Kampo (Chinese medicine) price in Japan
Average retail price
- Cheapest surveyed city
- ¥5,989 Saitama
- Priciest surveyed city
- ¥6,671 Okayama
See all 47 cities, cheapest first
| # | City | Price (JPY) · per box |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saitama | ¥5,989 |
| 2 | Wakayama | ¥6,109 |
| 3 | Kagoshima | ¥6,118 |
| 4 | Tokushima | ¥6,193 |
| 5 | Kumamoto | ¥6,207 |
| 6 | Miyazaki | ¥6,208 |
| 7 | Akita | ¥6,211 |
| 8 | Takamatsu | ¥6,218 |
| 9 | Fukui | ¥6,222 |
| 10 | Nagasaki | ¥6,224 |
| 11 | Tokyo (23 wards) | ¥6,229 |
| 12 | Fukuoka | ¥6,296 |
| 13 | Maebashi | ¥6,379 |
| 14 | Oita | ¥6,391 |
| 15 | Otsu | ¥6,395 |
| 16 | Saga | ¥6,398 |
| 17 | Osaka | ¥6,400 |
| 18 | Sendai | ¥6,441 |
| 19 | Sapporo | ¥6,445 |
| 20 | Chiba | ¥6,446 |
| 21 | Kobe | ¥6,471 |
| 22 | Nagoya | ¥6,486 |
| 23 | Yokohama | ¥6,490 |
| 24 | Nara | ¥6,574 |
| 25 | Aomori | ¥6,578 |
| 26 | Morioka | ¥6,578 |
| 27 | Yamagata | ¥6,578 |
| 28 | Mito | ¥6,578 |
| 29 | Kofu | ¥6,578 |
| 30 | Gifu | ¥6,578 |
| 31 | Shizuoka | ¥6,578 |
| 32 | Matsue | ¥6,578 |
| 33 | Hiroshima | ¥6,578 |
| 34 | Fukushima | ¥6,585 |
| 35 | Toyama | ¥6,585 |
| 36 | Kanazawa | ¥6,585 |
| 37 | Tsu | ¥6,585 |
| 38 | Tottori | ¥6,585 |
| 39 | Kochi | ¥6,585 |
| 40 | Kyoto | ¥6,588 |
| 41 | Naha | ¥6,592 |
| 42 | Yamaguchi | ¥6,593 |
| 43 | Matsuyama | ¥6,593 |
| 44 | Utsunomiya | ¥6,621 |
| 45 | Nagano | ¥6,621 |
| 46 | Niigata | ¥6,671 |
| 47 | Okayama | ¥6,671 |
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
Kampo (Chinese medicine) costs ¥6,451 per box in Japan as of September 2026 — the unweighted average of 47 surveyed cities, down 0.4% from a year earlier. Measured as an index, the official CPI for kampo (chinese medicine) reads 99.6 (2020 = 100) in September 2026, down 0.7% year on year and down 0.7% over five years.
Kampo (Chinese medicine) sits in the medical care group of Japan's CPI basket, with 501 monthly observations from January 1985 to September 2026. The series peaked at 115.9 in October 1997 and bottomed at 92.0 in November 2013; the latest reading is -14.1% against that peak. Against ten years ago it is +3.0%.
Annual average index by year
| Year | Index | YoY % | Months |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 96.7 | +1.3% | 12 |
| 2016 | 96.7 | 0.0% | 12 |
| 2017 | 98.3 | +1.7% | 12 |
| 2018 | 98.4 | +0.1% | 12 |
| 2019 | 98.4 | 0.0% | 12 |
| 2020 | 100.0 | +1.6% | 12 |
| 2021 | 99.7 | -0.3% | 12 |
| 2022 | 100.2 | +0.5% | 12 |
| 2023 | 100.2 | 0.0% | 12 |
| 2024 | 100.3 | +0.1% | 12 |
| 2025 | 100.4 | +0.1% | 12 |
| 2026 | 99.3 | -1.1% | 9 |
Average of the monthly index values in each year (2020 = 100). Blank months are excluded.
Average retail price by month
| 2026-09 | ¥6,451 |
|---|---|
| 2026-08 | ¥6,383 |
| 2026-07 | ¥6,390 |
| 2026-06 | ¥6,393 |
| 2026-05 | ¥6,395 |
| 2026-04 | ¥6,397 |
| 2026-03 | ¥6,378 |
| 2026-02 | ¥6,456 |
| 2026-01 | ¥6,451 |
| 2025-12 | ¥6,456 |
| 2025-11 | ¥6,468 |
| 2025-10 | ¥6,462 |
| 2025-09 | ¥6,475 |
Frequently asked questions
- How much does kampo (chinese medicine) cost in Japan?
- ¥6,451 per box, as of September 2026 — the unweighted average of 47 surveyed cities in the government's retail price survey.
- Which Japanese city has the cheapest kampo (chinese medicine)?
- Among the surveyed cities in September 2026, Saitama was cheapest at ¥5,989 and Okayama the most expensive at ¥6,671.
- How much have kampo (chinese medicine) prices changed in Japan over the past year?
- As of September 2026, -0.7% year on year, measured by Japan's official consumer price index (2020 = 100).
- How much have kampo (chinese medicine) prices changed in Japan over the past five years?
- -0.7% compared with the same month five years earlier. The index now reads 99.6.
- When were kampo (chinese medicine) prices in Japan at their highest?
- The series peaked at 115.9 in October 1997. The latest reading is -14.1% 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).