Japanese food maker Yaokin shocked generations raised on its Umaibo puffy corn snack last year when it increased its price from ¥10 for the first time in 42 years. Facing an outcry over a ¥2 increase, the company took out advertisements to apologize.
Now it’s a different story: hardly anyone batted an eye when a raft of companies raised prices on thousands of consumer staples, from instant noodles to bottles of soy sauce, at the start of June.
The growing acceptance of inflation is one of several factors, along with signs of better corporate governance and Warren Buffett’s endorsement, which have pushed Tokyo’s stock market to 33-year highs, investors say. Now, many are beginning to see inflation, including its expected boost to corporate margins and consumption, as the most concrete reason to believe the world’s third-biggest economy is finally emerging from decades of little to no growth.