Economic Watch: Rising prices, weak spending put Japan’s policymakers in tight spot-Xinhua
TOKYO, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- At a chain store in Tokyo, the Japanese capital, a notice announcing price adjustments on selected items is hard to miss. These days, price hikes not only rank among the most talked-about topics in Japanese media but are also keenly felt in daily life, from household goods to food and from supermarkets to restaurants. RISING PRICES, WEAK CONSUMPTION According to a survey released by Japanese research firm Teikoku Databank Ltd., more than 3,000 food and beverage items in the country are set to go up in price in October, with the full-year tally for 2026 expected to top 20,000. Data recently released by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) showed that the consumer price index excluding institutional factors rose 2.6 percent year on year in August, overshooting the centra...