Japan inflation accelerates slightly as food prices soar

Jul 21, 2023 | News On Japan

TOKYO - Consumers in Japan have been watching prices at supermarkets creep up, which has quickened the pace of increase in the overall consumer price index.

The internal affairs ministry says the CPI excluding fresh food in June was 3.3 percent higher than a year earlier. The jump was slightly bigger than the previous month's increase of 3.2 percent.

Prices for many food items went up, causing the food index to soar in June from a year earlier by 9.2 percent. Fresh items are excluded from the index because they vary widely in price based on the weather.

There was a similar increase in May that marked the biggest jump in over 47 years.

The price of eggs jumped by 35.7 percent.

Carbonated drinks were up 17.4 percent and hamburgers 17.1 percent.

But energy prices actually went down by 6.6 percent, due to government subsidies and the increase in fuel prices subsiding. Electricity bills fell by 12.4 percent.

Source: テレ東BIZ

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