On April 25 the Consumer Affairs Agency sent notices (pdf) to 12 nationwide retailers regarding sales of frozen foods. The CAA thinks that the way these sales are advertised purposely misleads shoppers and thus violates the Price Indication Law. The cited stores, which include supermarkets, drug stores and discount chains not named in the media, have regular bargain sales on frozen foods at savings of 30 to 50 percent off "the manufacturers' suggested retail prices," but as the CAA points out there is no such thing as a price suggested by the manufacturer when it comes to food. In essence, the stores are "fabricating" discounts.
Frozen food bargain sales have been commonplace for more than decade. In fact, every supermarket and discount drug store has them. They take place on a weekly basis, usually Tuesdays or Wednesdays, and regular patrons thus come to expect them, which means they rarely buy frozen food the rest of the week.
What the CAA is pointing out is that these retailers have convinced shoppers that on those days when frozen foods are "half-price" or "one-third-price" they are cheaper than they "normally" are, but what is normal in this case? The CAA only seems to have cited retailers who use the phrase "suggested manufacturers' retail price" (kibo kagaku or kori kagaku) in their ads, but even those stores that don't use the phrase are being cagey with the semantics: Half of what price?