Japan Food Tax and Prices: Ideas Later. Updated March 6, 2026

Japan's consumption tax suspension may not result in lower food prices

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260228/p2g/00m/0na/022000c

Ideas

Of course it might be a good idea to suspend the consumer or consumer tax on food but there are more inflation variables that are causing high food prices that need to be looked at carefully.

The consumption tax, in the beginning, was always a way to try and reduce the high Japanese government debt, but who really knows what the motivation is now help Japanese households.

The current Prime Minister, like her late mentor, the late Prime Minister ABE is seen as a economic dove, meaning she is trying to help and improve the economy, even though she is a hard-line right leaning politician.

Yes, if the consumer or consumption tax is suspended some businesses might see it as an opportunity to pass-on their costs due the weak Japanese yen, and they feel that have more room to do it and maybe might think consumers might not notice.

If it takes until the fall to implement the tax suspension, that might be too long to wait for many Japanese households as some consumers and households in Japan continues to feel the affects of the consumption tax.

Even though the rate of tax on food remained at 8 percent that was/is not good for the lower-income groups in Japan such as fixed income retirees, part-time workers, contract workers, and anyone else whose income isn't good enough to not feel the affects of the consumption food tax.

Its understandable that some consumers are wary of cheaper goods, as maybe some companies, such as small and mid-sized companies, might be trying to find ways to offer substitutes or alternatives to high-priced quality products.

The problem is not so much that the cheaper products are not good quality products but its the perception that some consumers might have about food products that might not cost as much as higher priced products.

Of course many small and mid-size companies are wary of passing-on their costs due to the fact that either they don't want to to lose any customers and or the possibility that if they are a a supplier to large companies the large companies are objecting the smaller companies passing-on their costs and might actually lose their contract with the larger companies.

Yes, the profit margins of small companies are just too thin and if they try to reduce their prices by as much as 8 percent they might not have any room to make any kind of profit and could be forced out of business.

And yes, it's natural that some companies will take advantage and increase prices due increased material costs, logistics, and labor costs if the 8 percent consumption tax is reduced or suspended.

Yes, each country has its own examples, both positives and negatives of how a consumption tax can increase or decrease prices but they need to be examined more carefully as again there might be many variables that can affect price increases and or price decreases.

The examples need to be taken with a grain of salt or not taken literally as there again are just too many variables involved that can cause increases or decreases in food prices. 

Again, each country has its own story related to increases and decreases in food prices and again there are just too many variable, both known and unknown, that might be affecting food prices.

At the same time, as its been suggested again, some in Japan might not even notice a decrease or increase in the consumption tax as they just don't or feel it very much, but for sure there are many who do feel the increase or decrease in food prices.

Yes, at this point its unclear what companies are going to do if the consumption tax is suspended or even reduced to 5 percent or less. Are companies going to increase or decrease prices and think they might be able to get away with it and some might think Japanese households might not notice much a change.

Companies could be under pressure not to increase prices as they feel their profit margins are just too thin and need more room to operate if the consumption tax is suspended.

But some companies might not have any choice as a market economy is for the most part have reduced government influence as companies are free to do what they think is best for them and hopefully good for consumers and society too.

Have a nice day!

Japan January Industrial Output: Updated March 2, 2026.

Japan's January industrial output up 2.2% on month on strong autos

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260227/p2g/00m/0bu/013000c

Ideas

Japan, it seems more than most countries or economies, is still heavily focused on manufacturing as its manufacturing base is strongly tied to its export focused base.

Japan, for the most part, has never really developed a software focus as its focus, again, is always on hardware and not software, and also because its whole economy was re-engineered after the second world war to focus on exports to grow the economy.

Yes, it does seem to fluctuate indecisively due to the normal workings of equipment maintenance, supply chain disruptions, raw material disruptions, and of course demand disruptions globally.

Japan's industrial base is around 20 to 25 percent of its GDP while the service economy makes up the rest the country's GDP, while the industrial base for the US economy is around 10 percent of GDP, while China's industrial bases is estimated to be as high as 36 percent of its GDP. 

The seasonally adjusted index of production at 104.0 seems to be about normal for Japan as it always tries to make sure its factories keep running and its still a measurable economic driver for the Japan economy as auto production of course is the number one economic driver.

An economy is a very complex organism and not every sector is going to have positive growth every quarter and there is always going to be challenges somewhere along the way.

And as usual its not a surprise there is still robust demand for Japanese cars in Japan and overseas, as maybe Japan is/was smart by diversifying its promotion of Japanese cars in other parts of the world besides the US.

Again, not every sector is going see positive growth as some sectors might see a quarter or two of less growth and then bounce back to positive growth again in the following quarters.

Japan has always played the long game and, for the most part, has not played the short game of only relying on what shareholders want from quarter to quarter but Japan thinks 5 year to 5 year or used too.

The US tariff situation, as noted in the latest news of course is very much an uncertain situation at this point but who really knows what is going to happen the US tariff situation down the road.

And of course companies are smart to keep a close what on what is going to happen as the normal rules of international trade in the past might not be possible these days but who really knows at this point.

Yes, the Chinese economy too needs to be looked at closely as its still not where is should be an or where its going and of course the on gain and off again diplomatic friction between Japan and China is and should be a concern for Japanese companies.

Estimations or even the polling of businesses is not very scientific or even reliable as there are many things that can change these days even in one or two months time.

So the estimations of a decrease of 0.5 percent may or may not be reliable and a decline of 2.6 percent in March again, might not be that reliable as there are many variables that can cause production to be positive and or negative too.

An increase of industrial shipment of 3.2 percent is/was a good increase due to the variables in the global economy that are not on the positive side these days.

And an increase of 0.1 percent in inventories doesn't sound like much but we don't know the real value or volume of the inventories to really give a good estimate about it.

Have a nice day!

Japan Food Price Hikes: Updated March 1, 2026.

No. of price hikes among food items in Japan to fall 70% in March to 684 items

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260227/p2g/00m/0bu/047000c

Ideas

Food prices in Japan have been increasing ever since the pandemic and even though there might be less prices for there still enough that Japanese consumers might still be stressed about the continuous increase of food prices.

While the average Japanese consumer might be much of a difference in food prices, the lower-income groups can feel even a slight increase as even a 2 to 3 percent increase can put them in panic mode.

Yes, the weak Japanese yen can be a challenge for many consumers in Japan as the weak yen increases import prices which seem to be passed-on to the final retail customer as importers and wholesalers have to worry about their own profit margins and they too can't handle the increase in prices due to the weak yen.

Yes, food price hikes might be decreasing some but at the same time they might still be too high for some consumers in Japan.

And yes, the weak yen is going to continue to affect import prices as Japan, as a resource poor country, has to import much of what it needs meaning it's at the mercy of global food prices.

The elimination of the tax on food is a political time-bomb and it might never happen as its used to try and eliminate the huge government debt but you never know.

Whether the yen depreciates or appreciates is only a little relative as companies will do what they think is best for them and not whats best for the consumer, as is the case with all companies globally unfortunately.

Its highly possible that of the 304 times that might have price hikes the companies of these products will pass-on their costs to the next in the supply chain including the final retail customer which the hikes indicate with the 304 food products.

Yes, again, as Japan is a resource-poor country it might have to get much of it raw materials overseas and with the weak yen, means higher prices than normal.

Packaging material and shipping costs have also increased significantly around the world and logistics costs are now out of control, meaning they are way too high now.

And of course Japan has a supposed labor shortage which means companies now have to pay even more to either keep and or get the best possible workers for their company.

Have a nice day!

Japan Businesses and Wage Hikes: Updated March 4, 2026.

60% of businesses in Japan plan wage hikes this spring: survey

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260227/p2a/00m/0bu/019000c

Ideas:
Its good more companies in Japan are going to increase wages but at 60 percent its still too low as the other 40 percent of workers at companies not going to increase wages will still have lower disposable incomes and less purchasing power to spend in the Japanese economy which desperately needs domestic Japanese consumers to spend.

It should be remember that up to 70 percent, as suggested by some, don't work for the large name brand companies in Japan but for small and mid-size companies which may or may not have the needed resources and profit margins to increase wages, even if they wanted too.

So, again, while an increase of 60 percent at these large companies is good, but are some of the small and midi-size companies too going to increase wages for their workers just like those in large companies?

Yes, the key seems to be can wages increase more than inflation or price increases as it seems some or many wage increases are not enough to put the average Japanese household or consumer above the inflation threshold which means their disposable incomes will continue to be less than needed to see any any real increase in consumer spending in the Japanese economy in the future.

Of course, unfortunately, many large companies now are publicly owned companies which means they are controlled by a board of directors and are subject to the whims of some or many stockholders who only think about their quarterly earnings and could car less about the the real stakeholders of the company meaning the day to day workers to actually make things happen in most companies.

Japan's system of payment is a little different than the US payment system as US wages and salaries are much higher while the Japanese wage and salary system is much lower but the Japanese system relies heavily on large bonuses offered in Nov. or Dec. and again around May or before the traditional a week long holiday period called Golden Week which is usually the first week of May.

At the same time bonuses can be as much as 2 to 3 months of wages offered twice a year in Japan. So while Japan salaries look much less than US salaries if you add in the bonuses the wages are equal but at the same time much better than first perceived.

Whether positive or negative many Japanese companies like most or many global companies have become more westernized using western style ideas for either human resource needs and or wage and salary needs.

Many years ago Japanese companies were known for taking care of their workers as they were regarded as the stakeholders of the companies and were regarded as valuable members of the company.

Those ideas have  been eroded over the last 30 plus year, as again, whether good or not so good western ideas have crept into the thinking of many Japanese companies.

So, now as up to 70 to 60 percent of Japanese companies are going to increase wages its possible that some or many Japanese companies are trying to get to the idea that their workers are the real stakeholders and they need to take care of their workers.

And yes, some or many Japanese companies see the need to increase wages as they know their is a supposed labor shortage in Japan and these days and its much easier for workers to leave one company and work for another companies due the other company offering a higher wage, which Japanese workers desperately need now.

For too long, unfortunately, industries that have consistently had lower wages were identified by workers and society and people either didn't want to work for them or couldn't afford to work for them due the low profit margins of some companies which just couldn't afford to pay higher wages.

And as such there appears to be some real labor shortages in some sectors such as the transportation sector, maybe even the services sector and even those who can only afford to pay the required minimum wage.

To be a little positive here maybe the 11.8 percent who are not going increase wages is because maybe they already have wages at high enough level that they are not worried of losing any or too many workers and or they are confident that they can attract new workers with current wages they have now.

But again, as always, small Japanese companies, especially the smallest of the smallest, just don't have the needed resources or the needed profit margins to increase wages and unfortunately they are at risk form losing their workers and even all loss of one or two workers can have devastating effects on their small companies.

The Japanese government needs to step in and find ways to help these companies as its suggested or estimated that up to 45 percent of companies in Japan have less than 20 workers and they can easily be affected by the loss of workers who quit and more to work for another company that can afford to pay higher wages. 

Yes, some companies might be thinking this year it's OK to increase wages but in future years it might not be possible to increase wages. Of course there is a gap between companies that are financially strong and those that are struggling , but whether good or not so good, that is the way of a market economy where some will always do better and some will unfortunately always do less than good. 

Of course income growth needs to outpace inflation but it might not be what companies are able to control exactly as the weak Japanese yen, increasing raw material costs, increasing logistic and supply chain costs, and now with the latest global conflicts energy, gas, and oil prices are set in increase again.

Have a nice day!

Bank of Japan Possible Shift. Updated March 8, 2026.

Bank of Japan policymaker calls for more interest rate hikes in 'gear shift'

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260226/p2g/00m/0bu/038000c

Ideas

It might happens and then again it might not as the Bank of Japan usually just takes a wait and see approach and might the rate but then it might not depending on variable besides prices increases.

For example, usually, but not recently or not much the past decade, the BOJ has followed suit with what the US Federal Reserve has done. If the Fed. increases the rate the BOJ along with other global central banks will increase the rate and the same if the Fed. decreases the rate.

But for what is happening in Japan, wage increases will be a major variable and if companies or at least large companies increase the wage high enough that might be enough for the BOJ to delay any rate increase. If the wage increase is not to the liking of the BOJ they might increase the rate to try and reduce economic activity in the economy and which they hope might reduce prices.

Mr. Takata might be a hawkish board member but he alone doesn't have the final say but of course he can voice is opinion on what he thinks should be done and eventually he might get is way and sway the other BOJ member to do what he thinks is best for the Japanese economy.

But for now, its good that consumers and businesses feel that the interest rate is low enough for them to borrow in the Japanese economy as a higher interest rate tends to discourage borrowing for businesses and consumers, as a higher interest is an incentive to not borrow which reduces economic activity which then has the effect of lowering prices overall in an economy.

The Japanese economy is a resource-poor economy which means it is always subject to push up prices due to either global prices related to raw materials increasing, energy prices increasing and of course the continued weak Japanese yen which pushes up import prices in Japan.

While some might say that the 2 percent inflation target has been achieved, whomever, needs to ask the average Japanese household if prices are above the 2 percent level or more importantly ask the lower-income groups if they feel or see prices above the 2 percent inflation level.

And now, for example, unfortunately the latest mid-east conflict is and will continue to increase energy prices and as has been suggested Japan is a economy that is one of the most affected and oil, gas, and energy prices in Japan other Asian countries could see significant price increases.

But Mr Takata is probably right in that the best way to increase rate, if needed, is to do it gradually so that the side-affects of the rate increase will not cause too much harm or pain for the businesses and consumers in Japan.

The weak Japanese yen is both a  positive and a negative for the Japanese economy, and the BOJ needs to decide which is best for the economy or find a way to keep the yen in a range that is good for both sides, whether its importers and the domestic economy, which the weak yen drives up prices, and or whether its Japanese exporters which benefits significantly with higher overseas prices on their products.

For a very long time, or so it seemed Japanese companies were reluctant to pass on their costs to the next in the supply chain as they felt maybe they would lost customers and or not be as welcome to customers as needed.

But those days are long gone as the profit margins are just to thin now due to increased costs related to almost everything and many companies, especially large public companies, now have to worry about the stockholder and quarterly profits and not just the customer now.

Yes, for many months or even years before and after the pandemic the BOJ was suggesting the Japanese economy was just too weak to follow what the US Fed or the EU central bank was doing, even though both of those banks after the pandemic began to increase the rate to try and reduce inflation while the BOJ kept its rate near zero, as again the idea was the Japanese economy was just too weak to be able to handle any of the side affects of a rate increase at the time.

But of course over the past few years the BOJ has been gradually increasing the rate but maybe not as much as some BOJ or Japanese government hawks would like to see.

Mr. Takata might be correct in that a rate hike might be needed but what about the potential side affects to the Japanese businesses and Japanese households and can they handle a rate hike without it affecting them too much.

Again, unfortunately, the Japanese economy, especially the Japanese domestic economy is always going to have to deal with an increase in prices, as Japan is a resource-poor country and as to import much of what it needs which means it is subject to global raw material price increases, global energy prices and then there is the weak Japanese which has significant effects in import prices in Japan.

An economy's central bank, for the most part, is supposed to be an independent agency that isn't related to any political party, as its only focus is not political leanings but managing the economy in the best way it can without political influence.

But in reality, in most countries or even advanced economies, that might be asking too much as the two new proposed board members being of like mind with the new Japanese Prime Minister seems a little too cozy of a situation.

Yes, sometimes financial markets in a domestic economy and or global financial markets can exhibit their ideas what they think a central bank is doing and even what they did related to meetings to just discuss the possibility of rate increases.

Once again, while a central bank is supposed to remain as independent as possible, its not unheard of or even realistic that a government or even the Japanese Prime Minister might give his or her ideas on what should happen or what a central bank should do to improve the economy.

That doesn't mean a central bank has to act on what someone in the government suggests or says and unfortunately one only has to look to the US to see the US Federal Reserve is under significant pressure to bend the knee to the powers to be in the US government, but has so far resisted any changes the US government has suggested.

But then again, if the Bank of Japan does decide to keep the rate, as is, or even think about decreasing the rate, or even increasing the rate, it will do so on what it think is best for the Japanese economy and not what the powers to be in Japan think is best.

Have a nice day!

Japan Automakers and Global Sales: Updated March 10, 2026.

Global sales for Japan automakers grow in Jan., Toyota record high

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260226/p2g/00m/0bu/041000c

Ideas

The Japanese car industry, despite the appearance of eight Japanese automakers, is still a very competitive market as evidenced by the fact that there are only a few foreign car models in Japan.

With that said you would think that if the Japanese market is so competitive how can eight Japanese car companies survive. In reality 3 or 4 of the smaller car companies in Japan are subsidiaries of the larger car groups such as Toyota and Nissan but the smaller car companies still operate with a lot of independence.

As more countries and cities, such as in Japan and globally, create more electric charging stations in cities that make it more convenient, more and more hybrid cars are going to be produced and of course bought over time.

Demand might be some or a lot of demand now for more electric cars but the challenge is getting more electric charging stations set-up and even set-up in homes and other places that an electric vehicle can easily charge just like going to a gas station for a regular gas car.

For whatever reason, Toyota of course has built itself into the global leader and will continue to be the global leader outside of maybe Volkswagen or GM. 

It appears that maybe just maybe or maybe its only Toyota that the trade deficit that Japan has had with the EU might be lessening some but again it could just be Toyota only that is still having an impact in the EU market.

And China too, while not exactly that robust, the Chinese market might still be holding its own even there was a 2.7 percent decline in Japanese auto sales. The Chinese market is like the US market and even bigger in a geographic sense, a huge market and more and more Chinese are moving into the middle class and even upper-middle class and are looking for something besides their own home-grown brands.

Globally the car market is not ready for electric vehicles only as there is still a lot of resistance from the powerful oil lobbying groups and of course the infrastructure needed for car battery charging stations are not fully complete just yet, as it still going to take some time before, if ever, the electric car market overtakes the gasoline car market.

Car production or any production of products is never a complete linear upward process as there are always going to be some delays in production equipment breakdowns, equipment maintenance, supply chain disruptions, raw material supply disruptions and even the changing of models on a production line and even less working days for some facilities such as in Japan.

Car companies and manufacturing companies know this and have regular schedule down times as needed and also they anticipate that there are going to be glitches in the system and most likely never a full year of uninterrupted production of a product.

Ever since the Carlos Gohsn situation Nissan has had one bad situation after another but maybe just maybe they can see light at the end of the tunnel and they just beginning to get back to some kind of normalcy.

Nissan recently sold its huge global headquarters building to a Taiwanese company but leased it from them as it remains Nissan's global headquarters still in Yokohama Japan.

I have often used the Nissan building as a place to write, observe, and research as there is a Starbucks coffee shop with inside and outside chairs and tables for many people.

The Nissan global headquarters is adjacent near the Yokohama station area and can easily be reached with a walk-way connecting the Nissan building with Yokohama station.

Yes, again, ever since the Ghosn debacle the company has been underwater and is now beginning to finally come out of it but not before if accrues some more losses for this fiscal year.

Whether good or not so good all or many companies go through a streamlining of operations to get back to some kind of profitability and just like Japan Airlines some years ago it too had to streamline some of its operations to be get to a position of profitability.

And of course there is the Sony situation even before that as Sony seemed to either delay or try to avoid any changes needed to get it back to a level that is once was and there is some who might say it never did get back what is was in the early 90's or late 80's.

Suzuki, an independent Japanese car company does cooperate with Toyota on some projects but Toyota doesn't own anything related to Suzuki as they make their own vehicles and are big in the India market these days, as Suzuki has been able to carve out some important niche markers such as in India.

Daihatsu, however, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Toyota group but focuses on compact cars and has also created its own niche markets on other Asian countries such as Indonesia.

While Mitsubishi, while not a subsidiary of any other major Japanese car company group, it too as been able to carve out is own niche markets and niche brands, but it does have some kind of alliance with the Nissan group but is not a subsidiary owned by Nissan.

Yes, as usual the Chinese and EU markets are sometimes very sluggish but Honda as usual depended on the US market to lift it sales and even though the US tariff situation might still be there it doesn't seem to have hurt Honda sales too much.

However, Honda knows it can't rely on the US market alone for its sales or profitability as it needs to find ways to increase sales in China and the EU as soon as possible.

But again, Japan companies, for the most part, used to take a long-term approach and a quarter here or there of less than expected sales or profits was never a major concern. But those days might be long gone as they too might be subject to the whims of stockholders who want to see profits every quarter and not just once a year.

Both Subaru and Mazda are independent car makers but Toyota does have a small very small stake in both related to the sharing of technologies. But both again, like the other small car makers, have carved out their own niches and niches in other countries as they don't really compete directly with the larger car brands in Japan.

As the tariff situation with the US might be coming to an end or being reduced Mazda might begin to re-think its position and begin manufacturing in Mexico in the near future.

What is interesting about the Japanese car market and the Japanese market in general there doesn't seem to this sense of cut-throat competition that is prevalent in the US market and was very prevalent in years past. 

Japan car makers, whether true or not true, seem to have a cooperative relationship with each other while of course maintaining as sense of logical competition as needed to keep ahead of the curve.

All the Japanese car makers seem to have a kind of friendly working relationship with each other for the good of the Japanese economy and the good of all car companies in Japan.

Have a nice day!

Japan Core Consumer Prices Slow: Updated Feb. 26, 2026.

Japan's core consumer prices in Jan. rise 2.0% on year, slowest in 2 yrs

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260220/p2g/00m/0bu/026000c

Ideas

Japan's core consumer prices have been increasing ever since the pandemic and look like or feel like by consumers that they are never going to decrease or not that much.

By now, most Japanese consumers might have gotten used to the continuous increase in prices and might have possibly cut back on some or many things they usually buy without even thinking about it.

And then there is the more vulnerable groups in society such as the low-income and fixed-income groups which feel even more stressed when core consumer prices increase even a little such as a 2.0 increase.

The consumer price index might have slowed from 2.4 percent to a 2.0 percent but for most consumers, again, its been almost a six year period of stress and continued increases in consumer prices.

This doesn't sit well with the needs of the consumer or the purchasing power of the consumers as their purchasing power in the Japanese economy keeps getting eroded over time.

But, to be fair. at least a little, this could be a global problem or global situation due to increases in stress on global supply chains, weather conditions affecting some products such as coffee, sugar, and chocolate, and the unsteady global energy markets are always in a flux or so it seems.

The rice situation in Japan is a very strange situation and it never should have reached the level that is has with supposed rice shortages, supposed supply chain disruptions and the continued high prices for a basic food staple that never should have happened in the first place.

The Bank of Japan has to decide what is more important for the Japanese economy, the jobs situation with a supposed labor shortage or the inflation situation that the BOJ seemingly can't get a grip on or is just letting inflation run its natural course without any real interventions in the economy, or as little as needed.

And then there is the weak Japanese yen which is both a positive and a negative for the Japanese economy. As a positive the weak yen boosts the prices of Japanese companies that sell their product overseas which means more yen goes into the Japanese current account which funds many of the Japanese government's budgets and programs.

The weak yen is a negative for the domestic Japanese economy, as Japan is a resource-poor country which means it has to import much of what it needs as as result the weak yen increases the prices of many of the imported products, which then the higher import prices get passed on via supply chains and eventually the final retail customer in Japan.

Yes, the BOJ might have increased its key interest rate by around 0.75 percent and it might done so thinking that the rate increase was not going to affect the overall Japanese economy that much and might have felt the Japanese economy was finally a little more stronger and could handle a rate hike with too many side-affects.

But the BOJ, like most central banks globally, is always looking and watching the Japanese economy for any signs of weakness or any signs of it maybe improving as its always contemplating what it should do next with a rate increase or even a rate decrease.

Food prices are always a major concern for most consumers in an economy as a consumer can get away with buying less clothes or at least the latest fashions, but for food a consumer can't go without food and the continuous increase in food prices forces some consumers or many consumers to try and find substitutes and for some maybe even cutting out completely some food items because now their budgets just can't afford them anymore.

And again, its a major travesty related to the rice situation in Japan and it never should have happened as someone in the powers to be in Japan just wasn't aware of what was going on and it snow-balled out of control and to this day rice prices are just to high for many consumers in Japan.

The global energy supplies of gas and oil always seems to be in a flux as prices go up and down constantly which means for some countries and some economies there is never a stable period related to energy supplies or prices.

Yes, the gasoline tax was another unneeded burden on Japanese consumers, and for those with cars, it just reduced their disposable income even more.

The scrapping of the income tax, which of course was used to bring more money into the government, was unneeded as it potentially reduced spending in the economy overtime.

Public high school tuition is free in most advanced nations and it should be free in Japan too as the Japanese government doesn't need the extra money that it or the provincial governments might take in.

Convenience stores in Japan might even be considered a minor separate niche economic driver for the Japanese economy as convience stores have become very popular with foreign tourists all over Japan these days.

Of course I'm not sure about convenience stores in other countries except the US and South Korea, but there is no comparison to the Japanese convenience store and what some think are nothing more than gas stations and a small store that look a convenience store in the US.

As far a South Korea is concerned they have taken notice with how popular convenience stores are in Japan and they are attempting to upgrade their stores and bring them into the 21st century.

If you have ever been to a Japanese convenience store you can almost buy anything or do anything such as banking, post office things, get your Amazon delivery there and so on.

Japanese convenience stores have evolved to the point that you don't need or have to go some of the other places that might take more time and or you just don't have time to go there as your day is usually just too busy, so the local convenience store or one near where you work does that for you.

The seven major Japanese convenience stores are on the cutting edge of knowing what customers in Japan need and want and they know just when to have the needed campaigns or sales to boost sales or get customers into their stores.

And of course they are very aware that foreign tourists in Japan now see convenience stores as go to place to visit and shop and they are making sure their are touristy type products for them besides the usual food and beverage to buy, eat, and drink.

And yes, even convenience stores are prone to the ravages of inflation as maybe some customers have either reduced their spending in convenience stores and of course limited how many times they might visit a convenience store as their disposable income has been significantly reduced by inflation.

A decrease of 0.8 percent in shoppers is really not that much but a drop from 1.21 billion might indicate a trend that convenience stores might need to be aware of as maybe some need to re-evaluate what is going on and maybe even to change some things as needed to keep the same number of customers coming to their store from dropping too much. 

Have a nice day!

Japan Trade Deficit: Updated Feb. 24, 2026.

Japan logs trade deficit of 1.15 tril. yen in Jan., 1st in 3 months

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260218/p2g/00m/0bu/023000c

Ideas

The Japanese economy seems to be heavily dependent on exports as it really doesn't have anything else that is driving the economy at this time.

The US outside of China has been Japan's largest trade partner, like many countries is heavily dependent on trade with the US and demand for Japanese products in the US continue to be strong reason to keep going forward despite the tariff situation.

Yes, despite the tariff situation with the US, Japan has wisely diversified its export situation to include many other countries, economies, and regions to try and offset the US tariff situation so that Japan doesn't need to rely on the US only for trade.

And it's seems that maybe Japan has been able to get back into the semiconductor game or situation by investing in semiconductor parts assemblies and not just the manufacturing of semiconductors with Taiwan and South Korea now do so well.

It also seems that maybe China, just maybe, is beginning to get back into the game too with trading more with Japan despite the so-called less than good diplomatic relations at the moment.

Japan is a resource-poor country which means it has to import much of what it needs with means to its susceptible to the whims of the global market and the prices changes that often take place.

And then there is the global energy market or markets that at times can be up and down due to the again whims of the energy cartels that control most of the energy markets.

Of course we can't forget the US tariff situation and Japanese motor vehicles which are probably being hit the hardest as of course they are the highest priced exports to the US and US consumers might be re-thinking if they want to buy a new Japanese car, due to the possibility that car dealers are passing-on their tariff costs to the consumer.

The same might be said for Japanese pharmaceuticals as they are are seeing the effects or US consumers are seeing the effects of US importers and companies passing-on the tariffs to the US consumer.

It needs to be made clear who exactly pays for the import duties, the importers or ultimately the US consumer, as most importers if not all pass-on the 15 percent tariff rate to the consumer which means consumers, despite all the other inflation things going on in the US have to now pay for any of the Japanese products they might want to buy but not at a much higher price.

Some might say a 15 percent tariff is really not that much but if you look at the price of a Japanese car that 15 percent can be quite a lot and no US importer is going to absorb that much extra cost and they will eventually pass-on the extra cost the the US consumer.

Not to criticize too much, but the powers to be in the US don't seem to know anything about economics 101, or beginning economics courses. Trade or global trade is a very complex system that just the idea of imposing a tariff on products causes all kinds of disruptions including global supply chains, disrupts multiple economies around the world and just doesn't work as intended.

A tariff is nothing more than a tax for the consumer as companies never really absorb the tariff tax and always pass-on the tax if they can do it which is most of the time, as they have to maintain their profit margins and a tariff or tax is really just a cost for them.

Companies are just as upset as consumers are with the tariff situation and again its an added cost to them and they don't like it anymore than consumers do as they know consumers can and will walk away if the price become too much for them to handle.

Yes, export have been the economic driver for the Japanese economy for the last 50 plus years but the US tariff situation seems to have upended that and there just don't seem to be enough car shipments to other countries that can offset the losses from the US market.

Japanese companies, whether good or not so good, have always been reluctant to pass-on their increased costs to the next in the supply chain including the final retail customer. While many Japanese now do it due to concerns of profits related to shareholders and others, some companies still just absorb the costs as much as possible.

It seems the Chinese economy is going through some kind of transition and it's hasn't seen as much economic growth as before. And of course there is the diplomatic situation now between Japan and China which might be limiting both imports and exports to both countries.

Even though exports and imports edged up its not like the glory years when there seemed to be a free-for-all related to trade between the two countries in the early 2,000's or before.

But at the the same time, despite the diplomatic constraints trade, appears to be maybe getting back to some kind of normalcy or at least a new normalcy, using the term often used during the pandemic.

However, as usual, China always seems to have something up their sleeve whenever there is some kind of diplomatic friction between them and another country, such as using critical materials as a possible diplomatic tool is nothing new for them.

Trade is nothing more than cooperation between two countries and in reality its never about competition but again cooperating as one country makes something that another country needs or wants and another country is willing to pay to get that product or service.

It's the same as going to a supermarket or even Amazon as Amazon has something a person needs and they are willing to sell it to them as long as the customer is willing to pay, as its the same with trade, buying and selling between two countries two economies.

And even with the EU its about cooperation and not about competition in its best form and Japan has products that maybe countries or even consumers want in the EU and hopefully the EU has products that customers in Japan want too.

For whatever reason, trade between the EU and Japan has been less than good as maybe for whatever reason, companies and customers in the EU, lately, just haven't wanted or needed as many Japanese products as before. 

It might be related to the Ukraine situation or it might be related to something else such as global prices are too high and or the EU currency exchange and the Japanese yen, have made products from Japan going to the EU a little too much for some consumers in the EU.

Have a nice day!

Japan Foreign Visitors: Updated Feb. 20, 2026.

Japan's Jan. foreign visitors dip amid China spat, 1st fall in 4 years

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260218/p2g/00m/0bu/041000c

Ideas

Whether good or not so good, the powers to be in Japan just can't seem to stop doing things that the Chinese powers to be dislike. They take one step forward and ten steps back every few years.

Chinese foreign visitors to Japan used to be Japan's largest foreign tourist group, at least before the pandemic, but since then its been more of a hit and miss situation with China and visitors from that country.

If there were 3.6 million visitors in January that is still a significant number of tourists entering Japan staying at Japanese hotels, buying things as Japanese department stores and convenience stores, and of course going to a lot of touristy places spending money in Japan.

Some might say, and its a small group, who really don't want foreign tourists in Japan or any foreigners at all and especially they want new measures to reduce the over-crowding in some places like Kyoto in the Osaka area that has become a major tourist spot for foreign tourists recently.

Ever since the pandemic or just after the pandemic, flights from China has been very slow to return to the pre 2019 level when there seemed to be an explosion of flights coming and going to and from mainland China.

It seems, as the weather in Thailand is much warmer than what it is now in Japan, that Thailand is not the number one Lunar New Year holiday destination for many Chinese tourists now.

Some might say, again, that the decrease in Chinese tourists to Japan might be a positive as it might reduce the over-crowding and might actually calm down the noise by some who are against anything foreign in Japan, but its too early to tell just yet.

Even though the Chinese powers to be suggested Chinese tourists should not go to Japan, 367,000 people still went to Japan which is still a significant number of Chinese tourists spending money in Japan.

And again, yes the Japanese powers to be keep making remarks that the Chinese powers to be dislike again which again causes un-needed friction between the two countries.

As this blog rarely says anything negative about the Japanese powers to be, it seems the new Prime Minister in Japan is more head-strong or more stubborn than previous Prime Ministers and probably won't change much of what was said back in November.

Snow sports tourism seems to be the latest trend for tourists going to Japan as other than Mongolia or China there really isn't much in the way of snow sports tourism in Asia. Even South Korea's snow tourism areas are not really that well developed compared to Japan's snow tourism areas.

At the same time, despite the demand for snow sports tourism, there are probably just as many foreign tourists who might not care much about the snow sports and just want to experience some things in Japan that might might not be able to do or see in their home country.

It used to be, at least before the pandemic, that getting a ticket from Seoul Gimpo airport to Tokyo Haneda airport was very easy but after the pandemic ended and Japan re-opened its borders in 2023 getting a ticket became much more difficult and it seems everyone and anyone in South Korea suddenly wanted to go to Japan, and probably globally too, airline ticket prices almost tripled or seemed that way.

Taiwan, even though it suffered significantly from the Japan occupation, there doesn't seem to be that much if any negative noise about it as they either have let by gones be by gones or just moved on in life and tourists from Taiwan seems to be very robust and the relations between the two countries seems very stable.

Ticket prices between Japan and Australia are probably not cheap and the same can be said for ticket prices between the US and Japan, but people want to travel so they are going to travel even though airline ticket prices have increased significantly since the pandemic.

Have a nice day!