While successive governments rolled out subsidies to reduce utility fees during that timespan, out-sized gains for food prices limited the overall impact of the aid on household budgets. Even as overall spending dipped, Japanese households continued to devote an increasing portion of their spending to food. The proposal to cut tax on food sales has broad support from consumers and food retailers. There are indications that food price inflation will moderate in coming months partly due to comparisons with the fast pace of growth last year. The latest inflation data showed that gains in food prices slowed to 5.1% in December from 6.1% a month earlier.

Source: The Star February 06, 2026 14:40 UTC