Food inflation in Japan is a hot topic for households managing monthly budgets — and increasingly for the central bank as well, as prices for staples including rice and cabbage soar.
The issue will gain fresh traction with Friday’s release of consumer inflation data forecast to show overall price gains picking up to 4% in January from 3.6% in December, according to consensus. That may boost pressure on the Bank of Japan to hike its benchmark rate at a faster pace than previously expected.
Cabbage prices at 2.6 times their five-year average are a particular problem for people like Katsumi Shinagawa, who manages a pork cutlet restaurant in Tokyo. Restaurants like his typically offer cabbage as an all-you-can-eat side dish served alongside the tonkatsu cutlets.
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