Japan Core Consumer Prices: Updated March 5, 2025.

Japan core consumer prices in Jan. rise 3.2% on year on rice, energy

Article Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250221/p2g/00m/0bu/009000c

Commentary:
Japan might be in a sticky inflation situation now where prices are not going down but are staying persistently high as the first few paragraphs of the article show.

The rice situation has been particularly troubling in Japan as rice is very important staple for Japanese households and especially for young families with small children.

The energy situation might be related to the fact that Japan doesn't produce any oil or gas and has to import much if not all that it needs. Of course the weak Japanese yen doesn't help as it increases import prices in Japan.

Price increases of 3.2 percent doesn't really sound like much most likely its an average and maybe some prices of products in Japan increased more than that.

The 2 percent target is a common number that many central banks want to achieve as they feel its a manageable number and at the same shows an economy is moving and no stagnating.

And yes, the inflation rate might be large enough that to give the Bank of Japan motivation to increase the rate in the future, but at the same time, the BOJ needs to look at all the data and factors related to the economy and decide that there are not excessive side affects, that could hurt the economy after a rate hike.

A rate hike of the key interest rate is supposed to help a central bank reduce inflation by causing business from not borrowing and from consumers from not using their credit cards for purchases which can reduce spending in an economy overall.

Again, as increase of 3.5 percent doesn't seem that much, but again, it might be an average as some prices might have increased more than 3.5 percent and some might have not increased that much.

The Bank of Japan is a very conservative organization and is not going to increase the key rate unless all the data and observations add up what to the BOJ's expects.

Ever since the pandemic Japan has had persistent inflation that doesn't seem to go away, but at the same time Japan's inflation has not reached the level of inflation of the EU or the US when inflation was at its highest.

But just because inflation in Japan has not reached the levels of the US or the EU, that doesn't mean Japanese households have not suffered through continuous high prices. Japan for a long time had a period of deflation, when prices appeared to be low, but maybe those days are long gone.

Again, Japan for a very long time was in a deflation situation and prices were reasonable in Japan, but ever since the pandemic the situation has completely changed and now prices seem to be very high for many Japanese households these days.

It seems the rice market in Japan has experienced a period of market failure where the normal market principles of supply and demand don't seem to apply now.

There should never have been a rice shortage in Japan, as the Japanese government was supposed to have maintained a reserve of rice to prevent such situations, but even though the Japanese government released the rice reserves to increase the supply the price of rice has not decreased but in fact has increased.

Part of the problem might be that the Japanese government has also increased the supply of foreign rice into the Japanese market, but for many cases there is a high tariff or sales tax on foreign rice which many or all supermarkets and restaurants in Japan have passed-on the tariff or sales tax to the final customer which means the price of rice as remained high in Japan.

Japan is a resource-poor country which means it has to import much of what is needs and it doesn't produce much gas or oil and is subject to global oil prices along with the Japanese yen being very weak which also increases the price of products going to Japan.

Japanese government subsidies were needed and good for Japanese households but a government can't do everything especially in Japan where it has the highest debt to GDP ratio among advanced nations, and the subsidies only increase the government debt.

The increase in household durable goods might be nothing more than supply and demand as the increase in demand for air conditioners might have increased the price like all products when demand increases.

Yes, as companies increase wages for its workers a company will pass-on those costs to the next in the supply chain, and in this case most likely the final retail customer.

At the same time part of the situation might be many service companies might be increasing prices as they try to make for all the losses they had during the pandemic and at the same time, as foreign tourists have significantly increased, just normal supply and demand would indicate a significant increase in demand is going to bring higher prices at restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, convenience stores and many of the tourist places in Japan such the Kyoto area.

Have a nice day!

Japan And Foreign Rice Prices: Updated March 5, 2025.

Japan's private rice imports hit record high amid inflation

Article Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250216/p2g/00m/0bu/028000c

Ideas:

The Japanese rice market is one of the most protected markets in the world next to maybe the South Korean rice market, as both countries have high tariffs on foreign rice going into each country.

Some have suggested the tariffs on foreign rice in Japan has been as high as 778%, which almost makes foreign rice unbuyable in Japan.

The rice market back in the summer of 2024 and maybe even 2023 had some not so good growing seasons which limited supplies and whenever there is a supply shortage prices will go up to protect the growers with the same profits margins and when there is no shortage.

At the same time, the Japanese government has as reserve of unused rice and should have flooded the market with the unused rice to stabilize prices as rice is major staple in Japan and is needed by only by restaurants, but supermarkets and Japanese families, with small children need the rice everyday.

At the same time the Japanese government should have implemented price controls into the market as a way to protect Japanese society from huge increases and price gougers.

Back in 2023 and 2024, the rice growing seasons in Japan were not as good as expected which resulted in a rice shortage in Japan. At that time, the Japanese government, which holds onto a large reserve of rice, just for situations like this, should have released their reserves much sooner to keep prices from getting out of control.

And or the Japanese government should have allowed for the increase of foreign rice into Japan without the high tariffs and it was would be considered an emergency situation, as rice is a table in Japan and is used daily and weekly but most if not all Japanese households.

Also, price controls too, should have been used to control the price of rice as it seems there was market failure and normal market principles were not in control in the rice market in 2023 and 2024.

A tariff is nothing more that a sales tax on products and usually the final customer or consumer always pays for the tariff as supermarkets and restaurants will pass-on the tariff the the retail customer.

If the government knew the tariff was  a sales tax and would be passed-on to the final customer, why have the tariff in the first place instead of reducing tariffs temporarily to the good of society instead of just protecting the rice farmers in Japan.

At the same time domestic output was supposedly less than normal which resulted in shortages for restaurants and supermarkets in Japan.

Sometimes government don't use common sense and just stick to ideas that protect their sovereignty and nor really think about the good of society that they are supposed to be serving in the first place.

If all of this rice was imported in Japan, why then did the price of rice remain so high through most of 2024. As most likely it was because of the high tariffs on foreign rice that should have been temporarily suspended for the good of society in Japan, or at least until the supply levels were back to some kind of normalcy.

At the same time, its been suggested that the taste and feel of Japanese rice is very different from rice in other countries which might play a part in the price of rice in Japan, but if so, Japanese households/consumers might not like foreign rice, so why continue to have high tariffs and prices on foreign rice in Japan.

Perhaps the Japanese government needs to increase the customs-free imports of rice as a way to protect Japanese consumers from high rice prices, and increase the supply and at the same time invoke emergence price controls to keep prices gougers from increasing the price too much and again to protect Japanese society.

It has been suggested the Japanese government didn't use the reserves of rice it had in an efficient way and or didn't release the reserve rice fast enough as prices significantly increase last August along with shortages in supermarkets and maybe restaurants too.

But all of this might be considered water under the bridge as most of this happened in 2024, but unfortunately its still happening in Japan today.

Prices increases of 27.7 percent and again 64.5 percent can only be considered market failure in the rice market in Japan, as whomever, wasn't in control of the rice supply, rice reserves and also reducing tariffs on foreign rice for the good of Japanese society.

If there was a short supply of domestic rice in Japan, wouldn't it have been beneficial to reduce the tariffs on foreign rice, as least temporarily, as a way to protect Japanese society and not just placating the ever decreasing number of Japanese rice farmers in Japan, who seem to have too much power at the detriment of Japanese society.

There should never have been a rice shortage in Japan or any kind of market failure in the rice market in Japan, as whomever, decided to just let the market handle the situation instead of the government stepping, in times of market failure, and protecting Japanese households and Japanese society.

There should always be a stable supply of rice in Japan as its a major staple that is eaten daily and a rice shortage should never have happened in Japan.

Have a nice day!

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Japanese Undergrad Salaries: Updates Feb. 24, 2025.

Japanese undergrads want at least $1,650 month starting salary: survey

Article Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250213/p2a/00m/0bu/034000c

Commentary:
Japanese salaries in Japan seem to be much lower than starting salaries for new undergraduates who are getting their first full-time job in the US. As each country of course is different US first-time students wouldn't even consider the same salary as given in Japan.

What goes into to salary also in Japan is free housing or living in a company dormitory at many large Japanese companies and or many Japanese first-time graduates live at home, with their parents, which reduces the cost of living in Japan.

As Japan is in a so-called labor shortage Japanese companies, especially large companies, are increasing salaries to try and get the best talent possible in Japan.

Once again, as with other surveys in Japan, recently, the size of the respondents was quite small but since this is not a scientific survey the number is relatively realistic as it gives some ideas to what students think and feel.

Japanese students are probably used to the low starting salaries, as again, most US students and probably most EU students would not accept such as low starting salary.

Back in the day, it used to be thought of that Japanese companies would take care of their employees through their life-time or what was considered life-time employment, working for one company only, but those days are long gone as Japanese companies like other companies, globally, lay-off workers and don't give the same support as before.

Employee benefits have become a major category that new graduates look for a good starting salary is just a given as new graduates are looking for other factors for a job, such maybe better work-life benefits such as less over-time or less weekend work.

Another factor they are looking for is job content which means variety in their jobs and not just sitting a cubicle 8 to 9 hours everyday doing the exact same thing five days week.

Of course job stability is always ranked high as graduates want a stable company to work for and not a company that is going to lay-off workers or a company that is going shut-down in a year.

Graduate students should be able to get a higher salary and 300,000 is a reasonable request in Japan, but of course in the US it would still too low.

However, unfortunately, in the OECD, Japan has some of the lowest salaries for company workers, but Japanese companies are trying to remedy the situation now.

Will Japanese companies ever have the same salaries as US companies. Its not likely as the economic structure of Japanese society and economy probably can't support US style salaries.

Not to say anything bad about Japan and its graduates but the mindset of the Japanese graduates and the US graduates seem to be different and maybe the Japanese students are just happy to get a job and the minimum staring salary of 250,000 seems OK with them, while in the US a new graduate would not even consider that salary.

It doesn't mean Japanese graduates don't have ambitions its just the salary structure in Japan is much different. Now if you add in the two bonuses that companies give, such as in the winter and spring, which is like monthly salaries, in the spring and summer, so its like 14 months of salaries for Japanese undergraduates.

And Japanese graduates are looking for other things such as rewards for their work achievement and not just a system of seniority that just rewards the number of years worked for a company, which means young graduates, back in the day, really didn't get a kind for recognition for the work until they had been at the company for many years.

And of course increases in salaries or raises and maybe, again, increasing salaries based on their achievements and not just based on years worked for a company.

In response to the article about suspicious high salaries it mean that a company might offer a higher salary but at the same time unreasonable hours or other expectations not to the liking of new graduates.

For example company stability seem to be a common theme among many graduates as the want to work for a company that is not going to give a lot of lay-offs are go out of business anytime soon.

Also, job content, or job variety seems to be important with new graduates these days and or job jobs that are meaning full and not just sitting at the company office in a cubicle for 8 or 9 hours a day for 5 or 6 days a week.

And there is the new trend of work-life balance, that maybe wasn't important for many in Japan, back in the day, but these days young graduates don't want to same work experience what their fathers went though for many years of just working for company with no home-life or being able to do anything but work.

Graduate students, maybe have had some work experience already and know what they want besides a good starting salary, which is always a given.

Again, job content, meaning meaningful work might be very important for graduate students, as maybe some of them had worked for a company that didn't prioritize meaningful work and they don't want the same thing as before.

And yes, comprehensive benefits are even more important for graduates as they want a company that gives a lot of benefits besides just a salary.

And even more, better work-life support is even more important these days, as again, the don't want the same experience as what their fathers went through of working 6 days a week with very little or no vacation time.

Japanese workers see what workers, globally, are doing such as in the EU with a lot of vacation time and or the US with much higher salaries with good benefits and they want the same thing these days.

The days of working excessive hours and or no vacations is a thing of the past, even in Japan, as Japanese companies now see that young graduates are a different breed of worker and they can't keep offering the same bland job or salaries or even less work-life experiences and new Japanese workers, might start for a company, but with a labor shortage these days, they can now easily quit and find and new job quickly which forces companies to cater to what young workers want and need today.

Have a nice day!

Japan Rice Shortage: Updated Feb. 21, 2025.

Japan to release 210,000 tons from rice reserves amid surging prices

Article Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250214/p2g/00m/0bu/012000c

Commentary:

Rice, especially Japanese rice is a cultural icon and most Japanese people only want to eat Japanese rice while the Japanese government usually have high tariffs on foreign rice entering Japan.

At the same most likely many Japanese businesses use foreign rice when making rice dishes and of course the restaurants and supermarkets have to identify if they are using or selling foreign rice.

The so-called rice shortage of the summer of 2024 was unusual as the weather might have been a factor is the supply being less than normal.

At these same time, again, maybe the Japanese distribution system was/is a little slow in identifying when there are shortages and or not able to move reserves through the system quick enough to keep supplies adequate for Japanese consumers and Japanese businesses.

Not say anything bad, but this should have happened back in the summer of 2024 and that way there would be enough rice in the market for everyone before the Japanese government attempted to study the situation and then make as decision.

There should be checks in the system,when the level of supply gets too low, then either increase the supply of foreign rice and or releases the reserves that the Japanese government has ton hand and immediately move it into the market for use by Japanese consumers, as needed.

Japanese consumers should not have to wait for the Japanese government or red tape before they see enough supplies in the marketplace and there should never be supply shortage of any staple such as rice, bread, eggs,meat, and milk.

In Japan, like other major economies, there should be price controls on staples, again, such milk, eggs bread, rice and some meat as a way to keep the price normal for average consumers and that way they don't have to go without or choose one staple over the other.

Sometimes the Japanese government moves too slow, but that is government everywhere, globally, as when everyone in the summer of 2024 knew there was going to be a rice shortage, again, the Japanese government should have released the use of more foreign rice and or released the use of the reserves of rice the Japanese government had at the time, instead of waiting to see how it would play out in the marketplace.

Again, as rice is an important staple for Japanese consumers the Japanese government should always monitor the market and the supply levels and ensure there is enough of a supply to keep the price at a normal level for average Japanese consumers in the marketplace.

The sharp rice the number of tourists should not have caused a major rice shortage and maybe whomever is using foreign tourists as a scapegoat for the rice shortage and the government lack of keeping track of the rice shortage in 2023 and maybe the summer of 2024 too.

There are always going to be challenges with the growing season, as its a given now globally with global warming and extreme weather conditions. The Japanese government, and other governments, need to ensure the food supply is safe and there is adequate supplies available and not let supplies run low, again on food staples such as bread, rice, milk, potatoes, eggs, and some kinds of meat too. 

And again, no government should let a staple such as rice, get of of control related to prices and it significantly affects average consumers in any economy, as they should at least have temporary price controls to keep prices even and not get too high or even too low.

Unfortunately in Japan especially Japanese society is always on edge related to possible earthquakes, hurricanes/typhoons, and even tsunamis, and as such the advisory warning in August might have scared a lot of Japanese citizens and they might have resorted to hording of many kind of products including rice, which of course made the already supply shortage even worse.

And again, why did the farm ministry wait until February 2025 to release its stockpiled rice when the rice prices related to supply shortages had been very high since the summer of 2024, making it every difficult for the average Japanese consumer to buy rice.

Japan has been going through a lot of challenges since the pandemic hit and the challenges seem to keep happening with inflation causing a lot of challenges and then the rice supply shortages it even worse and then there is the weak Japanese yen, which causes all imports into Japan to be even more expensive than normal.

Why would the Japanese government need to buy back the same rice is sells to the cooperative if they are worried there might be more rice shortages in the future. 

There is should never be possibility of a price collapse or a sudden drop in prices, which might be related to a over-supply in the market, 

There is always the global rice market to consider and maybe for example, as has been suggested in other articles that Taiwan has been producing Japanese rice with the help of scientists to duplicate the kind of Japanese rice that Japanese like and prefer.

If its true the rice made in Taiwan should be an easy replacement for rice supplies in Japan, when there are possible prices shortages so that average Japanese consumers don't have to pay significantly high prices for a normal staple in Japan.

Have a nice day!

Japanese Supermarkets and Valentine's Day Chocolate: Updated Feb. 20, 2025

Supermarkets top pick for buying Valentine's Day chocolates in Japan amid price hikes: poll

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250212/p2a/00m/0bu/013000c

Commentary:

Traditionally in Japan, buying chocolates always happened in Japanese department stores and the departments usually had the best and of course most expensive chocolate offerings.

For example, whenever I visited Sogo department store at Yokohama eki, subway/train station they had many counters near the front related to chocolates and or strawberry cakes and so on.

Only recently because of the continued inflation in Japan, have Japanese consumers gravitated to the supermarkets which of course offer cheaper brands of chocolate gift sets.

But as we see, at 31% for supermarkets and 29% for departments stores there is not a big difference between the two choices as maybe the quality of department chocolates appeals to some and the lower price of supermarket chocolates appeals to others.

And at 15 percent for e-commerce sites online shopping of chocolates like at Amazon or even some chocolate making companies offering online purchases online shopping has not affected the buying of chocolates at the other two offerings, even though online shopping of course has become common place globally now.

There were 900 supposed women in the survey which might seem OK, but it distorts the results unless of course the survey company only wanted to see where women were buying their chocolate gifts for Valentines day.

Of course back in 2022, the pandemic might have still been on peoples minds and didn't want to buy at supermarkets or departments that much but chose e-commerce sites instead.

But even in 2022 it seemed department stores with the highest quality chocolate offering was still the number 1 choice.

But again, supermarkets, with lower costs chocolates and less quality seemed to appeal to some or many in 2023 and 2024.

It seems, even though its known that supermarket chocolate gift offerings are less quality than department stores offerings, it might be because of inflation and higher costs at the department stores that consumers in Japan are willing to sacrifice quality for price these days.

And or, as other articles have suggested the giving of chocolates has lost its luster so consumers in Japan are not buying the most expensive chocolates normally found at Japanese department stores, instead buying the cheaper chocolates at supermarkets.

But again, at 31% and 29 percent between supermarkets and department stores there is not a lot of variance or difference between the two, as may supermarkets might have had an advantage as Japanese consumers, went to supermarkets more than departments stores and it was more convenient to buy the chocolates at the supermarket, while there, instead of making another trip to a department store.

Again, the number of respondents was very low at 46% or less than half of the total of 900, which in itself might not be a big deal, but would have been better if more had responded.

And yes, of course price might have had a affect on where they bought their chocolate gifts, but again also maybe the importance of buying quality chocolates has lost its importance in Japan, so Japanese women instead chose the cheaper option at a supermarket.

Also the fact that women spent less could be related to the increase in price and or placing less emphasis on the important of Valentines Day might have been a reason for less spending.

Have a nice day!

Toyota Union and Wage Hikes: Updated Feb. 18, 2025

Toyota union seeks wage hike on par with 2024's decades-high raise

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250212/p2g/00m/0bu/020000c

Commentary:

The Toyota Motor Corp. is usually the company with the most power in Japan and all other companies follow that Toyota does, especially related to wage increases.

So most likely Toyota is talking for all the other Japanese companies and wage increases in April.

The challenge is going to be the small and midsize companies which don't have the resources that the large companies have and might not be able to pay the same wages as the large companies.

Japan is in the middle of a labor shortage, which means Japanese workers have a choice in companies to choose from so most likely some or many small and midsize companies will not be able to meet the demands of the short labor market and lost out of some of the better talent in the market place.

The Bank of Japan can't do everything to help the Japanese economy so companies increasing wages is the way for the market place to help improve the Japanese economy.

Toyota most likely collaborated with other Japanese companies on what they needed and Toyota then signaled what other companies wanted in wage increases for April 2025.

But again, its quite possible some of the larger companies too might have challenges with wage increases, they risk losing qualified candidates if they can't match what other companies in their sectors are doing.

Back around the year 2,000 Toyota decided not to give wage increases which might have set in motion the two decades period of no wage increases or very low wage increases until last year.

Most likely there is a new group of managers at Toyota which sees the need to pay wage increases for the good of the company not to mention they need to keep wages at a competitive level to attract the best and brightest in Japan.

Of course, again, Toyota has the resources to pay the high wages increases but maybe Nissan, which is having financial challenges nowt might not be able to match Toyota wage increase.

Nissan and Honda just ended its negotiations to merge both companies as it looked like Honda had the upper hand in the negotiations which Nissan didn't like so they ended the meetings.

The 18,000 wage increase might be good enough for those in Nissan's union but what about the wage or salary for those jus starting out in the company. Will it be enough to attract talented workers to Nissan.

Honda is in much better financial shape that Nissan so they afford to pay a little more than what Nissan is offering.

It seems like most of the large Japanese companies are offering about the same amount with some a little more and some a little less depending on the sector.

Once again, Japan is in the middle of a labor shortage that might not be eased anytime soon, as maybe Japan immigration is not willing to allow a lot of foreign workers into Japan to meet the labor shortage.

For example, if Japan would utilize its existing resources correctly such as using more women in the labor force and or allow more women students in the technical and engineering areas at universities it might help significantly with the labor shortage in Japan.

And then Japan should eliminate its mandatory retirement age of 60 or 65 and let all who are able and willing to work continue to work and that too could significantly reduce labor shortage in Japan.

Most likely many of the large companies are going to increase wages by at least 5 percent or more but the challenge is with small and midsize companies that don't have the same resources and the large companies and as a result might not be able to match the large company wage increases which means they might not be able to attract the best and brightest in Japan.

At the same its been suggested that up to 70 percent of Japanese workers don't work for the large companies in Japan but small and midsize companies which means they might not get near the 5 plus wage increase that large companies are planning on doing.

So it means maybe 70 percent of the Japanese workforce will have wage increases less than inflation of less that inflation that increases every month.

Have a nice day!

Japan Current Account: Updated Feb. 17, 2025.

 

Japan logs record 29 trillion yen current account surplus in 2024

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250210/p2g/00m/0bu/008000c

Commentary:
Maybe Japan keeps track of its current account a lot and seems to keep the media informed about it but there is rarely anything in the US media about the US current account.

That might be because Japan is heavily focused on exports and the need to have exports be and economic driver for the Japanese economy such as Japanese cars and recently foreign tourism which county as an export item too.

As the Japanese yen if very weak now it is positive for exporters, Japanese overseas investors and foreigner coming to Japan too.

Japan has become more dependent on exports, foreign direct investments, and foreign travelers more and more as its domestic economy just can't seem to help with economic growth.

The Bank of Japan, while suggesting the weak Japanese yen is causing havoc with importers and the domestic economy, it can't ignore the positives of the weak Japanese yen, and how its also helping the Japanese economy.

It seems Japan has become very dependent on any export that can help the economy has overall not much as worked or helped the Japanese economy but exports, foreign investments and foreign travelers to Japan.

Goods trade is always subject to consumer trends and consumer demand so it not probable that goods trade is always going to be positive each quarter or each year.

At the present time the global economy is experiencing a boom in demand for semiconductor-making equipment and the trend is only going to be get stronger.

Demand for Japanese cars is always strong or at leas very good, but that could easily change in the future if the US administration puts a tariff on products coming from overseas as it could increase prices and demand could be less than expected.

Japan is a resource-poor country which means it has to import much of what it needs and its subject to global price changes and the weak yen which inflates the prices of imported good in Japan.

It seems that at this time foreign tourists are leading the growth of the Japanese economy which makes foreign tourist spending an economic driver for the Japanese economy.

An economic driver is anything that significantly improves economic growth such as the exporting of Japanese cars globally and now foreign tourist spending in Japan.

Because the Japanese yen is very weak now its good for Japanese travelers to go to Europe or the US because of the EU Euro and US dollar are just too strong and Japanese travelers lost spending power, which means the yen buys less in the EU or the US.

If not now, it has been suggested, there might be the challenge of over-tourism in Japan is some areas such as Osaka and Kyoto which might have problems and need to impose a travel tax or something to alleviate the trash which foreigners leave and also the overcrowding at popular spots in Japan.

Have a nice day!

Japan and Tourism: Updated Feb. 14, 2025.

 

Opinion: The superficial notion of Japanese as 'polite people'

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250207/p2a/00m/0op/004000c

Commentary:

Inbound tourism seems to be at record levels in 2024 and maybe 2025 too, but what has caused the sudden increase in tourists who want to travel to Japan. In 2019, there was a record year of 31 million so all sudden travelers want to travel to Japan.

Many countries in Asia might be just a hospitable as Japan so why Japan and not China or South Korea or any other country in Asia.

Of course the weak Japanese yen might be a big reason to go to Japan as the weak yen gives tourists more purchasing power. But you still have to pay for airline tickets which have gone up significantly since the pandemic.

Foreign tourists in Japan want to experience many things including food that is best or most popular in Japan. 

And yes, unfortunately, not all tourists are nice or polite as evidenced by the situation near Mount Fuji and the Lawson convenience store as tourist trying to take pictures and disrupting  many of the locals in that small town

Over-tourism has become a major challenge for many cities such as Kyoto which has considered an over-tourism tax that will be charged for those staying in hotels in the Kyoto area.

Yes, these and many other challenges that rude foreigners do in Japan unfortunately these days.

It reminds me of my time on Guam and working at a coffee shop in the largest hotel there, where many foreigners from a certain country which I won't mention didn't know how to be polite in and around the coffee shop area. 

A person of the same country said they are new to traveling and haven't learned what is rude and not rude yet in other countries.

Yes, most likely, many travelers from different countries don't know how to be polite when traveling and yes, even those from the US can be the worst sometimes even in 2025.

Even though those examples were about Japan in the 60's and 70's and they were just beginning to travel abroad, but today its just as bad in any country these days.

But fortunately it seems the Japanese have learned how to be more polite when traveling abroad some might suggest the most polite travelers now in the world.

Yes back in the 70's Japanese tourists probably had a superiority complex and might be why they treated others in Asia not so good back then and maybe even some today.

But unfortunately, there are still examples of Japanese immigration treating Caucasians better than those from Asia countries.

But the same can be seen in South Korea too as they sometimes don't treat Asian tourists very good except they want their money of course.

It must be considered that not all Japanese travelers are polite and not all Chinese tourists are bad, as there are good and bad in all countries. 

For example, I know of examples of rich Japanese who think they are better than anyone else and they act like it and are very rude to anyone who is not rich.

And yes, there TV shows that like to criticize foreigners in Japan and they only see a few incidents and not look at the big picture related to all the polite foreign travelers from a country, such as China who never cause any problems.

Over-tourism can be very challenging in Japan as the crowds and such could cause some tourists to be less polite and might forget how to be polite in Japan.

Every country probably has experienced its version of international thugs at one or another as people are people and anyone and everyone can be not so polite about something.

And yes, no country is superior to any other country despite what the current US administration thinks at this time.

All countries have good people and not so good people and all countries have polite travelers and not so polite travelers.

Lets stop blaming a few that are not polite and thinking all people from a country are the same way, as some people think. Not all people from a country are the same.

Have a nice day!

Japan Real Wages: Updated Feb. 11, 2025.

 

Japan real wages drop for 3rd straight yr in 2024 as inflation bites

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250205/p2g/00m/0bu/004000c

Ideas:
Japan wage hikes usually only happen once a year in April at the beginning of the new fiscal year. And of course inflation is year round so its not a surprise that wage increases were not enough to overcome increases in inflation.

Yes, wage increases were the highest in 33 years in Japan but problem as been wage increases have been very little or not at all the past 20 years in Japan.

Nominal wages don't tell the real story as they are wage and inflation combined so they don't show the real story about wages and inflation in Japan.

Consumer prices, again, are not once a year and can be every month while again, wage increases only happen in April the beginning of the new fiscal year in Japan.

Consumer prices might have decreased some but they are probably still high for some income groups in Japan.

Yes, bonuses for small Japanese companies might have helped as small Japanese companies and midsize companies don't have the ability to pay the wage increases as large Japanese companies. 

Wages in Japan compared to the other OECD countries are not as good as Japanese companies/society uses bonuses two times a year to make up for the low wages.

But even then, with the bonuses paid in December and May, they probably when added with the wages are still not good compared to wages in other OECD countries.

Japan has a long way to go to try and be competitive with wages in other OECD countries as its 2 decade freeze on wages has not been good for Japan and Japanese households.

Any increase in real wages is good and needed in Japan, but at the same time 0.6 percent from the year before is still not good for many Japanese households.

Again, nominal wages are not a true indicator for wages in Japan as they also include inflation added to wages.

Real wages are what is important as they indicate the purchasing power of Japanese households in Japan. 

Have a nice day!