Brace yourself for April price hikes

My yen buying power fading away by increments... image created in Canva

Earlier this month, Genkidesu brought to our attention the changing priorities of participants in hometown tax gifts. To help support local economies, residents who have relocated to larger centers can make a donation to their hometown. This ふるさと納税 furusato nozei reap gifts in return, with essentials becoming more popular than specialty goods.

Well, have a look at furusato nozei again, as foreign residents can participate, too. And you might consider the essentials over the jazzy stuff, as prices are about to rise again in April 2025. You can read details about the price rises on NHK. 

At the neighbourhood supermarket, signs indicating 値上げ neage, price increases, on beer and spirits. In addition, major paper manufacturers are going to raise their prices for toilet paper by 10% or more. 

You're going to have to wring some more yen out of your wallet for fuel, too. Gas and electric prices will rise with the end of the government 補助, hojo, subsidies.

You'll see I sprinkled this blog post with a few Japanese words. The changes in economics here are spurring me to read more Japanese language news, and in turn, I'm learning more vocabulary and kanji. Nothing like economic woes to stimulate language learning!

Are the April 2025 price rises going to change the way you shop or use gas or electricity?