Japan Rice Prices Fall a Fourth Week to 3,003 Yen per 5kg

Japan's supermarket rice averaged 3,003 yen per 5kg last week including tax, down 109 yen from the week before — a fourth straight weekly decline. For Taiwanese who shop in or live in Japan, it's a concrete sign inflation pressure is easing slightly. Rice is Japan's most basic staple, so four weeks of decline suggest the tightest phase of the earlier grain-price surge may be loosening. But one item's pullback isn't enough to call an overall turn — it's more like a pressure cooker letting off some steam than the heat being switched off. The practical point: near-term shopping costs in Japan may dip a touch, but don't read one falling item as broad deflation; for the full picture, check aggregate gauges like corporate and consumer prices.