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April 15, 2025
 

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INFLATION

Farm minister Taku Eto (second from right) meets with rice wholesalers and retailers on Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2025
Japanese companies call for improved distribution of stockpiled rice
The average price of rice sold at supermarkets across the country in the week through April 6 rose for the 14th straight week.
The Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito are increasingly divided over economic measures to deal with inflation and U.S. tariffs.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 12, 2025
Ruling coalition divided over consumption tax cut
While some are leaning toward a tax cut, LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama and others are seeking a cash handout instead.
Commuters walk past a fruit store at a shopping arcade in Kyoto earlier this year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 12, 2025
Survey forecasts 12% rise in inflation in Japan over coming year
Of those surveyed, 86.7% said that prices are likely to be higher in a year's time, up from 85.7%.
The Bank of Japan's headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2025
Price expectations rise in Japan as tariffs cloud BOJ rate path
Households expect average annual inflation of 9.6% over the next five years, the highest since June 2006.
Producer prices of farm goods surged 19.7% in fiscal 2024 from the previous year, reflecting higher prices of rice sold to wholesalers.
BUSINESS
Apr 10, 2025
Japan producer prices rise 3.3% in fiscal 2024
According to a preliminary report by the Bank of Japan, the producer price index in the year through March hit a record high for the third straight year.
Stockpiled rice at a rice-polishing factory in Saitama Prefecture in March
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2025
Japan to release stockpiled rice monthly amid record high prices
The move comes after two previous releases appeared to have had little effect in stabilizing prices.
In a reflection of persistent price pressure, real wages declined for a second straight month in February, falling 1.2% from a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 7, 2025
Japan’s nominal wages rise in bright spot as outlook darkens
Nominal cash earnings for workers climbed 3.1% in February from a year earlier, with the pace accelerating from a revised 1.8% in January, the labor ministry said Monday.
Household outlays declined 0.5% in February from a year earlier, led by falling outlays on clothes and footwear, housing and food.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 4, 2025
Japan’s household spending drops for first time in three months
The drop, ahead of sweeping tariffs announced by the U.S., was led by falling outlays on clothes and footwear, housing and food.
Aeon has released a ¥321 ($2.20) frozen bento boxed meal containing peperoncino pasta and a hamburger steak with tomato sauce, which went on sale on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 3, 2025
Japan retailers boost own-brand products amid inflation
Private-label products, which retailers develop with manufacturers, can be sold at lower prices than those of name-brand products because of reduced costs.
New students of the University of Tokyo attend an entrance ceremony at the Budokan Hall in Tokyo in April 2023.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2025
Half of college students in Japan worry about living costs
Some students have said they refrain from buying things more often than they have previously.
Aeon launches blended rice "Nisui no Takumi" on Wednesday in the city of Chiba.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2025
Retailer Aeon to sell Japan-U.S. blended rice
Under the name "Nisui no Takumi," the blended rice will be sold from around April 10 at some 2,000 stores across Japan except the Hokkaido and the Tohoku region.
A report from Dai-ichi Life Research Institute shows that the cost of typical food items eaten at the gatherings known as hanami has risen 21.4% in the past six years.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 2, 2025
Inflation casts shadow over Japan’s cherry blossom season
A report shows that the cost of typical food items eaten at flower viewing gatherings has risen 21.4% in the past six years.
The Bank of Japan's tankan survey indicates that large business are still positive on their prospects.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 1, 2025
Japanese businesses maintain optimism ahead of looming tariff storm
In the BOJ's latest tankan survey, the headline index for big manufacturers was 12, which indicates confidence in the business outlook.
Prices of over 4,000 food and beverage products, including the Asahi Super Dry beer, will increase in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 31, 2025
Prices for 4,225 food and drink products set to rise in Japan
The price increases in April reflect rising wages and logistics costs being increasingly passed on to consumers, research firm Teikoku Databank says.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said fees for average households that use 260 kilowatt-hours of power per month will increase by ¥436 from March to ¥9,031 next month.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2025
Japan household electricity bills to rise in April
Fees for the average household will go up by between ¥385 and ¥465 in April, due mainly to the end of government subsidies to curb inflation.
According to the internal affairs ministry on Friday, consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.4% in March from a year earlier as inflation in processed food accelerated.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 28, 2025
Tokyo inflation exceeds forecasts, keeping BOJ on rate hike path
The leading indicator for nationwide inflation is likely to keep BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda mulling over the right timing for further rate hikes.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a meeting of the Upper House Budget Committee on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 27, 2025
Ishiba’s remarks on inflation relief measures draw ire as budget deadline looms
Confusing messages about an economic package to counter rising prices came as negotiations were heating up on when to hold a vote on the budget.
Junko Koeda, a new member on the Bank of Japan's policy board, holds her inaugural news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 27, 2025
BOJ’s newest board member avoids sending signal on timing of next rate hike
Junko Koeda's remarks are likely to keep market speculation alive over the odds of a rate change at the next meeting.
Government's stockpiled rice at a warehouse in Saitama Prefecture in February
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2025
Japan begins taking bids in second auction of stockpiled rice
The focus is on whether the release of reserve rice will help curb soaring rice prices.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks at the central bank's headquarters on March 19.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 26, 2025
BOJ to keep raising benchmark rate if outlook is met, Ueda tells parliament
The central bank governor noted that while there are pockets of weakness, “the economy is recovering moderately.”
A new tour of Tokyo’s most underground attraction
When you stare into the abyss at the bottom of the No. 3 shaft of the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel, the abyss stares back.
China halts critical rare earth exports as trade war intensifies
Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, in China's Jiangsu province, in October 2010.
'Chikan' incidents rise as Japan grapples with mental health and cultural challenges
Overcrowded trains and a lack of legal consequences for groping in Japan have led to a rise in "chikan," or groping, which has been linked to a mental condition and compounded by cultural stigmas.
Japan doesn’t plan to use U.S. Treasurys as tariff talk leverage
Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Itsunori Onodera speaks at LDP headquarters in Tokyo last October.
Osaka Expo throws open its doors as mega-event kicks off
People visit the Osaka Expo on the first day it opened to the public, in the city of Osaka on Sunday.
A new tour of Tokyo’s most underground attraction
When you stare into the abyss at the bottom of the No. 3 shaft of the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel, the abyss stares back.
Osaka Expo-bound? Take your pick of the city’s new luxury hotels.
The Four Seasons Hotel Osaka opened in 2024, just one of many new luxury accommodations the city boasts ahead of the 2025 World Expo.
Heaven from hells: The sulfuric pleasure of Unzen Onsen
While Unzen Onsen's "hells" can be visually striking, locals describe them and their effects as "a source of emotional healing."
Osaka Expo throws open its doors as mega-event kicks off
People visit the Osaka Expo on the first day it opened to the public, in the city of Osaka on Sunday.
Japan’s NATO envoy targets industrial tie-ups to boost defense supply chains
Japanese Ambassador to NATO Osamu Izawa (left) meets with the alliance's secretary-general, Mark Rutte, at NATO headquarters in Brussels recently.

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