Japan May Industrial Output: Ideas Later.

Japan industrial output in May rises 0.5% on month

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Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's industrial output in May edged up 0.5 percent from the previous month, with the transport equipment and chemicals sectors making up for weak machinery production, government data showed Tuesday, logging a modest gain despite risks posed by the Middle East conflict.

The May outcome followed a downwardly revised rise of 0.5 percent in April. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry maintained its basic assessment of industrial production from the month before, saying it "fluctuates indecisively," and expects output to also rise in June for the third straight month of increase.

The seasonally adjusted index of production at factories and mines stood at 103.0 against the 2020 base of 100, the ministry said in a preliminary report.

The increase was led by the transport equipment sector excluding motor vehicles, where aircraft engine parts saw robust demand from overseas, followed by inorganic and organic chemicals on the back of recovery in production of polyethylene and paraxylene, both derived from naphtha.

The two chemicals regained output after plants that thermally crack naphtha were brought back online after a regular checkup, a ministry official said.

On the impact of the Middle East conflict on the overall output, the official said it is difficult to say.

Of the total of 15 sectors, eight declined, including general-purpose and business-oriented machinery, electrical machinery, and information and communication electronics equipment.

By product, analytical instruments for medical institutions, belt conveyors, notebook computers and semiconductor-related measuring devices were among those that saw decreases in production, the official said.

Based on a poll of manufacturers, the ministry expects output to rise 3.7 percent in June and stay flat in July.

In May, the index of industrial shipments inched up 0.6 percent to 101.6, while that of inventories was down 0.6 percent at 95.4.

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260630/p2g/00m/0bu/009000c

Japan May Jobless Rate: Ideas Later. To be continued.

Japan's May jobless rate flat at 2.5% as fewer leave at business year start

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Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's unemployment rate in May was unchanged from the previous month at 2.5 percent, government data showed Tuesday, as fewer people left their jobs following the conclusion of the hiring season for the start of the new business year.

Ideas:

Japan has one of the lowest unemployment rates among advanced nations but it must be remembered not everyone works for name-brand Japanese company has up to 70 percent of the workforce in Japan work for either small or mid-size companies.

There is also a sizable number of workers who are contract only workers meaning they don't get full benefits and of course probably don't get the same salaries as full-time workers do in Japan.

There is at the same time a supposed labor-shortage in Japan which means its good for those who are looking for work or want to change jobs as some companies are having a difficult time finding suitable workers.

Article

The number of people with jobs was up 0.1 percent at a seasonally adjusted 68.82 million, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.

Among those not in work in May, 400,000 were let go, a fall of 7.0 percent from April, while 740,000 people left their jobs voluntarily, down 6.3 percent.

Ideas

There is always a question mark as to why some workers were let go in Japan, as for the most part, Japan doesn't have normal layoffs or firings like in the western countries so it sometimes is very ambiguous to what being let go means in Japan.

At the same time, 740,000 who left their jobs voluntarily is not ambiguous as because there is a supposed labor-shortage in Japan, meaning there might be a lot of jobs available, people quit their existing jobs hoping to find a new job very quickly.

Article 

Those newly seeking jobs increased by 4.1 percent to 510,000, according to the ministry.

The job availability ratio edged down 0.01 point from April to 1.17 in the reporting month, meaning there were 117 jobs available for every 100 job seekers, according to separate data.

Ideas

To be continued...

By industry, new job openings declined across all 11 sectors, led by living-related and personal services and amusement services down 16.9 percent, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said.

It was closely followed by 16.8 percent fewer job offers in the wholesale and retail trade sector. New job openings also fell 14.4 percent in accommodation, eating and drinking services, and by 10.3 percent in construction.

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• Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260630/p2g/00m/0bu/00c

Toyota May Global Sales: Ideas Later.

Toyota May global sales drop 7.2%, down for 4th month, on weak China demand

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Article:

NAGOYA (Kyodo) -- Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday its global sales in May dropped 7.2 percent from a year earlier to 834,279 units, marking the fourth straight month of decline, reflecting sluggish demand in China hit by higher gasoline prices amid the Middle East conflict.

Its exports from Japan to the Middle East plunged 65.9 percent to 7,323 vehicles in the reporting month, falling for the third consecutive month, likely due to logistics disruptions stemming from the regional conflict.

Global output fell 5.5 percent to 765,470 cars, posting its first decline in three months, according to the world's largest automaker by volume.

Toyota's overseas sales dropped 9.6 percent to 715,898 units, with sales in China sliding 31.7 percent to 102,299 vehicles as a severe market environment persisted, the company said.

Sales in the United States edged down 0.6 percent to 238,800 units, almost flat from the previous year despite continued robust demand for hybrid vehicles, while the Middle East saw a 38.6 percent drop in sales to 29,568 cars.

However, sales in Japan grew 11.1 percent to 118,381 units, with demand remaining strong, aided by solid sales of new models, including the RAV4 sport utility vehicle and the bZ4X electric vehicle. Sales in India also jumped 15.3 percent to 30,227 cars, helped by tax cuts on automobiles.

Toyota's overseas production fell 9.4 percent to 514,882 vehicles, the first year-on-year decline in three months, with output in North America and Europe decreasing due to fewer operating days. China saw a 23.0 percent drop in production to 98,536 vehicles.

Domestic output rose 3.7 percent to 250,588 units, marking its first increase in seven months, supported by the launch of new models.

Meanwhile, global sales by Japan's eight major carmakers, including Toyota, in May fell 2.6 percent from a year earlier to 1,966,434 vehicles.

Sales by Honda Motor Co. dropped 4.9 percent to 283,623 units due to weaker demand in China, while struggling Nissan Motor Co. saw a 10.3 percent decline in sales to 229,870 cars.

However, sales by Suzuki Motor Corp. climbed 23.2 percent to 307,918 units, driven by strong demand in India due to tax cuts and growth in emerging markets.

Global output by the eight automakers totaled 1,903,550 vehicles, down 3.7 percent, while domestic production edged down 0.9 percent to 598,817 cars.

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260629/p2g/00m/0bu/028000c

Japan May Duty-free Sales: Ideas Later.

Japan May duty-free sales up for 3rd month amid weaker yen.

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TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Duty-free sales at Japan's department stores in May rose 16.7 percent from a year earlier to around 49.66 billion yen ($300 million), up for the third straight month, helped by the yen's weakness and higher prices for luxury items, industry data revealed Thursday.

The number of duty-free shoppers dropped 6.3 percent to 503,000, decreasing for the seventh consecutive month. Excluding China, both sales and the number of paying customers jumped for those from Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, according to the Japan Department Stores Association.

However, the number of Chinese customers fell roughly 30 percent in the reporting month, amid a diplomatic rift between the two countries caused by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's controversial remarks on Taiwan.

Still, sales to Chinese visitors have been recovering, with the decline capped at around 5 percent, the association said.

Japan-China relations have been strained since Takaichi said in parliament last November that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" that could prompt a response by the Self-Defense Forces in support of the United States.

Excluding duty-free sales, domestic department store sales increased 7.4 percent in May, rising for the 10th consecutive month, aided by a more favorable calendar than the previous year and strong sales of high-end items such as jewelry and watches on the back of rising stock prices and a weaker yen.

An association official said, "People become more willing to spend as their asset holdings grow," adding that the psychological impact of higher stock prices is significant.

Overall sales at 172 stores operated by 68 companies climbed 8.3 percent from a year earlier to 468.39 billion yen, marking the fifth straight month of year-on-year growth, the association said.

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260625/p2g/00m/0bu/037000c

Japan Economy: Updated June 29, 2026.

Japan economy may tie 73-month postwar growth record in June.

Ideas

The Japanese economy is a very mature economy which means it doesn't grow like it did in the 60's, 70's or even the 80's as even a small GDP growth improvement is most likely all that Japan can expect.

But even if its true that there have been 73 consecutive months of growth the amount of growth might be minimal at best as the Japanese economy just doesn't grow that fast any more.

It should be noted, even though growth is minimal, there is still a lot of economic activity in Japan as it takes more and more resources, economic activity, to get a mature economy to grow even a little which Japan surprisingly has been able to to do lately.

Yes, state subsidies are good and needed but of course its increasing the already bloated Japanese government debt but maybe it can't be helped as subsidies are needed to help ordinary Japanese households deal with the continued inflation in Japan.

Whether the postwar record for economic expansion is real or not its still very noteworthy as Japan just continues on despite having a few decades before of supposed stagnation and even its only minimal economic expansion is seen as moving the economy forward.

Japan doesn't want to go back to a period of stagnation or even de-flation as both situations are not good for Japanese households or even the Japanese economy. Even though some might have liked de-flation, it was not good as wages didn't increase, consumer spending was less than good and the overall  economy was just sitting and not doing much at all.

As everyone knows by now the agreement was really not that much of an agreement as the situation really hasn't improved that much as Japan and other countries are still not sure what is going to happen next in the region, which means supply lines and shipping is still going to be in a situation of wait a see.

Yes, Japan might actually see positive growth through July which means, despite all of its weaknesses, it's still a very reliable and stable economy.

Not too long ago the Japanese economy had a habit of expanding one quarter and then decreasing another quarter as the economy just wasn't sure what it wanted to really do.

But it seems the Japanese economy has finally been able to move past the up and down from the up and down situation to sustainable growth for at least the time being.

And yes, maybe, finally, consumer spending or personal consumption has finally been enough to actually have an affect on GDP growth as robust wage hikes might have actually kicked in to the point wage earners feel good about spending again in the Japanese economy.

And, as there is a supposed labor-shortage in Japan, corporate investment is moving forward with labor-saving measures and digitization, which Japan, for the most part, is way behind other advanced economies in.

And yes, Japan exports, have recovered as maybe demand for Japanese cars as US consumers have become accustomed to the higher prices of Japanese cars and begun to buy more cars again despite the possible of the tariff situation and price increases.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260623/p2g/00m/0bu/034000c

Japan Core Consumer Prices: Ideas Later. Updated June 28, 2026.

Japan core consumer prices in May rise 1.4%, fuel subsidies slow increase

Ideas

Japan households continue to see their disposable incomes decreasing as inflation, ever since the pandemic, has been a constant stress over the last few years.

Yes, the 1.4 percent rise in food prices in April might be below 2 percent but that doesn't mean consumers don't feel the increase as those without jobs, part-time jobs, and those on limited contracts with children can actually feel the increase in food prices.

While the Japanese government has instituted some subsidies to help Japanese families, their food costs and energy costs might still be a burden for many of them, and especially those who have limited incomes or even fixed incomes while even a small increase in costs might feel like a huge increase.

At the same time, in a market economy it might not be the responsibility of a government to help or take care of every citizen but if you look at the Northern European countries, they do a pretty good job of trying to take care of most of their citizens with social programs, and despite what some critics might say they have strong market economies but have social programs to make their societies too.

While inflation overall might be slowing its still too high for many Japanese consumers and especially the lower-income and fixed-income groups who can feel even the slightest increase in prices.

Its good that the Japanese government has been giving subsidies to oil wholesaler in Japan, but to be fair, are the wholesalers passing-on the subsidies to Japanese consumers with lower prices or are they just taking advantage of consumers like some companies actually do.

Yes rice prices everywhere including prices on Rakuten and Amazon have even been higher than normal and its been that way since the summer of 2024 when the situation first came to light.

But as markets go, at least in theory, prices are beginning to finally come down with supplies forcing prices to get back to some kind of normalcy in Japan.

Yes, it might be difficult to pin-point if the situation in the Middle East has affected increased prices but there is usually a link some where in the supply chain which can determine if the situation has affected prices.

Even thought the Bank of Japan increased its key rate, there might not be any affects related to the increase immediately as it takes time for markets and sectors to feel anything related as again there might not be any immediate affects or there might be none at all as the rate increase might be too small to notice any real tangible results, as that happens from time to time.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260619/p2g/00m/0bu/012000c

Food Prices in Japan: Ideas Later.

Chicken prices hit record high in Japan, forcing changes to bento menus

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Article:

TOKYO -- As prices for a wide range of foods continue to climb across Japan, chicken and eggs -- long regarded as affordable staples for budget-conscious consumers -- have also remained stubbornly expensive.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said June 16 that the average retail price of chicken thighs in June was 155 yen (about $1) per 100 grams, the highest level since comparable records began in 2003.

The rise in chicken prices has forced a growing number of restaurants and food manufacturers to either change their menus or raise prices. Many would rather avoid altering signature offerings for fear of losing customers, but for some, that is no longer an option.

Forced menu changes

"We couldn't raise prices, so we decided to replace ingredients."

That is how a spokesperson for Kiyoken Co., a food company based in Yokohama, described the situation.

The company partially changed the side dishes in its "Yokohama fried rice" bento on June 1. The meal sells for 890 yen (about $5.60), including tax.

The bento, popular among women and children, contains small portions of side dishes including shumai dumplings, simmered bamboo shoots and other items. But after chicken prices surged, Kiyoken replaced one of its most popular side dishes -- chicken in chili sauce -- with shrimp in chili sauce. It was the first menu revision in about 20 years.

Kiyoken had been using imported chicken from countries including Thailand. But "around March, when the situation in the Middle East worsened, we started seeing chicken prices rise," the spokesperson said.

The company had already raised prices for all of its bento products in February. Seeking to avoid further price hikes, it opted to change the ingredients instead.

An 86-year-old Yokohama woman who purchased the bento said she was surprised by the change but added, "It might be tasty with shrimp too," expressing understanding for businesses struggling with rising ingredient costs.

A 69-year-old woman from Tokyo's Toshima Ward sighed as she said, "My son works out and prefers chicken dishes, but chicken has become so expensive that I compare supermarket flyers and buy it wherever it's cheapest."

"Apart from ingredients, many other items, including packaging materials, are becoming more expensive," the Kiyoken spokesperson said. "Combined with the impact of exchange-rate fluctuations, we continue to feel the heavy burden of overall purchasing costs."

The company said it would continue seeking new chicken suppliers, including domestic producers, while weighing factors such as cost and quality.

Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan Ltd. raised the price of its flagship "Original Chicken" to 330 yen (about $2.10) per piece, including tax, in May. The increase marked the fourth price hike since June 2022.

So why are chicken prices so high?

Global demand for chicken has been rising amid changing dietary habits and growing health consciousness.

At a news conference following a Cabinet meeting June 2, Agriculture Minister Norikazu Suzuki said that rising demand was pushing up imported chicken prices and that some restaurant operators were switching to domestically produced chicken, adding upward pressure to market prices.

Masato Koike, a senior researcher at the think tank Sompo Institute Plus Inc., pointed to another factor.

"The recent situation in the Middle East has also pushed up feed and energy costs, adding upward pressure on chicken prices," he said.

Looking ahead, Koike said demand for relatively inexpensive chicken was likely to strengthen further as beef and pork prices also remained high.

"Chicken prices may remain flat or edge up slightly," he said.

Minister Suzuki said that chicken remained an affordable and indispensable source of animal protein for consumers and that the government would closely monitor supply and demand conditions and price trends to help ensure stable supplies.

Egg prices also remain high

It is not only chicken meat that has become more expensive. Egg prices have also remained high.

The ministry said June 16 that the average retail price of a mixed-size 10-egg pack was 309 yen (about $1.90), matching the record high reached in May.

The Japan Poultry Association said egg prices are likely to stabilize around this summer, when the number of egg-laying hens -- reduced by culls carried out during bird flu outbreaks -- is expected to return to normal levels.

It may take some time before chicken and eggs become affordable again. As inflation continues to strain household budgets, even chicken and eggs are beginning to lose their place as the last affordable staples for budget-conscious consumers.

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260619/p2a/00m/0bu/012000c