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 July Core Consumer Inflation. Updated Aug. 26, 2026.

  

Japan's July core consumer inflation rises 1.8%, up for 2nd month

Ideas

Japan's core consumer prices have continued to increase ever since the end of the pandemic and it seems like they are not coming down anytime soon.

Globally, it seems to be a problem for most if not all countries and consumer prices just keep increasing and again it doesn't seem like its going to end anytime soon, and high prices may now be the new normal for Japan and the global economy.

And yes, the BOJ might take action in September, as suggested by some due the increase in prices of many things including what is happiness with AI.

At 1.6 percent for the consumer price index it means that inflation in Japan is maybe not increasing but at least remaining somewhat stable for the past seven months.

At the same time, even at 1.6 percent it might still be a little too high for those who work part time, or contract work, or even those on fixed incomes in Japan.

Many countries prefer to keep the inflation level at 2 percent or less as it seems to be a manageable percent for most central banks globally.

Of course the challenge with plastic materials is going to be major problem for many companies in Japan especially food and supermarkets.

Even with an increase of 3 percent for the price of food some households in Japan might still feel the price increases while those in maybe the middle income or higher groups might not even notice the increase, as it might not be dent their food budgets.

But hamburger prices, while usually not a main food product in Japan might have seen supply chains disruptions and the reason for the increase in prices along with maybe supply challenges.

Yes, the shortage of plastic materials meaning any plastic that is used for many things might have been significantly challenged with shortage and or course supply chain disruptions in the Middle East.

It seems semiconductors, now days, is used is most electronic products and the increase in demand for AI products related to semiconductors, over the past year or so has significantly increased the price of tables and notebook computers.

And no doubt the Middle East situation, whether direct or not has had an affect on a ll energy commodities and energy companies, as usual are quick to increase prices even if their commodity products are not related to the Middle East situation.

Electricity and gas, whether used by households or companies can easily turn into a major monthly expense or at least an expense that can be controlled somewhat but not completely.

Of course, as needed and very important energy subsidies can help the average household and especially those who do need to use a car in the major metro areas but especially in the rural areas where people have to drive a lot to get from one point to another.

Government, state, and local subsidies are very much needed in Japan to defer the increased costs of the volatile global energy situation, but its sometimes debated as to how much should governments intervene or provide subsidies and how much does it disrupt normal market operations in an economy.

In economics subsidies are always being debated about the positives and negatives of them as there are good and not so good ideas related to subsidies, as they tend to help households and consumers but at the same time drive up the government debt which as of now Japan's debt to GDP is significantly higher than it should be.

Every so often statistical agencies will change the base year as what was evaluated years ago might not be relevant for today so the reason for agencies moving the base year from 2020 to 2025 as even a six year difference can mean a significant different in consumer spending and and the products bought over time.

Finally, even a 1.9 percent in the core-core CPI can have a major impact on some groups in Japan such as the fixed income groups, the part time worker groups, the contract worker groups and especially the single mom who has to take care of her children on a limited income.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260821/p2g/00m/0bu/018000c

Japan Core Consumer Prices. Updated June 28, 2026.

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

Ideas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a nice day!

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

Japan Core Consumer Prices: Updated May 25, 2026.

Japan core consumer prices up 1.4% in April, slowed by free school lunches

Ideas

Japan's inflation situation has been around almost since the pandemic, and while it might be slowing some, its still a major challenge for Japanese consumers and households.

The free lunch program at public schools is good but should have been implemented many years ago like other advanced societies and countries have now.

Parents of school-age children are stressed to the core with just too many school fees and after school fees and many of them are single women with children and or only work on a limited contract with few or not other benefits.

Yes, there is the indication that inflation is beginning to subside ever so slightly but not enough for many Japanese households and is still having an affect on household incomes and disposable income, needed to extra everyday activities.

Its been a long  4 years, since March of 2022, and many Japanese families or households have had to cut back on many things including maybe taking trips domestically and or taking trips overseas that used to be routine event for many families.

While a 1.9 percent increase doesn't sound like that much of an increase, but even those on limited or fixed incomes might feel the price increase related to some products they might buy.

The Japanese government has been trying to reduce the stress on households with the subsidies, but the concern might be what about energy suppliers and wholesalers and their subsidies if they are getting any all all.

Which brings up ideas that companies, importers, suppliers and wholesalers are like households too and have to watch their profits margins carefully and they too, depending on which side of the equation you are on, have to increase prices as needed to cover their costs related to increase labor costs, increase energy costs, and increased raw material costs.

Its good that Japanese wholesalers are getting some relief from the increase in prices from the Middle East but eventually someone has to pay for the continued increase in subsidies that the Japanese government has been offering almost since the pandemic period and it might mean the government debt will continue to increase as Japan, if not the highest has one of the highest Debt to GDP ratios among advanced countries.

Even though prices for food, decelerated from 5.2 to 4.1, its still too high as maybe many households in Japan might notice the continued increase in food prices and for sure those on limited incomes, such as contract workers, part-time workers, fixed income groups and single women with children are probably seeing their disposable income reduced even at 4.1 percent.

Yes, there might not be any clear signs yet, as some metrics are more like lagging indicators and might show up much later in the data, and there is always the possibility that companies related to anything in the Middle East might be delaying increasing their costs and at the present time maybe trying to absorb the costs for now.

Of course collecting data from companies, suppliers, importers, and wholesalers is not easy and sometimes doesn't come in time, which means there might be lagging data or late data that can be then be added to see a better picture of what is going on.

The Bank of Japan is a very conservative group and doesn't just increase or decrease the rate on a whim as they take a long time to look at what is going on and then decide, if anything, to do something as for the most part, they don't want to harm the economy and or cause harm to the financial markets in Japan and globally.

A decrease of 0.5 percent might not seem like that much but it might mean the purchasing power of Japanese households has decreased and again the lower-income groups might feel it more than the upper-income groups who might not even notice a 0.5 percent drop in real wages.

Nominal wages, while they might look good and feel good, are not the real picture in an economy as they also include inflation while real wages show the true picture about what is really going on in a economy and real wages help to show an increase or decrease in purchasing power and the disposable incomes of Japanese households.

An increase of 3.0 percent in consumers prices is still a significant increase in prices for most households in Japan except for maybe the upper-income groups as for sure is felt among, again, the middle-income groups, the lower income groups, the fixed income groups, and of course those on limited work contracts and or sure singe working women with children.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260522/p2g/00m/0bu/016000c

Japan March inflation. Updated on May 4, 2026.

Japan March inflation rate rises to 1.8% on fuel cost hike amid Iran war

Ideas

Japan is resource-poor country and as such is subject to global price increases and with the Middle East situation energy, gas, and oil prices continue to increase along with a host of other products and commodities from that region of the world.

Japan has suggested they have a good enough emergency supply to handle potential energy shortages but only time will tell, as Japan doesn't produce to make any real oil so it be interesting to see just what Japan does.

Food prices continue to remain high or higher than usual in Japan it seems ever since the pandemic and it's almost cheaper at times to eat out than buy food at the local supermarket. 

Comparing buying or going to lunch in Japan is significantly cheaper than the US and even getting take out is much cheaper and Japanese restaurants don't require tipping and they strive for a quick turnover of customers which actually lowers the cost per customer while US restaurants and even fast food places keep increasing the price not to mention the high cost of delivery now in the US.

Ever since the summer of 2024, rice prices have skyrocketed or seems to have increased to the point that regular Japanese families have challenges buying rice now.

Rice prices might have stayed flat in 2024 but there was major rice shortage starting in July of 2024 that continued through the early part of 2025, as there seems to be some question as to how the shortage started and even to this day why rice prices remain higher than normal.

As rice is such an important staple for Japanese families and households you would think the government would have used some kind of price controls to reel in the continued increase of rice prices but for whatever reason, they let the market decide the price of rice.

While its good that the provisional tax prices ended, other concerns continue as again, Japan is an energy resource-poor country and has to import much of what it needs which means its subject to the continued fluctuations of global energy prices around the world.

Consumers in Japan continues to grapple with inflation and or course unfortunately the lower-income groups suffer the most as they have to budget or watch every yen they need to spend and of course they probably cut back on many things due to the continued increase in inflation.

It's very good that the Japanese government is going to help wholesalers as Japan is very good at helping all sectors in the economy, as it usually has a structure that tries to benefit all somewhat like what the EU does or the Northern European countries do.

And yes, unfortunately, Japan is highly dependent on oil imports from the Middle East and even more than some other regions or countries in the world.

And yes, many other products and manufacturers are being challenged now with the Middle East situation, and its a good example of how interconnected all countries are now with whatever is going on or happening around the world.

Estimates suggest that when it does end, it could take months for the situation to settle down as supply chains will take a long time to get back to some kind of normal or at least a new normal.

The weak yen is both a positive and a negative which is both good and not so good for the Japanese economy. The weak yen, as a positive means Japanese companies that export and sell their products overseas they can get more for their products when the yen is weak.

As far as being a negative a weak yen means import will be higher and importers will have to pay more for whatever they are bringing into Japan which of course means they are going to pass-on their increased imports costs to the next in the supply chain and usually the final retail customer.

Yes, even globally, the price of many products are beginning to increase and it has been suggested price increases could last up to six months as it might take that long for the supply chains to get back to come kind of normalcy.

The challenge or problem is companies will continue to keep their prices until they feel they have re-couped any losses during or after the Middle East situation, and customers will need to brace for the continued costs or find alternative products.

The Bank of Japan, being a very conservative economics organization is not going to make any rash or quick decisions and most likely, as it usually does, will decide not to increase the rate due to the Middle East situation, the continued inflation situation, and the overall state of the Japanese economy at this time.

Yes, that is what is going to most likely happen, and if there was any sense of rate increase the markets already and even global markets would have shown some kind of reaction too, as all financial markets, these days are all closely inter-connected. 

Inflation in Japan is still not where the BOJ wants it to be and it might take some time for it to get back to below 2 percent which is where most central banks want inflation to be at as most central banks feel an inflation rate at or just below 2 percent is a manageable level for an economy.

Yes the index might be viewed as a precursor to a further rate hike but with the continued situation in the Middle East most likely the BOJ is going to stand pat and not increase the rate as global prices are going to remain high for some time due to various supply chain challenges which is going to effect all countries and especially Japan as Japan, being a resource-poor country, potentially could see prices continue to remain higher than usual.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260424/p2g/00m/0bu/010000c

Japan Core Consumer Prices in Feb. Updated April 5, 2025.

Japan core consumer prices in Feb. rise 1.6% on yr, lowest in nearly 4 yrs

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260324/p2g/00m/0bu/013000c

Ideas

While its good that price increases were less than the BOJ 2 percent target but they might still be too much for some Japanese families, as the their disposable income has been depleted constantly almost since pandemic ended.

And yes, the Iran situation and the strait blockage is potentially going to affect Japan more than some other countries as has been suggested in other articles that have said both Japan and South Korea are going to be the most affected related to the oil crisis in the Middle East.

If you ask the average Japanese household or any household globally, they probably wouldn't have any idea what the consumer price index is, but they know prices and they can see and feel the price increases every time they go to a supermarket, or buy things on Amazon or even Walmart, or even Aldi online.

While subsidies are good for consumers they aren't necessarily good for wholesalers or in this case energy suppliers,  even the government as subsidies potentially can increase the overall government debt and eventually someone has to pay for the subsidies.

Once again, most families, even globally, don't know or really care about a central banks inflation target rate they just care about how much they have and how much its going to cost to buy something.

Inflation rates are oblivious to most consumers as they only want to know how much disposable income they have and how much is something going to cost. They might hear the media talking about this or that related to inflation but in reality it doesn't affect them until they go to the supermarket.

The BOJ might or might not increase interest rates as the new Mid East war might have some affect on their decision and now oil prices are too much for most consumers and businesses and other products are now becoming even more expensive.

But an increase in the key rate might not be able to change much as an increase in the key rate is dependent on consumers and businesses spending less but that might not happen this time.

And yes, strong wage growth, at least for the large-name brand companies might be enough to get the BOJ to at least consider an increase in the key rate.

The problem is, global trade and global logistics situations these days are all connected so whatever happens in the Middle East or whatever happens in China or even in South-East Asian countries is now felt everywhere in the world.

Even though Japan for the most part, is not a heavy car user country like the US it still has a lot of people using cars which means many families or individual consumers are going to be affected by the increase in oil prices.

But companies, train, subways might use oil and gas too for their operations and they too will feel the affects of the price increases. And lets not forget ANA or JAL and the increase in fuel prices for airlines as unfortunately, while some might try to keep prices down, they can only do it for so long before they have to pass-on their fuel increased prices to the ticketed customers at the  airlines.

Releasing stockpiles of course is seen as trying to keep supplies up so that prices won't get out of control. But the problem is energy or oil or gas suppliers think if there is any chance of a distribution they are going to immediately increase prices even if something hasn't happened just yet to protect their profit margins in the future.

In this case subsidies are good and probably needed but there is always a side affect and this case it might the Japanese government having to pay for the subsidies which might increase the overall government debt, which at the present time, might be the highest government to GDP ratio in the world or at least among advanced countries.

No one likes taxes on fuel or gas but sometimes, temporarily, it might be needed, but again consumes dislike fuel taxes and especially those who have cars, and it might actually be an incentive to drive less or not drive at all as public transportation in Japan is more that adequate.

All of the costs, being taxes on fuel, and increases in electricity bills are all major concerns for Japanese households and especially those whose incomes are less than what they should be which put extra stress on them which means they have to find ways to reduce their spending on other areas due the increase in fuel costs or even electricity costs.

Hopefully, as the article suggests this might be the beginning of the end of higher than normal prices in Japan and just maybe inflation will begin subside even more to the point that the average Japanese consumer and their disposable incomes will begin to increase enough that they can actually spend enough in the economy to help the economy grow again.

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 Inflation in Dec. Updated Feb. 3, 2026.

Japan inflation rate at 2.4% in Dec. on food costs, above BOJ target

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260123/p2g/00m/0bu/014000c

Ideas

Inflation in Japan has been higher than normal or what it should almost since the pandemic and doesn't seem to be decreasing anytime soon or most likely will be too high or most consumers in Japan for a while.

And yes, at 2.4 percent its above the BOJ's target of 2 percent, which coincidentally is the tragedy rate that most central banks around the world prefer inflation to be at and they feel its at a manageable rate, which keep an economy moving along correctly.

State subsides, which Japan has been using a lot lately to help Japanese households is both a positive and can be a negative too.

For Japanese households subsidies help with a households disposable income which means they potentially have a little more to either save or to spend in the economy.

While a negative means potentially it could increase the already high Japan government debt which is one of the highest if not the highest among advanced economies.

The new Prime Minister appears to be like a fiscal dove which means in the near future there could be more government spending to help the economy with lower interest rates, more government subsides, and additional budgets to help improve the economy and improve the lives of Japanese households, but of course increasing the already high government debt.

Even with a core-core CPI of 2.9 percent it is most likely higher than what most Japanese households want to see as it strips away or decreases their needed disposable income for spending in other areas of the economy or other areas of spending they need to do for their families and homes.

At the same time, at 2.9 percent that is most likely way too high for lower-income families and significantly too high for fixed income families as even a slight increase in inflation can have a major impact on the fixed income families in Japan, as they might have to go without some food or needed supplies for their home situation.

Once again an increase of 6.7 percent is way to high for most Japanese households as it cuts into their already limited disposable income and which means potentially less spending in the the Japanese economy which is sorely needed to help get the economy moving again.

And then there is the weak Japanese yen, which can be both a positive and a negative for the Japanese economy. For domestic economy overall, a weak yen increases the price of imports to Japan, which means importers or wholesalers in the supply chain can and will pass-on the import price increases to the next in the supply chain which eventually will include the final retail consumer in Japan.

As far as being a positive the weak yen increases the profits of Japanese export companies which sell their products in overseas markets which contributes to the Japan current account which like a country's bank account which potentially has the ability to maybe reduce higher than normal Japanese government debt.

The increase in rice prices all started back in the summer of 2024 with a supposed rice shortage and with the news of a possible potential earthquake, which saw Japanese consumer rushing to the the supermarkets to buy up as much rice as they could and or horde as much as they could due to the new of a potential earthquake.

And then there was and is the supposedly continued rice shortage which Japan has not been able to control or has been unable to control the increase in rice prices since the summer of 2024, as all of the strategies the Japan government has tried to get rice prices down has not really worked.

Japan is a resource-poor economy which means it has to import much of what it needs including its energy supply needs. What is still not clear on why haven't the supposed trade agreements it has with oil producing countries and Japan still has to pay for higher oil prices on their energy imports.

Again, government subsidies are sometimes good and of course needed to help but again they can increase debt that a government has but Japan has been using subsidies for so long that maybe they no longer think much about it as it just a normal situation now in Japan.

Maybe the Japanese government keeps trying many strategies to get prices down and at the same time trying to get Japanese consumers to spend more in the economy, but while intentions are good they don't don't seem to be working that much at the present time.

Yes, an increase in the key BOJ rate had the potential to reduce inflation but can it be sustained over the long term or is inflation going to inch back up in the future, as inflation has continually been like sticky prices meaning its stubborn and doesn't want to go down that much or that fast in Japan.

The BOJ target inflation rate of 2 percent has been a target of goal for a very long time but it hasn't been reached or able to be reached as whatever the Japanese government or the BOJ tries to use to get inflation down just hasn't worked.

But to be fair to the BOJ, they really haven't tried to increase the key rate that much as the BOJ as consistently suggested that the Japanese economy overall has just been too weak to handle any sustained rate increases and there are just potentially too many side affects related to a rate increase in Japan.

Wage growth or wage increases seem to be a strategies that the BOJ is counting on to help the the Japanese economy a to grow again and get out of its current stagnation phase but the wage increases which really started again April of 2024 really hasn't had that much of an affect yet.

The reason why the wage increases might not have had that much of an affect is up to 70 percent of the workforce in Japan doesn't work for the large name-brand companies which give the best wage increases while the small and mid-size companies where most Japanese workers are don't give as good a wage increase which means they still feel the affects of inflation and still don't want or can't spend in the Japanese economy as much as the BOJ would like them to spend.

Core consumer prices might have increased 3.1 percent annually which they might have a cumulative affect meaning the previous years increases of consumer prices have compounded over time which makes the 3.1 percent increase feel even more as fours of prices increases for the average Japanese family can be significantly and can greatly reduce their disposable income needed to spend on other things in the economy.

And then again there is the lower-income group and the fixed income group which the compounding of the core consumer prices which even expensive to the point they might have to find substitutes for food or other items they normally buy as they are just too expensive, or unfortunately have to go without.

And again, there is the rice situation in Japan, which never should have happened as rice is a major staple for most if not all Japanese households. Some can blame the weather, some can blame government strategies to reduce prices but whatever has been tried just hasn't worked to bring prices down.

There should have been maybe the use of prices controls, maybe on a temporary basis to control the price of rice for the good of society or at least price controls in supermarkets as needed as again rice is a major staple like milk, bread, and eggs are in western economies and maybe shouldn't be left the the whims of the markets to determine the prices as Japanese society depends on or needs a normal price structure that is not out of their control related to their daily lives.

Have a nice day!

Japan Core Consumer Prices: Updated Dec. 24, 2025.

Japan's core consumer prices in November rise 3.0% on year

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20251219/p2g/00m/0bu/010000c

Ideas:

Japan is a resource poor country and has to import much of what it needs including raw material for the production of food products. At the same time, the Japanese yen is very weak an a weak yen drives up import prices. Importers and wholesalers then will pass-on the high costs of imports to the next in the supply chain including the final retail customer.

Yes, the inflation rate is above the 2 percent target of the BOJ but they haven't done much about it yet but it is expected they will move soon to try and reduce inflation in Japan.

In relation to energy prices, again Japan imports most of its energy as its not a oil producing country which means is potentially subject to global oil prices or oil supply and demand.

The BOJ has increased the key rate a few times but despite the few times it has done it inflation has not decreased much or not at all. 

The challenge for the BOJ is that they have suggested many times, or at least in the past, that the Japanese economy is/was too weak to handle any rate increases and or a large rate increase that might damage the economy with a lot of side effects.

So Japanese households and Japanese consumers suffer with high inflation which reduces their disposable income to buy other things in the economy besides just paying their bills or buying basic food products they need.

An in increase of 3.0 percent might not seem like much for the lower-income groups or the fixed income groups, or those who only have part-time jobs that could be a lot and could force them to makes changes in what they need or what they buy in the future.

There is no easy answer to inflation in Japan, in the EU, or in the US as inflation has hit all areas of the world with equal force lately,

US consumers are struggling with what is called an affordability crisis, meaning higher than normal food prices, higher than normal housing prices, and higher than normal prices on everything.

The rice situation is very perplexing as rice is the main staple of Japanese homes and it seem odd that the powers to be in Japan haven't been able to keep prices down as its a main food ingredient like milk, bread, eggs, and some meat in other places.

Yes, raw materials costs related chocolate and even coffee has increased globally to where prices are high everywhere in the world for chocolate and coffee products these days.

Rice balls or using the phrase onigiri, which is a basic rice product at most Japanese convenience stores has probably increased too but not to the point for most convenience stores shoppers in Japan.

Japan needs a different strategy to handle energy prices like some kind of energy trade agreement with energy producing countries so that it isn't at the mercy of global energy prices or at the mercy of the weak Japanese yen which increases import prices which oil is a major import as Japan has to import much of what it needs.

It seems odd that Japan hasn't developed some kind of FTA agreement with oil producing counties or found ways to limit the ups and downs of global oil prices that can affect Japan a lot.

The weak Japanese yen is a double-edged sword as the weak helps Japanese export companies but hurts Japanese import companies. The powers to be seem to be favoring the Japanese export companies, lately, as weak yen increases the price of Japanese products overseas, which at the same time increases Japanese current account, which essentially increases the money that the government can use and spend.

So the powers to be might not be favoring Japanese exporters they haven't done much about the weak Japan yen at this time to help Japanese importers or Japanese import prices.

To be fair, while every Prime Minister has tried to help the Japanese economy and help Japanese households, nothing recently has really helped even though they might have passed similar budgets with just short-term results but not a lot of long-term results.

And even though a new budget was passed it could take months to see any evidence of it helping the Japanese economy if at all.

Have a nice day!