March Consumer Prices in Japan Up 3.2%... Rice Prices Soar 92%, 'All-Time High'

Japan's consumer price index (excluding fresh food) for March rose 3.2% year-on-year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced on the 18th.

Japan's consumer price inflation rate has remained in the 3% range for four consecutive months. It was 0.2 percentage points higher than February's 3.0% and matched the median forecast (3.2%) surveyed by financial information firm QUICK.

AFP Yonhap News

In particular, rice prices increased by 92.1% year-on-year last month. Kyodo News explained that this is the largest increase since comparable statistics have been available, dating back to 1971.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, retail rice prices have been rising for 14 consecutive weeks, with the average price for 5 kg reaching 4,214 yen (approximately 42,085 won) from March 31 to April 6. The Japanese government released 210,000 tons of stockpiled rice in two rounds to increase supply, but prices have not stabilized.

Meanwhile, the consumer price index for the 2024 fiscal year (April 2024 to March 2025) rose 2.7% compared to the previous year, slightly down from the 2.8% increase in the 2023 fiscal year.

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