Rice Sales in Japan. Ideas Later.

Sales of rice from 2025 harvest to Japan wholesalers hit record low

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Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Agricultural cooperatives and other groups in Japan that collect rice from farmers sold a record-low 1.32 million tons of the grain from the 2025 harvest to wholesalers as of the end of May, down about 17 percent from a year earlier, the farm ministry said Tuesday.

The decline in rice sales through the conventional distribution channel, which accounted for just under half of the 2025 harvest collected, comes as demand has shifted to cheaper government-released stockpiled rice as well as imported rice.

Private-sector rice inventories rose about 51 percent to 2.23 million tons as of the end of May, reaching a level on par with the record high recorded in 2014, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Retail rice prices have been declining since the government began releasing stockpiled rice, including through direct contracts with retailers, last year. Prices could fall further if wholesalers seek to reduce inventories by discounting rice.

According to the ministry, the average retail price of a 5-kilogram bag of rice at around 1,000 supermarkets nationwide fell to 3,590 yen ($22) in the week ending June 21 after peaking at 4,416 yen in the week from Dec. 29, 2025, to Jan. 4.

In March, the ministry projected that private-sector rice inventories would reach a record high of 2.34 million tons by the end of June. While the latest figure does not include rice held by small wholesalers or farmers, it still far exceeds the appropriate inventory level of 1.8 million to 2.0 million tons.

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260701/p2g/00m/0bu/006000c

AI Demand and Big Companies in Japan. Ideas Later.

AI demand pushes Japan big manufacturers' business confidence to 8-yr high

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Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Business confidence among major Japanese manufacturers in June improved to the highest level in eight years, as robust demand related to chips and artificial intelligence offset risks posed by the Middle East conflict, the Bank of Japan's Tankan survey showed Wednesday.

The sentiment index measuring confidence among companies such as those in the auto and electronics sectors rose to 22 from 17 in March for the fifth straight quarterly increase, beating the average market forecast of 16 in a Kyodo News tally.

But the index is projected to decline to 17 in September. The BOJ survey of 9,141 companies conducted between May 28 and Tuesday, received responses from around 70 percent of the firms by June 11, before the preliminary agreement between the United States and Iran to end their war.

It will "take time" for businesses to adjust their plans even though a deal has been reached, a BOJ official said at a briefing.

A wide range of industries remain concerned over the negative impact of the war, which sent crude oil prices sharply higher and disrupted energy supplies, the BOJ official said. The United States and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28.

Businesses in general-purpose, production, business-oriented and electrical machinery sectors as well as those in nonferrous metals, iron and steel, chemicals and textiles said they have seen strong orders for chip-making devices and related materials, the official said.

More companies are passing on increased material costs to retail prices to prevent profits from being squeezed, while some sectors benefited from orders that were brought forward to secure supplies, the official said.

Some companies voiced concerns that the Middle East situation may leave procurement disrupted, which could lead to further rises in materials costs and reduction in capital spending, he said.

Sentiment among chemical makers improved to 20 from 14, while confidence among manufacturers of production machinery rose by 10 points to 36. The petroleum and coal products sector saw a deterioration to 9 from 18 and motor vehicles also shed 1 point to 12.

The index for large nonmanufacturers, including the service sector, stood at 37, up from 36 in the previous survey in March, marking the first improvement in five quarters.

The accommodation, eating and drinking services sector benefitted from growth in inbound visitors, with sentiment rising to 46 from 34.

Construction and real estate sectors weakened due to a rise in material costs stemming from the Middle East situation, the official said.

All enterprises polled, also including medium-sized and small enterprises, raised their inflation outlooks by 0.1 percentage point for one, three and five years ahead, to 2.7, 2.6 and 2.6 percent, respectively, the data showed.

The Tankan index represents the percentage of companies reporting favorable conditions minus the percentage reporting unfavorable ones.

Article source:   https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260701/p2g/00m/0bu/016000c

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. Updated June 30, 2026.

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

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.

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.

There might be 117 jobs available for every 100 jobs but that doesn't mean all jobs are full-time with good benefits as it is estimated that up to 40 percent of workers in Japan are considered non-regular workers and are not the workers who get good salaries and benefits from Japanese name-brand companies.

With that said, some or many Japanese companies, after 2008 and the global financial crisis, started to transition to hiring a lot of non-regular workers to cut costs and the practice has continued to this day.

If up to 40 percent of the workforce potentially is non-regular workers that doesn't bode well for consumer spending in the Japanese economy as non-regular workers, for the most part, are going to be concerned about their disposable incomes.

An economy is very complex and every sector in an economy is not going to up up all the time as some will be up and some will be down and that's just the situation for a market economy these days.

Its very possible that even though Japan has a supposed labor-shortage, most of or many of the better jobs have now been taken and or its quite possible that companies and their profits margins are not maxed out, for now, and they can't higher any new workers at this time.

Have a nice day!

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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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Article:

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