Vegetable prices have spiked as much as 65 percent amid a grueling two-week long heat wave that drove temperatures Wednesday to records in some regions, including areas where recovery and cleanup efforts are underway after devastating floods and landslides.
An agriculture ministry official in Tokyo warned against "pretty severe price moves" for vegetables if predictions of more weeks of hot weather hold up.
"It's up to the weather how prices will move from here," the official said. "But the Meteorological Agency has predicted it will remain hot for a few more weeks, and that we will have less rain than the average."