Tokyo rice prices in October soared a record 62.3 percent from a year ago, government data showed Friday, as rising living costs have become a key issue in Japan’s general election being held this weekend.
The surge in rice prices, the largest increase since comparable data became available in 1971, comes as farmers pass rising labor and fertilizer costs on to consumers.
Rice prices have been trending upward in recent months, particularly in urban areas, also due to short supply following last year’s hot summer and increased demand from restaurants.
File photo shows rice sold in bags at a supermarket in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, on Oct. 18, 2024. (Kyodo)
With the Tokyo figures serving as a bellwether for the national trend, analysts expect the costs to remain high, dispelling hopes that the arrival of new rice in the fall might lower prices.
On the back of the jumping rice price, food prices in the capital, excluding those of volatile fresh items, rose 3.8 percent in the reporting month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.
Chocolate prices rose 21.7 percent as confectionery makers revised upward their price tags in the reporting month due to surging raw material costs. Coffee beans and imported beef also gained 16.6 percent and 14.1 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, core consumer prices in Tokyo rose 1.8 percent from the previous year in October. But the pace decelerated for the second consecutive month, a year after electricity and city gas bills increased as the government slashed its subsidy programs for those items.
Electricity costs and city gas prices climbed 4.0 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively, in October, sharply slowing from the previous month.
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