One of the gauges the media uses to monitor the scourge of deflation is the price of bento, the "lunch boxes" of the hoi polloi. Back in the 1980s, I regularly bought a noriben for ¥370 from the chain bento-ya Hokahoka, which has since renamed itself Hotto Motto. Noriben is traditionally the cheapest bento, and consists of rice with shaved bonito and a sheet of nori (dried seaweed) on top, accompanied by a small croquette or piece of grilled salmon or fried mackerel and some tsukemono (pickles). Above that there are variations on the rice-and-okazu (side dish) theme culminating in the makunouchi grade, so named because it was consumed during sumo tournaments and kabuki performances.
About two years ago reports started appearing about food stalls in shotengai (shopping arcades) selling uniform-sized bento for a uniform price of ¥350. Since then the price has regularly come down in jumps of ¥50. This trend seemed to have hit a wall at ¥250, but last year a take-out kitchen near Higashi Azuma Station in Sumida Ward called Kitchen Dive started offering bento for ¥200, and practically every wide show and quite a few regular food-related variety shows have covered the place.