Japan's food inflation to intensify in July, survey shows

Japanese households will get no respite from rising living costs with a five-fold increase expected in the number of food items set to experience price rises in July, a private think tank survey showed on Monday.

The finding highlights mounting inflationary pressure in Japan's once deflation-prone economy, which some policymakers view as an early sign of widespread, sustained price rises that may require raising interest rates further.

A survey conducted on 195 major food makers showed they expect to hike prices for 2,105 items in July - up fivefold from year-before levels - by an average 15%, Teikoku Databank said.

Aside from rising raw material prices and utility bills, companies cited increasing transportation and labor costs as reasons for the price hikes, the report released by Teikoku Databank showed.

"The momentum for food and beverage price hikes is stronger in 2025 than that of the previous year," the report said, according to Reuters.