Japan Core Consumer Prices: Updated Nov. 26, 2025.

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

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20251121/p2g/00m/0bu/021000c

Ideas

Ever since the pandemic, or around there, inflation has continued to increase on a yearly basis and doesn't seem to be decreasing anytime soon.

Most likely, the upper classes in Japan never worry about food costs but the lower and middle income groups for sure feel the increase in prices every time they go to the supermarket, which is almost daily in Japan.

The Japanese yen, has been on a downward spiral or in the weak currency range for a very long time, which causes import prices to be higher than usual.

Japan is a resource poor country which means it has to import much of what is needs and when the Japanese yen is weak or very weak, again import becomes too high and importers and wholesalers pass-on the high costs to the next in line in the supply chain which could include the final retail customer.

The former Prime Ministers in Japan also tried many times to decrease inflation but no matter what they tried it didn't work as inflation has continued ever since the pandemic period.

There are two types of inflation related to an economy; and the one that Japan is experiencing now is very hard to control and manage, its related to the increase of costs related to energy increases, raw material increases, and labor costs increases. 

This inflation has nothing to do with consumer spending or business spending as it just relates to an increase of supply costs.

The other kind of inflation is much easier to control and it is related to an increase in consumer spending and business spending in an economy. Usually the central bank will and can increase the key interest rate and most times the rate increase will cause consumers and businesses to cut back on on their spending which then over time inflation begins to decrease as other companies begin to decrease their prices. 

Most central banks want to keep inflation around 2 percent as they feel it's a manageable inflation and it shows that an economy is moving fast enough but not too fast.

An economy with inflation at 3 or 4 or even 5 percent might be considered moving too fast, and a central bank will increase the rate to try and slow down the economy to the 2 percent level.

In Japan's case the interest rate being above the 2 percent level is a supply problem with energy prices too high, raw material, including food costs too high and labors costs which are too high due to a supposed labor shortage in Japan where companies have to pay higher than normal wages to attract workers or keep workers.

The problem is most likely that the Bank of Japan's key rate and the US and its key rate are a long way from being equal as after the pandemic, as inflation increased in the US it increased its rate many times over a two or three year period while the Bank of Japan kept its rate almost at zero or below zero which means the variance between the two rates began to get larger and larger, which has had a negative affect on the Japanese yen being very weak for a very long time.

Consumer spending in Japan most likely has been significantly affected by the increase inflation as Japanese consumers continue to cutback on anything they don't need or even want.

But at the same time there is always inflation fatigue which is consumers get tired of not spending and or not doing things in a economy and eventually begin to spend again our of boredom and inflation fatigue. This might have happened during the pandemic or just after the pandemic in Japan as consumer spending did increase right after the pandemic.

The US is experiencing an increase in costs as they call it an affordability crisis which seems to be hitting other countries too globally.

Japan definitely has its own affordability crisis as food prices continue to remain high including the price of rice which has not gone down since the summer of 2024 rice shortage situation, which saw a run on rice in Japanese supermarkets.

Japan, it seems, will potentially always see an increase in prices due to its dependence on importing much of what it needs, as its dependent on global prices as it can't seem to get its weak currency under control which has a huge affect on the yen being weak or strong, and in this case a very weak Japanese yen.

Back in the day or maybe a decade ago or longer, Japanese companies were reluctant to increase prices or pass-on their costs to the next in the supply chain including and especially the final retail customer as they felt they would loose too many customers in the process.

These days, as the profit margins of companies become thinner and thinner they now have no choice but to pass-on their costs even to the final retail customer.

Yes, there are both positives and negatives to a weak Japanese yen, as the Bank of Japan as to weigh both the positives and the negatives and decide which as the most benefit for the Japanese economy.

Its seems at this time, as Japan is heavily dependent on exports, those companies that export seem to have the benefits for a weak yen, while importers seem to be a a disadvantage as the Japanese yen increases the prices of import products, which unfortunately the domestic economy in Japan is experiencing continued increases in prices almost since the end of of the pandemic.

Have a nice day!

Japan Core Consumer Prices: Updated Sept. 7, 2025.

Japan core consumer prices in July rise 3.1% on persistent food inflation

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250822/p2g/00m/0bu/019000c

Ideas

Core consumer prices in Japan have been extremely high since the pandemic and haven't decrease much since then.

The pace of increase might be slowing down but most likely Japanese consumers can't see it or feel it just yet.

Not to criticize but it seems the Japanese government doesn't seem to be doing much to help the average Japanese consumer other than subsidies on energy prices lately.

For example, in the US and it the EU the US Federal Reserve increased the key rate as a way to try and reduce inflation and the central bank in the EU followed suit by also increase its key rate to try and reduce inflation in the EU.

But the Japan central banks keeps saying or has said in the past that the Japanese economy might be too weak to increase the key rate as there are could be some significant side affects from the rate increase.

Most central banks like to keep inflation around 2 percent, like the Bank of Japan is hoping for, as they feel its a manageable level and also shows there is enough economic activity moving through an economy.

In recent years, many Japanese companies were reluctant to increase prices for fear or either losing customer or alienating too many customers so they often would absorb any prices increase related to energy, or raw materials costs.

But those days seems long gone as company after company are pass-on their increased costs to the next in the supply chain including the final retail customer.

Rice seem to be in a category all by itself as the normal supply and demand actions don't seem to apply to what has been happening to rice prices since the summer of 2024.

Japan is resource-poor country which means is has to import much of what it needs including gas and oil and if global market prices are too high and or the yen is weak import prices to Japan can be very high.

Rice, again, is a major food staple for the Japanese economy and ever since the summer of 2024 the price of rice hasn't seem to follow the normal actions of supply and demand as there seems to be some other actions that are controlling the price of rice in a country that considers rice a very important part of its food supply.

It could be mismanagement, it could be neglect, it could be cartel type actions but so far none of these actions have been given for the continuous high price of rice.

Most likely as the summer moves on most new air conditioners were probably bought in March or April which means that there weren't as many AC's bought later in the summer months, and as the summer moves close to the fall season most likely retail places are reducing prices to clear out the last inventory of AC's for the year.

Service type companies usually have very thin profits margins so if a company had wage increases for their workers they would have passed-on their costs to the next in the supply chain including the final retail customer.

The Bank of Japan, like most central banks are very conservative so they will take their time to see on what to do about curbing rising prices and what the affect of the US tariffs are going to have on the Japanese economy.

As far as the April-June period and the GDP the Japanese economy just doesn't grow that fast as its in a mature phase now for an economy and economic growth doesn't really happen that fast with mature economies unless there some kind of action that might spur some growth which just hasn't happened in Japan for a very long time.

For example the only real economic driver, lately, for the Japanese economy is exports but Japanese exports are going to be less than normal due to the US tariff situation which could reduce exports, maybe not significantly but enough to have an affect on the Japanese economy.

Unfortunately Japan just doesn't have any other economic drivers as its domestic economy just doesn't have to fuel needed to improve economic growth.

Some might say the record surge of foreign tourists into Japan might be the next economic driver for the Japanese economy, but so far, while very good. it hasn't really improved the economy that much yet, as Japan just doesn't see the amount of tourists that countries like Spain and France have at this time.

Have a nice day!

Japan's Core Consumer Prices: Updated July 24, 2025

Japan's core consumer prices in June rise 3.3% on year

Article source: chttps://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250718/p2g/00m/0bu/018000

Ideas

Japan is a resource-poor country which means it has to import much of what it needs which also means its subject global price fluctuations related to shipping costs, raw material costs, and of course food price increases.

And then there is the problem of Japanese wholesalers or middle-men who add onto the import price to get their share needed to make a profit, which means the final Japanese customer has to pay a lot.

It's highly unlikely, in the near future that inflation in Japan will decrease below the 2 percent level any time soon unfortunately.

The pace of increase might be slowing some, but its still too much for the average Japanese household which means they have less and less disposable income each month and can't spend much in the Japanese economy.

The higher costs for mobile phones might be attributed to the I phone being very expensive globally including Japan and the entrance of South Korea's Samsung smartphones and the rise of Chinese smartphones too.

The Japanese rice situation is a disaster at this point as it's been on-going since the summer of 2024 with no real end in site yet.

Rice is a major staple in Japan and in Asia and should never be as expensive as it is. Food staples such as rice, bread, milk, some vegetables, and maybe some kinds of meat should never be so expensive that the lowest income groups should be able to buy these products easily instead of having to fore-go them because of price increases.

The rice situation or crisis in Japan is a national tragedy and never should have happened. This could be a situation where there might be the workings of a cartel type situation that is controlling the price of rice in markets as a way to benefit certain groups in Japan.

Rice prices might have peaked but prices are far from being back to normal and there are too many middlemen in Japan and the rice market is a very complicated web which makes pricing extremely difficult to back to some kind of normalcy.

Yes, prices continue to remain high which again means less disposable income for Japanese families which of course means less spending overall in the Japanese economy which of course reduces the chances for economic growth in the Japanese economy.

Energy prices are subject to global fluctuations as again Japan is a resource-poor country and has to import much of the energy it needs and then of course there is importers or middlemen group who need their share of the profits which increases the price of the energy being imported into Japan.

Japanese government subsidies help but the Japanese economy can't live on subsidies alone as some groups have to pay for the energy subsidies somewhere along the way.

The Bank of Japan is very conservative like other central banks but will look at the data very carefully and as usual will not make an rash decisions on what do to as they don't want to upset the financial markets with anything too risky.

Service companies were hit very hard during the pandemic and many had to lay-off workers and now they are experiencing a shortage in the labor market and they have to increase wages in order to keep or attract workers to work for them, like many companies are experiencing now in Japan.

Service companies are very quick to pass-on their costs as service companies have very thin profit margins and can't afford to absorb any costs such as energy costs, material costs, wage increases and so on.

Have a nice day!

Bank of Japan and Policy Rate: Updated April1, 2025.

BOJ set to keep policy rate unchanged amid Trump tariff uncertainty

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250318/p2g/00m/0bu/020000c

Ideas:
The Bank of Japan keeping its policy rate unchanged is probably a good idea as there is just too much uncertainty in the global economy right now.

All countries, and companies, either don't know what do to or how to exactly respond to what is going on these days.

Japan is a very resilient economy but in this instance it could really affect Japan's economy, as Japan is a major export country and all exports to the US could be affected.

There are many sectors in the US that could see increases as steel and aluminum is part of many products and unfortunately, as prices go up in the US demand for those products will decrease. 

The same can happen with Japanese cars in the US, and as prices increase US consumers will possibly think twice about buying a Japanese car, even though they like Japanese cars, and the same for other other foreign cars that US consumers might like.

And then there is all of the foreign car dealerships in the US that could see major decreases in customers and some could go out of business, and which could begin a domino affect into many other businesses in the US with major decreasing in sales.

Japan is not a country standing alone as its economy is highly connected to all other economies around the world including the US and what happens to the US economy could have significant affects on Japan too.

Yes, the Bank of Japan might have thought if the Japanese economy and prices move in line with expectations they might have thought of increasing borrowing costs, but as the situation has changed dramatically the BOJ might be re-thinking increasing borrowing costs.

The whole world is looking and watching what will happen on April 2, and the US stock market on April 2 could be a be for a very long day of losing shares prices.

The traditional or normal way of most central banks to rein in soaring inflation is to increase the key rate, which is suppose to dampen demand for loans and use of credit cards but the increase of the key rate is not a sure thing and it might take some time before prices decrease, if at all.

Japanese households have been suffering greatly due to constant inflation since the pandemic and there is no end in sight at this time. 

And yes, the weak Japanese yen is a major reason for the increase in prices as Japan is a resource-poor country which means they have to import much of what they need.

Japan's core consumer prices increasing 3.2 percent doesn't sound like much but it should be remembered it is probably just an average as maybe some prices might have risen more and of course a little less.

Most central banks would prefer to see an inflation rate or around 2 percent as they feel its a manageable number and if the inflation rate is above 2 percent, like 4 percent for example most central banks will think the economy is overheating.

The same can be said for an inflation rate of 1 percent only might be considered too low and an economy is not moving very fast. 

Companies increasing wages is a very good idea as it will significantly help Japanese wage earners, but it must be remembered that 70 percent of the Japanese workforce don't work for the large name-brand companies but small and midsize companies and usually small and midsize companies don't pay the same wage increase that large Japanese companies do.

And yes, if wage increases to reach the 5.46 level for large companies that would be good, but again the what is going to happen with the small and midsize companies and wage increases, as some don't have the needed resources for wage increases. 

And then there is the idea of Japan is in a labor shortage at this time, so many companies are looking at increasing wages to attract new workers and or keep their existing workers.

A labor shortage in Japan means Japanese workers can easily move to another job so companies are aware of this and a reason for the possible wage increases. 

Have a nice day!

Japan Core CPI: Updated Feb. 5, 2025.

Japan's core CPI up 3.0% in Dec. after end of gov't energy subsidies

Article Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250124/p2g/00m/0bu/004000c

Ideas:

Japan has been experiencing increases in its core consumer prices since the pandemic period and it doesn't seem to be decreasing much yet.

The Bank of Japan is hoping inflation will be 2.0 percent or less and at the same time it hopes consumer demand and consumer spending will be the main reason for inflation an not companies passing-on their increased costs to the next in the supply chain.

Government subsidies to combat inflation is good and needed but the Japanese government can't do everything as its debt is among the highest among OECD countries.

Most advanced countries use interest rates as a way to control or limit inflation but the Bank of Japan has only recently started using the rate again, after many year of not increasing the rate.

While 2.4 percent might not be much but for some income groups it can be a lot and they begin to look for substitutes if at all possible.

An increase in the key rate increase to 0.5 percent doesn't seem like much but it might be enough to slow inflation as maybe some businesses or households will not go to the bank to get loans as the rate interest rate might discourage them.

The CPI increase was driven by cost-push factors which means companies were passing-on their increased costs to the next in the supply chain including the final retail consumer.

Currently it appears the trend is going to continue but by how much, as it could decrease or it could increase depending on the weak Japanese yen, which increases import prices in Japan.

The Bank of Japan is looking for Japanese companies to increase wages again this year and if the wage increases are to the liking of the Bank of Japan it will most likely increase the key rate again in the future.

The Japanese yen is weak because of the variance between the US key rate and the Japanese key rate and maybe the EU rate too. 

As the Bank of Japan begins to increase its key rate and the US begins to lower its key rate the rates of both countries begin to get closer together which can improve the weak Japan yen to become stronger.

Japan is resource-poor country which means it has to import much of what it needs including its energy needs, which can often fluctuate and Japan is mostly helpless to do anything about global energy prices.

There has been talk that Japan is considering going back to using nuclear energy, which is less expensive but some might say more dangerous especially since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster which caused the shutdown of many reactors in Japan.

Again, as Japan is a resource-poor country which means it has to import much of what it needs including many food products or food supplies such as wheat.

The summer rice shortage is something of a mystery as some blame the poor growing season for the supply shortage and some blame other reasons such as the distribution system for increase in rice prices stating last summer.

Weather can always cause prices to go up or down depending on the situation of a good growing season or a not so good growing season and even global situations related to the weather can affect food price going to Japan.

Many years ago Japanese companies were reluctant to pass-on their increased costs to the next in the supply chain and especially the final retail customer as they were afraid of losing customers.

But times have changed as many companies profit margins are just out of control and inflation related to increased food material costs and energy costs have just become too much for many companies to handle so now they have no choice but to pass-on their increased material and energy costs to the next in the supply chain and yes including the final retail customer.

The increase of durable good might be something that could be related to an increase in the cost of manufacturing the good as again material and energy costs have increased the costs of everything in Japan and globally.

Usually the services sectors has the lowest wages as many services companies might only pay minimum wage or something like that. 

But as there is a labor shortage in Japan now many service companies now have to increase wages as a way to get the best talent possible even if the wages are not the best.

The Bank of Japan is looking very carefully about what Japanese companies are going to do with wage increases as the BOJ is hoping the increases will be enough to help the economy and consumers will begin to spend again to the point that the economy will grow again.

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 Inflation: Updated October 27, 2024.

Japan inflation slows to 2.4% in Sept. as energy bill subsidy resumes

Article Source: Article: Article was deleted by mistake.

Ideas:

Inflation in Japan has been steady and its just not one month but it seems like every month, so all those months can add up for Japanese consumers and businesses.

Inflation is in itself is not a bad thing, but when it becomes excessive it can be a stress for many consumers and businesses. 

There is good inflation, the increase of prices due to increased demand and there is not so good inflation, price increases by companies that are just passing on their increased costs to the next in the supply chain, including the final customer.

Japan is resource-poor country which means Japan has to import much of what is needs, which of course means its subject to global prices increases on most products including gas and oil.

And then add in the weak yen, and imports are inflated even more for not just Japanese consumers but Japanese businesses too.

Energy and fresh food are taken out of most consumer price indexes, globally, as the two items can be very volatile, meaning prices can go up and down a lot.

Subsidies are good and needed but are they enough to cover the Japanese household energy costs in the summer and then as winter approaches, most likely global warming or global changes are going to cause record low temperatures this winter.

As there were probably a lot of new air-conditioners sold this past summer in Japan and the same situation might happen in the winter with an increase in sales in heaters this winter.

Japan, if they don't, have need trade agreements with energy producing countries to try and control the price of energy, and Japan has to import much of what it needs.

There has been a lot of discussion if there really was/is a rice shortage in Japan, as even the Japanese government has suggested there never was a rice shortage. But at the same time, there might have been a reduction in the harvest of rice and the weather might have limited the rice production, which of course, related to supply and demand, anytime there is a shortage, prices will increase.

Anytime there as reduced harvest, of any kind of fruit and vegetables, farmers and so on will increase prices as they need to make up for the limited supply with higher prices.

And of course due to production costs, now even rice farmers are passing on their costs to the next in the supply chain, which of course will affect the Japanese consumer.

The summers in Japan have gotten hot each year, which means the price of fruit and vegetables will most likely be higher.

The price of durable good might have nothing to with anything other than the increase of prices related to manufacturing of the durable products, as manufacturers, again, are passing on their increase costs to the next in the supply chain.

Hotel expenses might be related to either an increase in demand and or an increase in energy bills due to the summer heat.

The Bank of Japan is watching very carefully the increase or decrease in prices and whether they should increase the key interest rate this fall.

If prices continue to increase the BOJ might decide to increase the key rate, if prices remain steady and not increase that much the BOJ might delay the interest rate increase.

But another key ingredient is what is going to happen in the stock markets this fall, and of course what is going to happen in the US elections. If the global stock markers go crazy the BOJ might wait until things cool down.

Prices alone most likely is not going to get the Bank of Japan to increase the key rate as what is happening in the global markets, again, might have an affect on what the BOJ does.

For example, the stock market upheaval, this past summer, might have forced the Bank of Japan to  step back from a rate increase this fall.

Again, as the US election is coming up, and the chance the global markets are going to be somewhat crazy the BOJ might wait until December or even January to make its move.

Have a nice day!

Japan Core Consumer Prices: Updated June 26, 2024.

 

Japan's core consumer prices up 2.5% on year in May

Article Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240621/p2g/00m/0bu/020000c

Ideas:

Inflation continues to be a challenge for not only Japanese households but Japanese businesses too. Ever since the pandemic inflation has been a challenge for the Japanese economy, and it doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon.

And at the same time, the weak Japanese yen has caused the prices of imports to be even higher than normal, which puts more stress on households and Japanese businesses.f

Normally, central banks, whether good or not so good, will increase the key interest rate as a way to try and lower inflation, but the Bank of Japan has decided to just let inflation run its course and not really intervene that much.

The Bank of Japan's idea of 2 percent inflation target seems to be out of reach at this time, and it might be out of reach for the next year, until maybe the weak yen can be reduced, which might make the variance between the US key rate and the Japanese key rate much more equal, if at all possible.

The US central bank of US Federal Reserve says they only plan on one key rate decrease this year or this summer, which means the variance between the Bank of Japan and the US central bank is not going to be reduced anytime soon.

Energy prices are subject to the weak yen and global supplies and Japan is resource-poor country which means it has to import much of what it needs including energy.

There have been many programs on Japanese TV which has talked about food prices and how much so much can buy these days. Even friends in Japan say 5,000 yen used to buy a lot but these days doesn't buy much at all.

Wage growth might not have an affect on Japanese households until maybe after the summer season or Obon season, and then maybe Japanese households can see the affects start to help.

Service prices, due to increased demand and service companies trying to make up for losses during the pandemic have probably increased a lot.

For example, as I survey some of the hotels in Yokohama, that I usually stay at, the hotel prices have increased a lot during the past two years.

Again,  service type companies might be increasing prices not just because of increased demand, but because of the need to makeup for losses during the pandemic, where service type companies were hit the hardest and lost a lot of sales and profits.

Not all Japanese workers got the same wage increase as large company workers did. Some might have gotten much less and again there will be haves and have nots in the Japanese economy related to wage increases.

The BOJ and the 2 percent inflation target might not be reached soon if only large companies reach the 5 percent wage increase level, as some 70 percent of Japanese workers don't work for large name brand Japanese companies.

The Bank of Japan's target has never been close and as always seemed some distance away, as inflation continues to be a major challenge for the Bank of Japan and the Japanese economy.

Yes, Japan is a resource-poor country, which means it has to import much of everything that it needs, from raw materials to make things, basic food, and basic energy needs.

Japan, for the most part, needs more free trade agreements with many other countries related to many items, as a way to reduce import prices and tariff prices which will help Japanese businesses and Japanese households.

Inflation will continue to be a challenge for Japan, but to be fair, even the US is still having some challenges with inflation as it hasn't completely gone away in the US too, at this time.

Have a nice day and be safe! 

Japan's Core Consumer Prices: Updated Feb. 28, 2024.

 

Japan's core CPI slows to 2.5% in Nov., services inflation persists

Article Source:https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20231222/p2g/00m/0bu/021000c

Ideas:

The services sector, which was hit very hard during the pandemic, maybe is increasing prices to make up for the losses during the pandemic, and the idea that maybe consumer demand is strong enough to increase prices.

Most central banks prefer to keep inflation between 2 and 4 percent but maybe, as Japan has a large elderly population, who might be on pensions, the Bank of Japan prefers that inflation be at the 2 percent level.

The Bank of Japan is more interested in demand-led inflation as it means consumer demand and consumer spending has increased to the point that companies are increasing prices because of increased demand instead of increased material costs.

The Bank of Japan has always suggest that the Japanese economy is too weak to increase the key rate, like what the US and the EU has done in recent years.

The Japanese economy is a resource poor economy, meaning it has to import much of what it needs including oil and gas, which then means it has the mercy of global prices and of course the weak Japanese yen, which increases import prices.

As many or more companies increase wages, they have to pay of the higher labor costs, so its only natural that they increase prices to make up for the wages increases.

Japan seems to have a labor shortage which means companies might begin to pay higher wages as a way to attract the employees they need.

So Japan today might be a buyers market meaning people looking for work have a good chance of finding a job with higher wages than before the pandemic.

For years, maybe even decades, companies, even in the services sector, were reluctant to increase prices for maybe fearing the would lose a significant number of customers, and at the same time, if other service sector companies were not increasing prices, they too were not going to do it.

The cost-push element maybe has lost momentum, as maybe most companies have increased prices to the point that they feel they are high enough at this time.

Back in 2014 and 1019 there were 2 sales tax increases or consumption tax increases of 5 and 8 percent, which at the time had the affect of consumer spending decreasing for a few months until consumer got used to idea of higher prices.

So possibly, as inflation continues on in Japan, consumers maybe have gotten used to the higher prices and are adjusting their spending habits related to less extra income.

The increase in accommodation prices might be a combination of strong increased demand, especially with the huge increase in foreign tourist, and the idea that the services sector is trying to make up for its loses during the pandemic period.

The core CPI is just a number, and it relative to each household or consumer, as all households and all consumers are not the same, as they pick and choose what they need and want and maybe some are frugal shoppers and some shoppers buy more depending on their needs and wants.

Even at 3 percent the CPI might still be too high for some income groups such as the elderly on pensions who have fixed income, and probably use more of the income on food than the higher income groups.

Energy prices might have dropped 10 percent, but are they low enough that households and consumers are not stressed with continued high home energy costs?

Energy subsidies are important and needed, especially among the lower income groups while the higher income groups might not even notice the high energy prices.

What needs to be known is most employees in Japan don't work for large Japanese companies, but work for small and medium size companies, It is estimated that 70 percent of employees in Japan didn't get a wage increase in April of 2023.

The Bank of Japan seems to be waiting to see if demand-led inflation will be greater that cost-push inflation. Demand-led inflation is consumer demand and consumer spending inflation and not companies passing-on their material costs to the next in the supply chain including the final customer.

Small and medium sized companies have, for the most part, smaller profit margins, which makes it difficult for them to not only increase prices but at the same time they are maybe unable to increase wages too.

The Japanese government needs to step in with incentives to help small and medium-sized companies with wage increases and price increases, and if not, there is going to be an even wider gap between big companies and small companies which might mean large companies will gain more market power at the disadvantage of small and medium-sized companies.

ンデミック中に大きな打撃を受けたサービス部門は、おそらくパンデミック中の損失を補うために価格を値上げしており、消費者の需要が価格を値上げするのに十分強いのではないかという考えがある。 ほとんどの中央銀行はインフレ率を2～4％に維持することを望んでいますが、日本には年金受給者である可能性のある高齢者人口が多いため、おそらく日本銀行はインフレ率が2％レベルにあることを望んでいるのでしょう。 日本銀行は、需要主導型インフレにより関心を持っています。需要主導型インフレとは、材料費の増加ではなく需要の増加によって企業が価格を引き上げるほどに消費需要と個人支出が増加したことを意味するからです。 日本銀行は常に、米国やEUが近年行ってきたように、日本経済は弱すぎて主要金利を引き上げることができないと示唆してきた。 日本経済は資源に乏しい経済であり、石油やガスなど必要なものの多くを輸入しなければならず、そのため世界価格と、もちろん輸入価格を上昇させる円安に翻弄されることになる。 多くの企業が賃金を引き上げると、その分人件費が高くなりますので、賃金の上昇分を補うために物価を値上げするのは当然のことです。 日本は労働力が不足しているようで、企業が必要な従業員を引き付ける方法としてより高い賃金を支払い始める可能性がある。 したがって、現在の日本は買い手市場である可能性がある。つまり、仕事を探している人々はパンデミック前よりも高い賃金で仕事を見つけるチャンスが十分にあるということだ。 何年も、あるいは何十年もの間、企業は、サービス部門であっても、おそらく相当数の顧客を失うことを恐れて、価格を上げることに消極的でした。同時に、他のサービス部門の企業が価格を上げなければ、自分たちも値上げすることになるでしょう。 それをするつもりはなかった。 おそらくほとんどの企業が現時点で十分高いと感じるところまで価格を値上げしているため、コストプッシュ要素は勢いを失っているのかもしれません。 2014 年と 1019 年に 2 回の売上税増税または 5 パーセントと 8 パーセントの消費税増税があり、当時は消費者が高い価格の概念に慣れるまでの数か月間、個人消費が減少する影響がありました。 おそらく、日本でインフレが続く中、消費者は高い価格に慣れ、副収入の減少に関連した支出習慣を調整しているのかもしれません。 宿泊料金の値上がりは、特に外国人観光客の大幅な増加による需要の大幅な増加と、サービス部門がパンデミック期間中の損失を補おうとしているという考えが組み合わさったものかもしれない。 コア CPI は単なる数値であり、各世帯や消費者との相対的なものです。すべての世帯とすべての消費者は同じではなく、必要なものや欲しいものを選んで選択し、倹約的な買い物客もいれば、状況に応じてより多く購入する買い物客もいるかもしれないためです。 彼らのニーズや要望に基づいて。 たとえ3％であっても、固定収入があり、おそらく高所得層よりも多くの収入を食費に費やしている年金受給者のような一部の所得層にとっては、CPIは依然として高すぎるかもしれない。 エネルギー価格は 10% 下がったかもしれませんが、家庭や消費者が高止まりする家庭用エネルギーコストにストレスを感じないほど十分に低いのでしょうか? エネルギー補助金は重要であり、特に低所得層にとって必要ですが、高所得層はエネルギー価格の高さにさえ気づかない可能性があります。 知っておく必要があるのは、日本の従業員のほとんどは日本の大企業ではなく、中小企業で働いているということです。日本の従業員の70パーセントは2023年4月に賃金が上がらなかったと推定されています。 日銀は、需要主導型インフレがコストプッシュ型インフレよりも大きくなるかどうかを見極めようとしているようだ。 需要主導型インフレとは、消費者需要と個人消費のインフレであり、企業が材料コストを最終顧客を含むサプライチェーン内の次の企業に転嫁するものではありません。 中小企業の多くは利益率が低いため、価格を上げることが難しいだけでなく、賃金を上げることもできない可能性があります。 日本政府は中小企業の賃上げや物価上昇を支援するためのインセンティブを与える必要があるが、そうでなければ大企業と中小企業の間の格差はさらに広がり、大企業が利益を得ることになるかもしれない。 市場支配力が高まると中小企業が不利になります。

Have a nice day and be safe!