According to reports from Japan's Asahi TV and other media on the 18th, affected by the recent depreciation of the yen, Japanese food prices have risen sharply. Due to limited budgets, Japanese schools are also racking their brains to reduce the cost of feeding.
Yumiko Hirano, a nutritionist at Jiangbei Elementary School in Tokyo, said that although food prices have risen, the cost of school meals has not increased. In order to save costs, we can only reduce the amount of high-priced vegetables such as cucumbers and replace them with other cheap vegetables, and change the serving of 15 grams of side dishes per person into 10 grams. At the same time, fish and fruit have also been changed to cheaper varieties in response to rising food prices.
Japan's Fukushima prefecture has also been hit by soaring food prices. In Minamisoma, the prices of edible oils and seasonings have increased significantly, with edible oil purchase prices rising by 60% to 70% compared to June 2021. In order to save costs, many schools stopped using salad dressings and replaced them with other hand-made seasonings on the market. Fried chickens that used a lot of oil were also replaced with stewed foods. The Fukushima Prefectural School Lunch Association expects prices for many food items to continue to rise.
The yen has fallen to 135 yen per dollar in the last seven days, hitting a new low in about 24 years. Bank of Japan President Haruhiko Kuroda admitted that the rapid depreciation of the yen was "very bad for the economy". However, affected by the European and American financial markets, it is expected that the depreciation of the yen may further intensify.
