Japan’s food prices rose 3.5% year-on-year in July 2026, up from 3.2% in June and marking the fastest increase since February. Inflationary pressures intensified across several categories, including fresh vegetables (6.6% vs 2.8%), fresh fruit (2.4% vs 0.2%), cakes and candies (6.1% vs 5.6%), fish and seafood (9.0% vs 7.6%), meats (3.9% vs 3.5%), alcoholic beverages (0.6% vs 0.5%), and meals eaten out (1.7% vs 1.6%).
By contrast, price growth slowed for dairy products and eggs (3.5% vs 4.5%), oils, fats and seasonings (3.4% vs 4.0%), prepared foods (3.5% vs 3.7%), and beverages (5.5% vs 5.9%). Cereal prices declined for a third consecutive month (-2.2% vs -2.1%). Notably, rice prices fell 11.6% from a year earlier, extending their decline into a third month and marking the sharpest drop since August 2005.
