Food prices

Food prices are much higher in Japan than in most other countries, but I guess you knew that, right? There are several reasons for this fact. One is that, in general, lower cost options and cosmetically imperfect food is unavailable. Fruit is generally grown to be as large and as perfect looking as possible, resulting in costs of 100 yen or more per apple. (Over US $1)

Another reason is the lack of an underpaid class of agricultural workers. I don't know (for sure) about other parts of Japan, but around here, most food seems to be grown on small plots of land adjacent to houses most of my friends and relatives couldn't possibly afford to buy, cultivated by people over 60 (over 70? 80?) who live in those houses .

Rice, the nominal staple and still the symbol of Japanese cuisine, is bought by local rice co-ops and sold for two to three times as much as the same sort is sold for in the U.S. where it's grown on 100+ hectare (250+ acre) plots in the Sacramento Valley. The economics of small-scale agriculture obviously come into play.

Small scale + insistence on highest quality + government support of high producer prices (to keep rural voters happy) = High Prices

Weather has something to do with this as well. This article on asahi.com today talks about how El Niño has driven wholesale prices on potatoes up to about 200 yen per kilo (about $0.95 per pound) this summer. The lack of sunshine also attributed to El Niño will probably reduce rice and other harvests, increasing prices on many products this fall.