- 14 Mar 2002
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After decades of price stagnation, inflation has finally arrived in Japan, leaving consumers scrambling for clever ways to soften the blow. Cabbage, once a humble staple, now commands a king's ransom in Tokyo – its price has more than tripled in a year, a figure that would make even a seasoned economist blanch. While the Bank of Japan, ever optimistic, has nudged interest rates upwards, real wages have been on a downward spiral for what feels like forever, and the portion of household budgets devoted to food is at a 40-year high.
A single head of cabbage costing the equivalent of an hour's work? News of this culinary coup has already made waves. And as if that weren't enough, the central bank has ominously warned that rice, another dietary essential, will likely remain pricey until spring 2026. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given these sky-high costs, the nation's vegetable consumption has plummeted to an all-time low.
The solution: grow yourself.
A single head of cabbage costing the equivalent of an hour's work? News of this culinary coup has already made waves. And as if that weren't enough, the central bank has ominously warned that rice, another dietary essential, will likely remain pricey until spring 2026. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given these sky-high costs, the nation's vegetable consumption has plummeted to an all-time low.
The solution: grow yourself.
Japanese look for creative ways to fight soaring food prices
As the price of agricultural products has risen, Japanese have also been eating less of them.