“Now, 70 years later, China is the military powerhouse and Japan has stopped developing due to a low birth rate engineered by post-war US occupation.”
I think Japan developed its own birthrate problem. For nations a high birthrate is required to compete. But for individuals, where the birthrate rubber meets the birthrate road, it’s all about how many children you can afford. By keeping home prices and food ridiculously high it was Japan that limited its birthrate.
Japan could have allowed real estate development but lacked the will. They could have allowed more imported food, but could not overcome the politics. They could have adopted a true free market, which would have lowered prices, but chose to protect their existing industrial structure. It is Japan who must be blamed for their birthrate problem. Just as Russia caused theirs and Greece theirs.
| Item | Amount | Yen Price | U.S.Dollar Price | Comments |
| White Bread | 6-slice package | 156 | $2.02 | Regular Price for inexpensive bread. Expensive white bread (6 slices) was about 220 yen at the time of this writing. Bread is usually sold in 4 to 6 slice packages |
| Eggs | 10 | 168 | $2.18 | 10 eggs (Smallest size U.S.). Loss leader eggs are sometimes on sale for 100 yen |
| Whole Milk | 1 liter (.9qt) | 168 | $2.18 | Regular price, Meiji Brand |
| Meiji Sliced Cheese (Pkg of 10 slices) | 190gm (6.7oz.) | 196 | $2.55 | Regular Price |
| Cabbage | 1 head | 138 | $1.79 | Regular Price |
| Hamburger (beef and pork mixture) | 200gm (7 oz.) | 196 | $2.55 | Sale price at a regular supermarket |
| Bacon | 150g (5.3 oz) (10 slices) | 166 | $2.16 | Regular Price at a discount supermarket |
| Chinese Cabbage | 1 head | 236 | $3.07 | Regular Price |
| Tomatoes | 1 (about 3" diameter) | 126 | $1.67 | Domestic |
| Irish Potatoes | 4 | 128 | $1.66 | On sale. Small (about 3" long) |
| Tofu | 1 pack (330g, 11.6oz) | 38 | $.49 | Good-quality tofu at a very low price. Tofu is usually between 48 to 78 yen for a half-size pack. |
| Spanish Onions | 1 | 38 | $.49 | Medium size. |
| Fresh Chicken Breasts (2) | 450gm (15.9 oz) | 293 | $3.81 | Domestic, on sale. |
| Mayonnaise | 500gm (17.6oz) | 256 | $3.33 | Domestic. Store brand. |
| Kirin Lager Beer | 1 case (24 cans)k | 3,622 | $47.07 | Can Beer at a discount liquor store, 350ml (11.8oz)/can |
| Rice from Japan | 10kg (22 lbs) | 3050 | $39.64 | Regular Koshi-hikari rice. |
| Broccoli | 1 | 128 | $1.66 | From the US. |
| Bean Sprouts | 1 package | 36 | $.47 | Regular Price. |
| Carrots | 3 | 128 | $1.66 | On sale. |
| Lettuce | 1 head | 208 | $2.70 | Domestic, out of season. |
| Beef Block, Shoulder Cut | 200gm (7 oz) | 196 | $2.55 | On Sale. Domestic. |
All items are domestic unless otherwise noted. The 5% National Sales Tax has been included in the product prices and U.S. dollar conversion done at 76.9 JPY to 1 U.S. dollar. Brand names are listed solely for the sake of information. No endorsements are intended.
We will be adding to and making changes to this list from time to time so be sure to check back if you're interested. Prices were collected during the 3rd and 4th weeks of December 2011.
Note: Vegetable prices are rather high due to the time of year. Beef prices are still, with many customers opting for domestic beef or that imported from Australia. U.S. beef is on the market, but some shoppers still shun it because of BSE worries. Rice prices are about average for the season.
Consumer confidence in foods imported from China is still low due to their past record of using illegal pesticides, shipping foods contaminated with bacteria and other irregularities. Recently, many supermarkets have increased the number of domestic products as well as those from countries having good reputations for food safety and the number of Chinese products being carried is still lower than it was before the poison dumpling scare.
In spite of the seemingly high prices of food when converted to US dollars, there has been a great deal of deflation in Japanese food prices during the past few years. Flour products, vegetable oils and a few other items have increased, but on the whole, prices remain relatively low.