Kimchi
Average retail price
- Cheapest surveyed city
- ¥738 Matsuyama
- Priciest surveyed city
- ¥1,519 Kagoshima
Retail price survey conducted by the Statistics Bureau of Japan. This is a survey average, not a shop price — actual prices vary by store. 総務省統計局 小売物価統計調査 · Surveyed items and specifications
Key facts
Kimchi costs ¥1,127 per kg in Japan as of August 2026 — the unweighted average of 47 surveyed cities, up 4.6% from a year earlier. Measured as an index, the official CPI for kimchi reads 117.2 (2020 = 100) in August 2026, up 4.2% year on year and up 18.1% over five years.
Kimchi sits in the food group of Japan's CPI basket, with 380 monthly observations from January 1995 to August 2026. The series peaked at 117.4 in March 2026 and bottomed at 94.4 in January 2013; the latest reading is -0.2% against that peak. Against ten years ago it is +18.9%.
Annual average index by year
| Year | Index | YoY % | Months |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 99.5 | +1.7% | 12 |
| 2016 | 99.5 | 0.0% | 12 |
| 2017 | 99.3 | -0.2% | 12 |
| 2018 | 100.3 | +1.0% | 12 |
| 2019 | 99.7 | -0.6% | 12 |
| 2020 | 100.0 | +0.3% | 12 |
| 2021 | 99.1 | -0.9% | 12 |
| 2022 | 100.6 | +1.5% | 12 |
| 2023 | 103.9 | +3.3% | 12 |
| 2024 | 104.4 | +0.5% | 12 |
| 2025 | 110.8 | +6.1% | 12 |
| 2026 | 116.0 | +4.7% | 8 |
Average of the monthly index values in each year (2020 = 100). Blank months are excluded.
Average retail price by month
| 2026-08 | ¥1,127 |
|---|---|
| 2026-07 | ¥1,089 |
| 2026-06 | ¥1,114 |
| 2026-05 | ¥1,115 |
| 2026-04 | ¥1,120 |
| 2026-03 | ¥1,124 |
| 2026-02 | ¥1,097 |
| 2026-01 | ¥1,096 |
| 2025-12 | ¥1,090 |
| 2025-11 | ¥1,101 |
| 2025-10 | ¥1,098 |
| 2025-09 | ¥1,091 |
| 2025-08 | ¥1,077 |
Frequently asked questions
- How much does kimchi cost in Japan?
- ¥1,127 per kg, as of August 2026 — the unweighted average of 47 surveyed cities in the government's retail price survey.
- Which Japanese city has the cheapest kimchi?
- Among the surveyed cities in August 2026, Matsuyama was cheapest at ¥738 and Kagoshima the most expensive at ¥1,519.
- How much have kimchi prices changed in Japan over the past year?
- As of August 2026, +4.2% year on year, measured by Japan's official consumer price index (2020 = 100).
- How much have kimchi prices changed in Japan over the past five years?
- +18.1% compared with the same month five years earlier. The index now reads 117.2.
- When were kimchi prices in Japan at their highest?
- The series peaked at 117.4 in March 2026. The latest reading is -0.2% against that peak.
- What is the difference between the index and the yen price?
- This page carries two kinds of number. The index (2020 = 100) measures percentage change over time and is not a yen amount; the yen figure is an actual average retail price from the government's retail price survey. Source: 総務省統計局 消費者物価指数 (e-Stat table 0003427113, nationwide, monthly).