31 March: Tokyo residents have faced a sharp increase in the cost of living over the past year, the biggest since the early 1980s, except for years when the consumption tax was raised. The prices of food, electricity and gas have gone up significantly for households.
According to the Japanese government officials, the consumer price index for the 23 wards of Tokyo has gone up by 2.9 percent. This does not include fresh food prices, which vary depending on the weather.
The last time Japan saw such a high rise in prices was in fiscal 1989. But that was due to a consumption tax hike, and the inflation rate dropped the next year. Without counting 1989, the latest increase is the highest since fiscal 1982.
Government subsidies have helped to ease some of the burden. The stimulus has partly contributed to a decline in inflation in Tokyo in the last two months.
Tokyo’s CPI, which is seen as a leading indicator of inflation across the country, fell from 4.3 percent in January to 3.2 percent in March.