TOKYO - Once considered the “model of price stability” at the Japanese table, eggs are now facing another crisis. The price of eggs, a staple ingredient used daily across the country, has surged once again, prompting concern among both businesses and consumers.
At Café American in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward, a long line of customers filled the restaurant during lunchtime, many ordering its famous egg sandwiches. Made with thick slices of fluffy white bread and generously filled with homemade egg salad—topped with yet more eggs—the hearty sandwich has become a signature dish of the Higashi-Ginza area.
Owner-chef Makoto Haraguchi said the shop’s trademark sandwich was born out of a sense of fairness. “Eggs used to be cheap, about 10 yen each,” Haraguchi recalled. “Back then, ham, egg, and tuna sandwiches were all priced the same. But I felt bad about that, so I started adding more eggs on top—and that’s how it got popular. It just kept escalating from there.”
Today, Haraguchi uses about 800 eggs a day. But prices have risen sharply: a 10-kilogram case now costs around 4,000 yen. “Compared to last year or the year before, that’s about one and a half times higher—and even more than three years ago,” he said.
According to JA Zen-Noh Tamago, the average wholesale price for medium-size eggs through October 22nd stood at 325 yen per kilogram, approaching the high levels seen during the “Egg Shock” of April and May 2023.
Despite the steep costs, Haraguchi said he has no plans to raise prices. “We just have to endure it,” he said. “I want to, but I can’t raise prices. We have so many loyal customers, and I don’t want to betray their trust. That’s the most important thing.”
Adding to the concern, authorities confirmed that chickens at a poultry farm in Hokkaido were infected with a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza—the first confirmed case in Japan this season. The government convened a meeting of relevant ministers to coordinate its response.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara warned, “It would not be surprising if outbreaks occurred anywhere across the country in the coming weeks.”
At a supermarket in Tokyo on October 22nd, a pack of 10 eggs was selling for 280 yen. “Normally they’re about 130 yen, so that’s more than double,” said Isumi Narihiraten supermarket president Mamoru Gomi. “It’s worrying, because when bird flu hits, prices can jump by another 50 yen almost immediately.”
Hokkaido officials reported that the number of chickens to be culled this time accounts for roughly 8% of the prefecture’s egg-laying hens. They emphasized that supply remains stable for now and urged residents to stay calm and avoid panic buying.
Source: FNN
