In an article published in the November/December 2021 issue of Japan Spotlight, Research Director Nobuo Iizuka examines recently released values for Japan’s consumer price index indicating that the rate of inflation since the beginning of 2021—previously thought to have been positive—was actually negative.

The downward revision of the rate of inflation, based on figures released in August, was the result of increasingly severe price competition, Iizuka notes. The biggest contributors to the revision were the transportation & communication sector, where major mobile-phone carriers announced lower-priced plans in April 2021, and the culture and recreation sector, in which the use of web scraping technology has facilitated the identification of the lowest prices for airfare and hotel charges.

“Inflation Rate Turns Negative on Reference Year Revision,” Japan Spotlight
https://www.jef.or.jp/journal/pdf/240th_Economic_Indicators.pdf  

Profile of Research Director Nobuo Iizuka
https://www.tkfd.or.jp/en/experts/detail.php?id=381