both Honda and Suzuki might not be able to really afford to give wage increases of 18,500 and 20,500 yen, they are weary of losing employees to Toyota or any other company as again there is a supposed labor shortage and companies just cant afford to lose talented employees, so they increase the wages as as way to try and keep their employees.

Article

Struggling Nissan Motor Co. has consented to a monthly pay hike of 10,000 yen as requested by its union, aiming to increase employee morale during its restructuring efforts.

Ideas

Nissan has been struggling ever since the Ghosn situation and hasn't been able to move forward and has to restructure for the last couple of year, even closing some of its plants in Japan and globally too.

At the same time, Nissan probably can't afford to give any kind of wage increase but it too is weary of losing employees to Toyota, Honda, or even Suzuki, so they try to give some kind of wage increase to try and keep their employees happy or try to keep a lot of them from quitting and moving to another company.

Article

To be continued......

Hitachi Ltd., NEC Corp. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. each agreed to a monthly base pay increase of 18,000 yen, as sought by their unions.

Major heavy machinery manufacturers Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. and IHI Corp. also agreed to their labor unions' demands for a 16,000 yen pay increase.

Other companies including Mazda Motor Corp. and Japan Airlines Co. have already met their labor unions' demands although the annual wage talks at major firms typically run from mid-February to mid-March.

Meanwhile, pay hike proposals by Nippon Steel Corp., Kobe Steel Ltd. and JFE Steel Corp. fell short of their unions' demands. The steel industry has been hit by worsening market conditions amid an influx of cheaper Chinese products.

With inflation persisting, major companies mostly offered wage hikes of around 5 percent to 7 percent. "We are seeing solid progress that could lead to a virtuous cycle of growth and wealth distribution across the society," said Yoshinobu Tsutsui, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, also known as Keidanren.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference that the government "hopes that strong (pay hike) momentum will steadily spread to every corner of the country, small and medium-sized enterprises and nonregular employees," emphasizing the importance of achieving wage increases that outpace inflation.

The Bank of Japan, which raised its benchmark interest rate last December to its highest level since 1995, is also closely monitoring the outcome of the wage talks as it sees rises in both wages and prices as key factors for its future policy.

In its basic policy for the 2026 wage negotiations, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, the country's largest umbrella organization for labor unions known as Rengo, has set an overall wage hike target of 5 percent or more for the third straight year.

Rengo has set a higher goal of 6 percent or more for unions representing small and medium-sized enterprises, which employ about 70 percent of the country's workforce, aiming to narrow the pay gap with larger companies.

Japan Trade Surplus: Ideas Later. To be continued.

Japan logs 57.3 billion yen trade surplus in Feb., helped by chip exports

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260318/p2g/00m/0bu/014000c

Article to be deleted after ideas.

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan logged a trade surplus of 57.3 billion yen ($361 million) in February, helped by a rise in chip exports to other Asian countries, government data showed Wednesday, but the Iran conflict and concern over oil supply disruptions cloud the outlook.

Ideas

Japan, it seems, is one of the few countries, beside South Korea, that focuses on ist export and import situation as Japan is still a major export oriented country.

Trade is nothing more than companies doing business with other companies either domestically or in this case with companies globally, as again, Japan's whole economy basically is focused on exporting, which means of course that there are many Japanese companies that are export oriented and focused on the global business and the global economy.

Article

Exports rose 4.2 percent to 9.57 trillion yen, up for the sixth consecutive month, while imports increased 10.2 percent from a year earlier to 9.51 trillion yen, both marking record highs for the month, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.

Ideas

It should be noted is the 4.2 percent increase related to the volume of exports or the value of exports as the article doesn't say but its easy to look up the numbers in the Japan Trade and investment website of JETRO.

And the same with imports with an increase of 10.2 percent is this related to an increase in volume or an increase in value as again the article doesn't suggest either one. But it could easily be considered that the weak Japanese yen might have increased the value of imports as when the yen is weak import prices increase, which puts the Japanese domestic economy under a lot of stress.

Article

With Japan's imports of chips and other electronic parts from other Asian countries also robust, the data showed the products, widely used in high-tech products, are becoming an increasingly active part of Japan's global trade, analysts said.

Ideas

Some years ago, Japan was not as much a part of Japan's global trade situation as Japanese companies lost a lot of market share to TSMC in Taiwan and Samsung and SK Hynix from South Korea. 

But recently Japan has been able to regain some market share and has become a viable player in the semiconductor market as many Japanese companies have regained their focus and have either innovated as needed or made other steps needed to gain more market share.

And yes, electronic parts from other Asian countries are becoming an integral part of Japan's trade situation as they have shifted away from thinking only Japan and now also using parts from other parts of the world.

Article

The latest trade data did not reflect developments after the launch of the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, a ministry official said, with the analysts predicting that rising oil costs could deal a blow to an economy heavily reliant on fuel imports.

Ideas

It has been suggested that Japan and South Korea are the two main countries that could be affected related the energy crisis that is developing in the Middle East, and as the article has suggested Japan is a resource-poor country and needs to import much of what it needs especially energy, oil, and gas commodities.

Now might be a good time for both Japan and South Korea to consider energy subsidies as away to reduce the costs of ordinary citizens in both countries before energy prices begin to hit both economies too much.

Article

The potential impact of disruptions in supplies of fuel and petroleum products on the trade balance will be closely monitored as the Japanese government has vowed to respond with all possible measures, the official said.

Ideas

Over the past few years, Japan has used energy subsidies as a way to help ordinary Japanese families with their budgets as the Japanese government has used subsidies a lot to keep prices down and maybe as way to get Japanese consumers to spend in the economy.

But then there is the challenge with energy wholesale companies in Japan and how they are going to be affected with the energy subsidies. Is the Japanese government going to help them too or only help Japanese families. That needs to be considered as always helping one sector or part of an economy can affect other sectors or parts of an economy.

Article

Takeshi Minami, chief economist at the Norinchukin Research Institute, said the impact of the Iran conflict on the trade balance is likely to be apparent from late March onwards, with the plunge in crude oil imports due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz expected to affect Japanese businesses' output and trade.

Ideas

To be continued......

"The government has released crude oil stockpiles and decided to provide fresh gasoline subsidies, but there is a possibility that the increases in energy prices going forward could hamper recovery in consumption," he said.

In the reporting month, Japan's exports to the United States fell 8.0 percent to 1.75 trillion yen, dropping for the third straight month, as shipments of motor vehicles declined 16.6 percent in value terms, weighed down by President Donald Trump's tariffs.

While import duties imposed on Japanese cars were lowered to 15 percent from 27.5 percent in September under a trade deal struck by Tokyo and Washington, they remained six times higher than the 2.5 percent tariff in place prior to Trump's return to the White House.

Japan remained in the red with China for the 59th straight month, logging a trade deficit of 967.3 billion yen in February.

Exports to the world's second-largest economy declined 10.9 percent to 1.37 trillion yen, and imports jumped 35.4 percent to 2.34 trillion yen, hitting a record high for the month.