Japan Supermarket Sales Up for 6th Straight Year

Tokyo, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)–Japanese supermarket sales in 2025 rose 2.2 pct from the previous year on a same-store basis, marking the sixth consecutive year of growth, the Japan Chain Stores Association said Thursday. All-store sales reached 12,867.5 billion yen. Although consumers remained thrifty, rising prices of rice and vegetables contributed to the overall increase. By category, food product sales, which account for about 70 pct of the total, climbed 3.5 pct, boosted in part by a series of price hikes by manufacturers. Sales of home-related items edged up 0.4 pct. An upward trend in bulk purchases during sales days contributed to the modest growth, while heating appliance sales flagged due to unusually high temperatures. Clothing sales fell 1.8 pct as demand for winter products was weak. At a press conference, association executive Tsuyoshi Makino welcomed Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recently announced plan to suspend the consumption tax on food items for two years. “Consumers will be better off,” Makino said. However, he called for a longer suspension of “at least five years,” saying that it takes time to recover related costs, such as those for system upgrades. In December alone, all-store sales totaled 1,268.8 billion yen, with same-store sales rising for the 10th consecutive month. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]