The Japanese operator said it would raise prices on about 80 percent of its menu starting Jan. 16, due to currency fluctuations as well as higher material, labor, transportation and energy costs.
The increases follow previous increases in March and September last year, as Japan struggles with inflation and a weaker yen that has made imported components more expensive.
The price of a single cheeseburger will rise to 200 yen ($1.49) this month from 140 yen a year ago. The cost of the famous Big Mac hamburger will also rise to 450 yen from 410 yen previously.
For his part, researcher Teikoku Databan said that Japanese consumers will see increases in the prices of more than 4,000 foodstuffs starting next month, after a larger wave of hikes last October.
In a related context, the two companies, Hot Palette and Royal Holdings, operators in Japan, said on Friday that they will also raise prices in January and March, respectively, and most likely the price increase will affect beef and steak products.
The highest inflation in 4 decades
Japan’s inflation rate has accelerated to the highest level in four decades as companies continue to pass on rising costs to households, which keeps the central bank under strong pressure to curb its expansionary policy.
In November, the core inflation rate, which excludes volatile fresh food, rose 3.7 percent in November year on year, compared with 3.6 percent in October, matching analysts’ expectations.
The rise in the prices of processed foodstuffs was the biggest driver behind the acceleration of inflation, outweighing the impact of rising energy prices.
The biggest decline in wages in 8 years
And Japan’s Ministry of Labor announced, on Friday, that the average monthly wages adjusted for inflation fell by 3.8 percent, in the largest decline in eight and a half years.
While Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government has called on companies to raise wages to keep pace with rising inflation, with the aim of creating a positive growth cycle, preliminary figures from the ministry’s monthly survey of workers show that price increases in the aftermath of the Russo-Ukrainian war have outpaced wage increases, According to what was reported by the Japanese Kyodo news agency.
Average total cash earnings for a worker in November, which includes basic and overtime pay, rose 0.5 percent to 283,895 yen ($2,120), extending the gains to the 11th consecutive month.
But the visitation rate fell below 1 percent for the first time in 2022, due to a 19.2 percent drop in bonuses and other special compensation.
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