Japan Core Consumer Prices: Updated Sept. 19, 2026.

Japan core consumer prices in Aug. up 1.7% on year, below 2% for 8th month

Ideas

Most central banks prefer to see core consumers prices below 2 percent as that is the target that banks feel is a level that is controllable, but for a long time it seems consumers prices were actually above 3 percent and its taken some time to get the consumer price index down to 2 percent or even a little lower.

Its good that the government is using subsidies to reduce the stress of Japanese households but a subsidy is still something that the government needs to pay for which means its debt will continue to increase.

Yes, it seems the BOJ is going to increase the rate to 1.25 which in itself is still relatively low compared to the rate the US has and even what South Korea has now.

Even when the the BOJ does increase its key rate doesn't mean inflation is going to go down the next day as it could take months to get it to decrease as sometimes inflation and feel sticky or even stagnant and never go down that much.

Yes, the Middle East situation is still a major challenge for all countries as every country is now affected and it might not change anytime soon. 

Companies that use key raw materials from the Middle East were probably already experiencing increases in material costs and the Middle East conflict again probably prompted most companies to immediately increase the price of plastics even more before they saw any real increase in raw materials as a way to protect their shrinking profit margins.

And of course prices for food in Japan have been increasing almost since the pandemic ended which has reduced the disposable incomes of many Japanese households for many months now.

Green tea has seen a significant increase in global demand and its also, unfortunately had some not so good growing seasons which has reduced the supply which of course always increase the price of products.

Rice, ever since the so-called shortage of the summer of 2024, has seen prices become almost unbearable for most Japanese households and at times there even shortage of domestic Japanese rice, which should never have happened as rice is a major staple for most if not all Japanese households.

Again, its good that Japan used energy subsidies to reduce the stress on households in Japan but at the same time, someone has to pay for the subsidies which of course the government debt will continue to increase due to having to pay for the subsidies.

Not to put any blame on the government but wouldn't it be wiser or more economical if Japan had some kind of free-trade agreements with energy or oil producing countries so that it didn't have to rely on the volatility of global energy prices.

While its common in a market economy if demand increases for a product or service, operators or whomever are going to increase prices, but at the same time, some just increase prices too much as they get greedy and the prices sometimes are above what the market really needs or should have.

An increase of 1.9 percent might still be below the 2 percent level that the BOJ or most central banks prefer to see but its important to keep it in the correct perspective in terms of what has been happening not just in August but the months before and what is expected for the coming months.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260918/p2g/00m/0bu/015000c

Japan Real Wages in Feb. Updated April 9, 2026.

Japan's real wages rise for 2nd straight month in February with 1.9% growth

Ideas

Real wages in Japan seem to finally see some daylight after months or years being less that inflation and an increase of 1.9 percent, while not much, is a welcome increase for many Japanese households.

Japan has been hit by constant price increases as Japan is a resource-poor country and needs to import much of what it needs and is subject to the whims of global price increases. 

Wage increases, while good but not great, have also helped but companies need to do more its been suggested that many of the name-brand companies are sitting piles of cash which could be used to help with the daily lives of their employees in Japan.

Nominal wages really don't mean much as they give a false sense of an increase but in reality real wages, disposable income, and the purchasing power of Japanese consumers is what really matters in the economy and the daily lives of ordinary Japanese citizens.

If you ask the average Japanese consumer what are nominal wages and of course they probably won't know or even care as global consumers would probably say the same thing, as what really matters is the amount of disposable income they have and the purchasing they have each week and each month.

Yes, despite all of the news about nominal wages, real wages, inflation increases or decreases is good and needed by some in business and government but most consumers could care less about all the stats thrown around in the media, as what they care about is their purchasing power and again how much disposable income they have left on Friday or Saturday or at the end of the month.

While a 1.4 percent increase in consumers prices is maybe beginning to show a decreasing trend, it might still be too high for the most vulnerable in Japanese society as maybe it is still affecting the lower-income groups, the fixed income groups, and of course the single mother who has to take care of her two children and only a contract salary or wage with no real benefits.

Japan is not an isolated island country or economy as, like all countries these days, it is highly interconnected to the rest of the world and what happens in the Middle East easily affects Japan just like the situation in the Ukraine has significantly affected raw material supplies and prices from that region.

Yes, private consumption or consumer spending is estimated to be about half of Japan's gross domestic product, but in reality it might be a little less in actual spending as in recent years consumer spending in Japan just hasn't been enough to significantly help the Japanese economy grow that much as maybe it should be around 55 or even 60 percent of GDP to see any sustainable real growth each year.

The Bank of Japan or BOJ is watching very carefully what is happening in Japan and the Middle East with of course energy and oil prices as Japan has to import much if not all of its energy needs which could be factor in the BOJ's decision to increase rates or keep them where they are now.

And yes, again, the BOJ is watching the wage talk increases as it appears some or many companies have actually met the demand of their labor unions, but as usual, while the large-name brand companies are doing their part, it remains to be seen just what the small and mid-size companies are doing or what can they really do.

It is estimated that up to 70 percent of the Japanese work-force works for small and mid-size companies and not the large name-brand companies that get all the news.

Most if not all small and mid-size companies just don't have the needed resources to match what the large companies can do and such the wage increases by the smaller companies are never going to be as much as a large company wage increases.

While any wage increase is good and needed, what is really important is what does the average Japanese worker feel about their wage increase? Japanese households, Japanese consumers have to got feel good about the wage increases and they have to be able to see it in their disposable income and their purchasing power at the end of the month, and if they don't see it or feel it they are not going to spend enough to increase or help economic growth in the economy.

And of course again, using the phrase the "the least among us" what does it do for the dis-advantaged in Japanese society? Do the wage increases reach the lower-income groups, the fixed income groups, and again do the wage increases help the single mother on a limited contract able to take care of her two children with no real health or medical benefits.

Have a nice day!

© 2026 Tom Metts,  all rights reserved

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260408/p2g/00m/0bu/022000c

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 Real Wages In July: Updated Sept. 28, 2025.

Japan's real wages in July revised down, fall for 7th straight month

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250926/p2g/00m/0bu/049000c

Ideas:

Real wages are always affected by inflation and the Japanese economy ever since the pandemic has been constrained by consistent inflation, which of course lowers the purchasing power of Japanese consumers.

Wage growth has been a challenge for the Japanese economy as, for the most part, Japan's wages are much lower than other advanced economies and has again been constrained by consistent stagflation and near zero GDP growth for a very long time.

Japan, traditionally, gives two bonuses a year, which may or may not make-up for the lower wages in Japan. But as inflation has even hit companies in Japan summer bonuses sometimes are not what Japanese workers expect which of course means less spending in the Japanese economy.

There is the possibility, that when Japanese companies increased wages in April, which is the normal fiscal start of the new year in Japan, that companies might have depleted any extra funds needed for the traditional summer bonus.

And it must be remembered that up to 70 percent of Japanese workers don't work for the name-brand large Japanese companies but work for small and mid-size companies that don't have the needed resources to match what large Japanese companies give in wage increases, which again might mean less spending in the Japanese economy.

Nominal wages are really not important as they are not adjusted for inflation which means real wages are whats important for a consumer as real wages can determine what a workers purchasing power is or how much they can actually spend in an economy.

And to be sure, consumer spending in the Japanese economy has been constrained for a long time due to consistent inflation in Japan, and consumer spending makes up about 50 percent of Japan's GDP, which is probably not high enough to really improve economic growth.

Again the nominal increase wages just indicates how much inflation has increased in Japan which means that inflation has not decreased much and has put a constraint on much of the Japanese economy and especially again consumer spending in Japan.

The Japanese consumer price index has consistently, ever since the pandemic has been higher than normal or what's good for an economy and its consumers.

As was noted in previous articles even though there were gains in real wages but due to inflation being consistently higher than wage increases they were still not enough to overcome inflation in Japan. which again means consumers in Japan were less better off as wages haven't been able to help the average Japanese consumer with any extra disposable income needed to spend in the Japanese economy.

And again, it must be remembered that only about 30 percent of the Japanese work-force works for the large name-brand companies in Japan. The other 70 percent of the work-force work for small and mid-size companies which don't have the needed resources to pay the same wage increases which means that maybe 70 percent of the Japanese work-force might not have the needed disposable income to spend in the Japanese economy to help the economy grow.

Have a nice day!

Japan Nov. Inflation. Updated Dec. 23, 2024.

 

Japan inflation accelerates in Nov. on reduced energy subsidies

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20241220/p2g/00m/0bu/005000c

Ideas:
If the Japanese government has reduced subsidies for utility bills and rice that means, most likely for most Japanese households they will have less disposable income which of course could mean less consumer spending in the Japanese economy.

Increased inflation at 2.3 percent or 2.4 percent, might not seem like much, but for the low-income groups could be a major challenges related to disposable income or other spending they might want to do.

The Bank of Japan might want to stick with its target of 2 percent inflation but it doesn't seem to be doing much to get inflation under 2 percent. But that might be a strategy to not interfere in the natural situation of the Japanese economy, preferring to let inflation decreased on its own.

The Bank of Japan is very cautious and moves very slowly and probably will not make a move that could upset the financial markets in Japan and globally.

Inflation increasing from 2.3 to 2.4 percent is not that big of a change, as especially if it was related to the decrease of energy subsidies earlier.

Once again, the Bank of Japan moves very slow and says it wants to analyze more wage data which indicates its not ready to make a move just yet.

And yes, the next rate increase could be January, but at the same time, if anything unusual happens before then the BOJ don't hesitate to delay the next rate increase.

Japanese households again have to deal with the energy price increases which means their disposable income will be even less, which means less spending in the Japanese economy.

Whether conditions always plays havoc with the prices of produce and the hot summer in Japan played a big part in the reduced supply of rice.

And yes, farmers too have passed on their higher production costs to the next in the supply chain including the final customer.

And lets not forget the increase in prices of coffee and chocolate as producers and wholesales too passed on their increase in material costs to the next in the supply chain including of course the final customer.

As food prices, either at restaurants or supermarkets increase, Japanese consumers will either cut back or they will try to find substitutes that meet their expectations.

The lower-income groups will be hit even harder as they use more of the income for food than the other groups.

The upper-income groups might not even notice the price increases and or they don't care, as it probably doesn't affect them that much.

Household durable goods are not an everyday product and is only bought maybe once a year if even that.

Someone could take this two ways about in the increase in service prices, such service providers had to increase prices to cover the wage increases they needed to give their workers in the regular wage negotiations last April.

And or service providers had to increase wages for new hires as there is a labor shortage in Japan and as there are more jobs available to choose from, they had to hire new workers at a higher wage than normal, and they then had to increase prices to cover the wage increases.

Have a nice day!

Japan CPI : Updated March 29, 2024.

 

Japan core CPI logs fastest rise in 41 yrs in 2023, points to easing

Article Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240119/p2g/00m/0bu/006000c

Ideas:

Japan is resource poor country, which means it has to import much of what it needs and if the yen is weak, import prices are higher than normal, putting a lot of stress on Japanese households.

Prices increases seem to be a global challenge as many countries/economies are experiencing an increase in inflation these days. 

Household utility bills are only a small part of the costs that households have to overcome. But as households costs continue to increase, there is the potential that there is not much extra income left for spending in the Japanese economy.

Food prices might be one of the biggest expenses that many families have to live with and lower-income families usually spend more per capita on food than higher-income households.

The Bank of Japan, like many central banks, want to see inflation in the 2 to 4 percent range, as many central banks feel its a manageable level. But it seems the Bank of Japan wants a 2 percent level, as maybe there are many senior citizens in Japan and they live on fixed incomes and inflation higher than 2 percent might be too much for them.

At the same time, it seems to the Bank of Japan is relying heavily on wage increases as a way to get out of the inflation trap the Japanese economy is in now. But the challenge with that is when companies increase wages, then they have to pay for the wage increases by increasing prices on their products.

The other challenge is that all companies in Japan need to increase wages, as up to 70 percent of Japanese wage earners don't work for large companies, and in April of 2023, it was mostly large companies that increased wages, and not many small and midsize companies increased wages.

For many years, Japanese companies were very reluctant to increase prices for fear of losing customers and or because many companies were not so many companies didn't increase their prices, even though they might have had profit margin challenges.

Even if inflation has decreased to 2.3 from 2.5 that is not a significant decrease for the average household or consumer to see or feel much of a change yet.

There is a lot of noise about what the Bank of Japan is going to do, but even if they do decide to change their ultra-low policy, most likely its not going to be too dramatic or significant at the beginning, as they will try to feel out what is best and see what happens with some strategic moves and see what the effects are on the Japanese economy.

Inflation is related to two kinds of variables. One variable is cost-push inflation or the increase in prices by companies because they need to pass on their costs to the next in the supply chain, and it has nothing to do with consumer demand.

Consumer demand is the other kind of inflation and as companies see sales increase significantly companies will increase prices due to increased demand for their products.

The Japanese economy has experienced cost-push inflation for a few years, but not much related to consumer demand, as consumer demand and consumer spending is always not what it should be or could be.

If many companies, in April of 2024, do increase wages significantly, they might need to increase prices on their products as a way to keep their profit margins in the safe-zone, and the key is what are Japanese consumer going to do with the increased price increases.

Back in 2014 and again in 2019 the Japanese government increased the sales tax from 5 to 8 8 percent and then from 8 to 10 percent. Each time, Japanese consumers went on buying sprees before the tax increases were implemented and then after the prices increases consumer demand significantly decreased until consumers got use to the higher sales tax increases.

Accommodation fee/price increases might be combination of increased tourism, both domestic and international and hotels are maybe trying to makeup for all of their losses during the pandemic period.

Also, because of a possible shortage of labor in the hotel industry, hotels have to pay higher wages to attract workers back to the hotels that might have been laid off or quit during the pandemic.

Fresh food is always a major variable related to inflation as growing seasons and import cost might increase the prices of fresh food, and maybe many households are thinking twice about what to buy and or what substitutes to buy because of high food costs.

There was no change in the January meeting of the Bank of Japan, but later, like in March of 2024 there were some moves by the Bank of Japan.

Even if inflation does get below 2 percent, its been high for so long, that Japanese consumers might not notice and it takes some time, to feel the effects of inflation changes, up and down.

Again, the seems to be a lot of noise about what the Bank of Japan is going to do in the future and are they going to make any significant moves that might have an affect on the Japanese economy. Most likely, again, if the they make a move its not going to be that significant in the beginning.

Again, the Japanese economy is a resource poor country, and has to import much of what it needs from energy to food. And as such the weak Japanese yen, has made import prices higher as imports now cost more.

The Bank of Japan, seems to be relying on wage increases as a way to slowdown inflation form the weak yen, But the challenge is will all Japanese companies comply and increase wages or will it only be large companies again like in 2023.

Some 70 percent of Japanese wage earners don't work for large Japanese companies, but work for small and midsize companies. If small and midsize companies don't come through that means up to 70 percent of Japanese wage earners will go on living with higher inflation while large company wage earners might see some relief with increased wages in April of 2024.

Have a nice day and be safe!