Agency. Rice prices in Japan doubled in the 12 months of May, data showed on Friday. The intensification of inflation has put new pressure on Prime Minister Sigeru Ishiba ahead of next month’s major elections.
Elections for the upper house of parliament are crucial for ISIBA, partly frustrated by the cost of living as public support for the administration has dropped to its lowest level since he took office in October.
One of the main sources of anger is the rising cost of food items. It has been touching the sky for months due to shortage due to various reasons, including problems in the supply chain. Rice prices rose by 101 per cent in May. It had increased by 98.4 per cent in April and 92.5 per cent in March.
Excluding volatile fresh food prices, it has helped push up the key inflation forecast to 3.7 per cent. This is the highest level since January 2023 and increased from 3.5 percent in April. The rice crisis has forced the government to take the rare step of issuing emergency stocks since February. This was usually done only during natural disasters.
But rice is not the only thing that increases inflation. According to friday’s data, electricity bills increased by 11.3 percent in May and gas charges increased by 5.4 percent. Consumer prices, excluding energy and fresh food, rose 3.3 per cent. That was up from 3 per cent in April.
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