The Wall Street Journal

Why Japan Appears Immune to Global Inflation Surge, So Far

TOKYO—At a time when Americans and Europeans are wrestling with rising inflation, Japan shows how to keep consumer prices virtually flat. “Japan’s steady management style and its attitude about not changing prices have a plus side in cases of short-term shocks,” said a former Bank of Japan policy board member who is now at Nomura Research Institute. Overall, Japan’s consumer prices ended October up just 0.1% from a year earlier, and they actually fell 0.7% when excluding volatile fresh food and energy prices.