Japan’s CPI rose 3.2% in January, and the increase has expanded for three consecutive months

The Consumer Price Index (CPI, with 2020 as 100) for January released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan on February 21 showed that after excluding fresh food with large fluctuations, the comprehensive index was 109.8, up 3.2% from the same period last year. The CPI increase has expanded for three consecutive months. The comprehensive index, including fresh food that is close to the actual experience of life, rose 4.0%, exceeding 4% for the first time in a year.

The median market forecast compiled in advance by QUICK is: the comprehensive index excluding fresh food rose 3.1%.

Fresh food, which is purchased more frequently, rose by 21.9%, the highest level since November 2004. Fresh vegetables rose by 36.0%. Cabbage, whose shipments decreased due to poor growth, rose by about 3 times, and cabbage rose by about 2 times. Citrus, whose production decreased due to the hot summer last year, rose by 37.0%.

Other foods excluding fresh food rose by 5.1%. Rice, which has seen a significant price increase since the summer of 2024, rose by 70.9% in January 2025, the largest increase since January 1971, when comparable data was available. The price of domestic pork in Japan rose by 6.6%.

Affected by rising raw material prices and labor costs, catering prices rose by 3.1%. Against the backdrop of rising rice prices, sushi and rice balls in catering services rose by 4.5% and 9.2% respectively. Affected by the bad weather in Brazil, the main country of origin, coffee bean shipments decreased, and prices rose by 23.7%.