“In Japan, an electoral defeat for… a noodle dish, symbol of the return of inflation”

The Japanese Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, in Tokyo, October 28, 2024. KIM KYUNG-HOON / AFP As is the Japanese tradition, very different from that which prevails in France, Shigeru Ishiba, the Japanese Prime Minister, apologized for his defeat. He recognized the distrust and anger of his fellow citizens, but ruled out resigning. However, he only has himself to blame. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers In Japan, the ruling party loses the absolute majority it had held since 2012 Add to your selections Barely arriving at his post, on October 1, he decided to call legislative elections to consolidate his majority. Alas, as in France, the opposite happened. For the first time since the post-war period, with the exception of a brief episode between 2009 and 2012, the Liberal Democratic Party lost its majority in Parliament. A new era is dawning on the archipelago. Anger and distrust find their source in a recent financial scandal, one more, but also, more prosaically, in a context unprecedented in Japan for thirty years: the return of inflation. Shigeru Ishiba also lost to… a noodle dish. Two reporters from the Reuters agency recount the concerns of Taisei Hikage, who runs one of these small street stalls, so common in Tokyo, specializing in ramen noodles. Weak currency These wheat noodles originating from China and served in countless ways are very popular in Japan. It might even be the Prime Minister’s favorite dish. Since opening his restaurant a year and a half ago, Mr. Hikage has had to increase the price three times. His “ramen special” has increased by almost 50% since he set up shop. Incredible, in a country which has been lamenting for three decades the deflation which is holding back its economy and leading the State to go into ever more debt to support it. Since the outbreak of the distant war in Ukraine in February 2022, everything has changed. With, in particular, the surge in energy prices, the rise in those of raw materials – such as wheat – and even wages. In addition, the national currency, the yen, has fallen to its lowest level against the dollar in thirty-four years. Result: the surge in prices is reinforced by this monetary weakness when goods such as flour or wheat are imported. Inflation in Japan now exceeds 2% (2.4% in September), more than in France. Behind this bad news for noodle lovers lies a change in times which is not necessarily negative for the country. As analysts at Société Générale point out, “inflation is becoming entrenched in the Japanese economy”. This makes products more expensive, causes a sharp increase in bankruptcies – and not only among restaurateurs – but wages are rising again and economists hope for a reduction in savings and a revival of investment to revitalize the economy. activity. Enough to help make the ramen bill less bitter.



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