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Japan Today
10 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Rice prices double in Japan as inflation accelerates
By Hiroshi HIYAMA Rice prices doubled last month in Japan as core inflation accelerated, official data showed Friday, posing a threat to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba ahead of July elections. The vote for parliament's upper house, due next month, is crucial for Ishiba after public support for his government tumbled to its lowest level since he took office in October, partly due to frustration over the cost of living. In May, Japan's core inflation rate, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, hit 3.7 percent -- its highest level since January 2023 -- interior ministry data showed. The figure narrowly beat market expectations and was up from a 3.5 percent year-on-year rise logged in April. Rice was more than twice as expensive as a year previously -- despite the government releasing its emergency stockpile of the staple grain to try to bring its price down. A supply chain snarl-up has caused a shortage of rice in shops, with the grain's price up 101 percent on-year in May, compared to the eye-watering 98 percent rise in April. The government began releasing stockpiles in February in an attempt to drive down prices, something it has only previously done during disasters. Electricity bills were 11.3 percent higher in May, and gas fees rose 5.4 percent, according to Friday's data. Excluding energy and fresh food, Japan's consumer price index (CPI) rose 3.3 percent, compared to April's 3.0 percent. To help households combat inflation, Ishiba has pledged cash handouts of 20,000 yen for every citizen, and twice as much for children, ahead of the election. The 68-year-old leader's coalition was deprived of a majority in the powerful lower house in October as voters vented their anger at rising prices and political scandals. It was the worst election result in 15 years for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed Japan almost continuously since 1955. Earlier this week the Bank of Japan kept its interest rates unchanged and said it would taper its purchase of government bonds at a slower pace, as trade uncertainty threatens to weigh on the world's number four economy. "Policy flip-flops and delayed pass-through from producers to consumers mean inflation will slow only gradually in the coming months," said Stefan Angrick of Moody's Analytics. "This will keep a sustained pickup in real wages out of reach, and with it a meaningful uptick in consumption." Factors behind the rice shortages include an intensely hot and dry summer two years ago that damaged harvests nationwide. Since then some traders have been hoarding rice in a bid to boost their profits down the line, experts say. The issue was made worse by panic-buying last year prompted by a government warning about a potential "megaquake" that did not strike. Going forward, U.S. tariffs are expected to weigh on Japan's growth, with economists predicting a slowdown ahead. Intensifying fighting between Iran and Israel was also adding pressure for energy prices to head north, posing a further risk to the Japanese economy. © 2025 AFP
Japan Today
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- Japan Today
Panasonic targets 10,000 job cuts worldwide
Panasonic became a global household name in the latter half of the 20th century By Hiroshi HIYAMA Japanese electronics giant Panasonic, which supplies batteries to Tesla, said Friday it will target 10,000 job cuts worldwide as part of efforts to boost profitability. The cuts, which represent around four percent of the group's workforce of nearly 230,000, will be implemented mainly in the current financial year to March, it said. Panasonic said it would "thoroughly review operational efficiency at each group company, mainly in sales and indirect departments". It will "reevaluate the numbers of organizations and personnel actually needed", a statement said. "This measure targets 10,000 employees (5,000 in Japan and 5,000 overseas) at consolidated companies," and will be executed "in accordance with the labor laws, rules, and regulations of each country and region". Panasonic became a global household name in the latter half of the 20th century, pioneering electronic appliances from rice cookers to televisions to video recorders. The Osaka-based conglomerate is a major battery supplier for Elon Musk's U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla, and also operates in the housing, energy and auto sectors. Panasonic in February outlined a management reform program to resolve "various structural issues" at the company. "Through the current management reform, the company aims to improve profit by at least 150 billion yen," it said Friday. In its full-year earnings report, also released Friday, Panasonic forecast a 15 percent decline in net profit this year, and an eight percent slump in sales. In the financial year to March 31, 2025, the group logged a 17.5 percent decline in net profit to 366 billion yen. Panasonic is facing "ongoing business environment changes (such as) a slowdown in demand for EVs", it said. As for U.S. trade tariffs, "their impact is not factored into this forecast", Panasonic added. "The company continues to monitor the tariff situation and aims to minimize the resulting impact by taking measures from both short-term and medium- to long-term perspectives." In an interview published in April, Panasonic Holdings CEO Yuki Kusumi told Japan's Nikkei newspaper that personnel cuts would be necessary, without detailing their scale. Job cuts would be needed "in order for us to perform at a competitive level against other firms", he told the Nikkei. In Panasonic's history, the group has also gradually expanded its headcount during profitable periods, Kusumi stressed. © 2025 AFP
