The government's scheme to reignite inflation has not been very successful so far. Though consumer prices did rise a bit, the increase was based on things like high oil prices, the strong dollar and a boost in the consumption tax, and lately deflation seems to have kicked in again.

When oil prices were high, wheat and corn prices rose too, thus raising the price of related products. But even those products are now slightly cheaper than they were a year ago. It's just that the media, in deference to Abenomics, isn't really reporting it.

There is one food item that has shown a steady rise in price: bananas. According to the Japan Banana Importers Association (JBIA), the wholesale price of imported bananas has gone up by 30-40 percent since 2014, mainly due to the lower value of the yen. Add to that the 3 percent hike in the consumption tax and bananas, the most ubiquitous fruit in Japan, would seem to be much more expensive than they were five years ago. However, many people may not have noticed, since banana prices have always been lower than those of other fruits in Japan. And they still are.