Japan faces price hikes on over 3,000 food items in October

FILE PHOTO: Bags of polished rice are seen at a supermarket corner in Tokyo on June 20, 2025. Higher crude oil and naphtha prices caused by the worsening situation in the Middle East have driven up the cost of packaging materials, while the weakening yen has pushed up import prices, prompting companies to pass on higher costs to consumers. - AFP

TOKYO: The prices of 3,153 food and beverage items in Japan are set to rise next month as higher packaging costs stemming from the Middle East conflict and a weaker yen continue to hit household budgets, a research firm's survey showed Wednesday (Sept 30), Kyodo News reported.

The increases in October will follow price hikes for 4,965 items in September, according to Teikoku Databank Ltd., which described the two months as another "wave of price hikes.”

Higher crude oil and naphtha prices caused by the worsening situation in the Middle East have driven up the cost of packaging materials, while the weakening yen has pushed up import prices, prompting companies to pass on higher costs to consumers. - Bernama-Kyodo