News On Japan

Tuna Prices Surge as Iran Crisis Ripples Through Japan’s Hotels

KANAGAWA, Apr 03, 2026 (News On Japan) - Fresh tuna, glistening in vivid red, is served in unlimited portions, but resort hotels in Japan are beginning to feel the strain as escalating tensions involving Iran push up costs across the supply chain.

At a hotel known for its signature buffet, the manager expressed concern over rising procurement costs, noting that prices have increased by around 500 yen per kilogram since April.

A major factor behind the surge is the deepening crisis involving Iran, which has contributed to instability in energy markets. Footage showing flashes lighting up the night sky was posted on social media by U.S. President Donald Trump just before 10 a.m. Japan time, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that the video depicted a bunker-buster bomb strike on a large Iranian ammunition depot.

While the United States maintains a hardline stance and continues negotiations with Iran, Iranian state television reported that parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf rejected Trump’s demands, and newly released footage appeared to show an American early warning aircraft destroyed in an Iranian attack, further heightening tensions.

Against this backdrop, the program visited Miura City in Kanagawa Prefecture, facing the Pacific Ocean, on March 31st, where a resort hotel known for its natural hot spring spa is already feeling the effects of the crisis.

One area impacted is linen services, including sheets, pillowcases, and towels that are replaced daily in guest rooms. The hotel relies on cleaning processes that use heavy oil, and service providers have approached the hotel seeking roughly a 10% price increase.

The impact is also being felt in the hotel’s buffet, a major attraction that offers unlimited fresh tuna sourced from nearby Misaki Port, one of Japan’s leading tuna landing sites. According to the manager, procurement costs for tuna have risen by around 25%, largely due to higher fuel costs affecting fishing vessels.

The buffet serves approximately 50 kilograms of tuna per day, and with prices expected to rise by about 500 yen per kilogram in April, the hotel faces an additional daily burden of roughly 25,000 yen for tuna alone.

While the hotel does not currently plan to raise accommodation fees, the manager indicated that adjustments may become unavoidable, including potentially reducing the variety of tuna cuts offered at the buffet.

Source: FNN

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Japan's World Cup campaign begins on June 14 when the Samurai Blue face the Netherlands at Dallas Stadium in Texas, a clash that will showcase some of the game's most talented players and pit two ambitious teams against one another in a crucial Group F opener. While Japan arrives without injured winger Kaoru Mitoma, one of its most recognizable stars, the squad still boasts a wealth of talent drawn from Europe's top leagues.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) announced that an El Niño phenomenon is believed to have developed this spring, warning that Japan is likely to experience above-average temperatures nationwide this summer despite the climate pattern's traditional association with cooler summers.

Narita International Airport Corporation is expected to announce next month that it will apply to the national government for project certification as part of the process to enable compulsory land acquisition for the construction of a new runway at Narita Airport, according to sources familiar with the matter.

A fire broke out at Arima Inari Shrine near the Arima Onsen hot spring resort area in Kobe on the night of June 9th, destroying multiple buildings and leaving an elderly Shinto priest and his wife with minor injuries.

Japan's national soccer team arrived in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 8th from Monterrey, Mexico, where it had been conducting a pre-World Cup training camp, and held its first practice session at its base camp for the FIFA World Cup in North America.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Business NEWS

The Bank of Japan is set to raise its policy interest rate from 0.75% to 1.0% at its monetary policy meeting on June 15th and 16th, a move that could mark another step in the central bank's gradual shift away from ultra-loose monetary policy as inflation remains elevated and the yen continues to weaken.

The contemporary corporate field across Japan is undergoing a profound digital transformation as forward-thinking organizations strive to maintain their market competitiveness in a globalized economy.

Japan's corporate goods prices rose 6.3% in May from a year earlier, marking the fastest pace of increase in more than three years as higher oil and petrochemical costs linked to tensions in the Middle East pushed up wholesale prices.

The Bank of Japan is increasingly expected to raise its policy interest rate to 1.0% at next week's monetary policy meeting, responding to growing concerns that inflation could rise faster than previously anticipated due to soaring oil prices and other cost pressures.

The number of restaurant bankruptcies in Japan reached a record high for the January–May period, highlighting mounting pressures from rising costs, labor shortages, and increasingly cautious consumer spending.

Casio Computer, the company behind some of Japan’s most iconic consumer electronics including calculators, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and the G-SHOCK watch, is pursuing a new strategy aimed at reviving its tradition of product innovation.

Nippon Steel plans to invest up to $2.5 billion, or approximately 400 billion yen, over the next three years in the Mon Valley Works steel complex in Pennsylvania, one of the key facilities operated by U.S. Steel, the American steelmaker it acquired in 2025.

Japan's economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.8% in the January–March quarter of 2026, according to revised gross domestic product (GDP) data released by the Cabinet Office, with the figure marked down from the preliminary estimate due largely to weaker-than-expected capital investment.