School lunch (elementary)
Average retail price
- Cheapest surveyed city
- ¥1,430 Gifu
- Priciest surveyed city
- ¥16,890 Tottori
The surveyed product specification changed in April 2026, so figures before that month are for a different product and are not comparable (¥49,747 → ¥8,212). Year-on-year change is withheld until 12 months of the new specification are available.
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
School lunch (elementary) costs ¥8,212 per year in Japan as of August 2026 — the unweighted average of 10 surveyed cities. Measured as an index, the official CPI for school lunch (elementary) reads 1.5 (2020 = 100) in August 2026, down 98.1% year on year and down 98.5% over five years.
School lunch (elementary) sits in the food group of Japan's CPI basket, with 617 monthly observations from April 1975 to August 2026. The series peaked at 105.5 in January 2020 and bottomed at 1.4 in May 2026; the latest reading is -98.6% against that peak. Against ten years ago it is -98.5%.
Annual average index by year
| Year | Index | YoY % | Months |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 101.6 | +1.3% | 12 |
| 2016 | 102.3 | +0.7% | 12 |
| 2017 | 102.4 | +0.1% | 12 |
| 2018 | 102.6 | +0.2% | 12 |
| 2019 | 102.6 | 0.0% | 12 |
| 2020 | 100.0 | -2.5% | 12 |
| 2021 | 100.1 | +0.1% | 12 |
| 2022 | 100.4 | +0.3% | 12 |
| 2023 | 93.8 | -6.6% | 12 |
| 2024 | 84.4 | -10.0% | 12 |
| 2025 | 79.8 | -5.5% | 12 |
| 2026 | 30.2 | -62.2% | 8 |
Average of the monthly index values in each year (2020 = 100). Blank months are excluded.
Average retail price by month
| 2026-08 | ¥8,212 |
|---|---|
| 2026-07 | ¥8,213 |
| 2026-06 | ¥8,213 |
| 2026-05 | ¥7,723 |
| 2026-04 | ¥7,704 |
Frequently asked questions
- How much does school lunch (elementary) cost in Japan?
- ¥8,212 per year, as of August 2026 — the unweighted average of 10 surveyed cities in the government's retail price survey.
- Which Japanese city has the cheapest school lunch (elementary)?
- Among the surveyed cities in August 2026, Gifu was cheapest at ¥1,430 and Tottori the most expensive at ¥16,890.
- How much have school lunch (elementary) prices changed in Japan over the past year?
- As of August 2026, -98.1% year on year, measured by Japan's official consumer price index (2020 = 100).
- How much have school lunch (elementary) prices changed in Japan over the past five years?
- -98.5% compared with the same month five years earlier. The index now reads 1.5.
- When were school lunch (elementary) prices in Japan at their highest?
- The series peaked at 105.5 in January 2020. The latest reading is -98.6% 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).