Drive recorder
Average retail price
- Cheapest surveyed city
- ¥29,800 Sapporo
- Priciest surveyed city
- ¥48,800 Naha
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
Drive recorder costs ¥35,311 per unit in Japan as of August 2026 — the unweighted average of 47 surveyed cities, up 3.8% from a year earlier. Measured as an index, the official CPI for drive recorder reads 108.2 (2020 = 100) in August 2026, up 4.0% year on year and up 3.4% over five years.
Drive recorder sits in the transport & communication group of Japan's CPI basket, with 80 monthly observations from January 2020 to August 2026. The series peaked at 108.2 in August 2026 and bottomed at 94.6 in May 2023; the latest reading is at its highest recorded level.
Annual average index by year
| Year | Index | YoY % | Months |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 100.0 | — | 12 |
| 2021 | 102.7 | +2.7% | 12 |
| 2022 | 99.0 | -3.6% | 12 |
| 2023 | 96.8 | -2.2% | 12 |
| 2024 | 101.9 | +5.3% | 12 |
| 2025 | 103.7 | +1.8% | 12 |
| 2026 | 102.5 | -1.2% | 8 |
Average of the monthly index values in each year (2020 = 100). Blank months are excluded.
Average retail price by month
| 2026-08 | ¥35,311 |
|---|---|
| 2026-07 | ¥34,913 |
| 2026-06 | ¥33,883 |
| 2026-05 | ¥32,409 |
| 2026-04 | ¥32,335 |
| 2026-03 | ¥32,526 |
| 2026-02 | ¥33,111 |
| 2026-01 | ¥33,024 |
| 2025-12 | ¥32,737 |
| 2025-11 | ¥32,960 |
| 2025-10 | ¥34,504 |
| 2025-09 | ¥34,672 |
| 2025-08 | ¥34,019 |
Frequently asked questions
- How much does drive recorder cost in Japan?
- ¥35,311 per unit, as of August 2026 — the unweighted average of 47 surveyed cities in the government's retail price survey.
- Which Japanese city has the cheapest drive recorder?
- Among the surveyed cities in August 2026, Sapporo was cheapest at ¥29,800 and Naha the most expensive at ¥48,800.
- How much have drive recorder prices changed in Japan over the past year?
- As of August 2026, +4.0% year on year, measured by Japan's official consumer price index (2020 = 100).
- How much have drive recorder prices changed in Japan over the past five years?
- +3.4% compared with the same month five years earlier. The index now reads 108.2.
- When were drive recorder prices in Japan at their highest?
- Right now. The latest month, August 2026, is the highest reading in the series at 108.2 — a record high since the series began.
- 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).