Japan Food Inflation Holds at 18-Month Low

2026-06-19 00:39 By Farida Husna 1 min. read

Japan's food prices increased 3.5% year-on-year in May 2026, matching April's pace and remaining at their slowest pace since October 2024.

Costs continued to rise for fish and seafood (5.5% vs 5.8% in April), meat (3.5% vs 4.4%), dairy products and eggs (3.6% vs 4.9%), oils, fats, and seasonings (3.9% vs 4.2%), cakes and candies (8.1% vs 7.7%), prepared foods (4.4% vs 4.8%), beverages (8.7% vs 9.4%), alcoholic beverages (0.2% vs 0.9%), and meals eaten out (1.0% vs 1.1%).

At the same time, fresh vegetable prices rebounded after five consecutive months of declines (3.8% vs -2.2%), while cereal prices fell for the first time since December 2021 (-0.9% vs 1.2%) and fresh fruit prices stayed in deflation (-1.6% vs -3.6%).

Among staple foods, rice prices declined 4.9% from a year earlier, marking their first annual drop since November 2022.



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