Many tofu shops in Japan are struggling amid higher prices for imported soybeans following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, although demand remains solid for the Japanese staple.
A tofu shop run by Takashi Kurosawa in Tokyo's Minato Ward is among the 42% or so of medium-size and small stores that remained in the red in the fiscal year that ended in March, with 47% incurring losses in the previous year, according to a recent survey by credit research firm Teikoku Databank.
"Not only soybeans, but plastic trays, (packaging) film. The price of everything has been increasing," the 53-year-old said, adding the costs of electricity and the oil necessary to make fried tofu are also rising.