The Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has announced a draft for the 2025-base revision of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), adding modern items such as protein powder while removing neckties due to a shrinking market. This shift reflects a dramatic change in Japanese consumption patterns, driven by the diversification of work styles and a surge in health consciousness among the Japanese public.

Refreshing the “Economic Thermometer” of Japanese Society

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a vital statistic in Japan that measures price fluctuations of goods and services purchased by households nationwide. Often referred to as the “economic thermometer,” it serves as a critical benchmark for Japanese monetary policy decisions by the Bank of Japan and for adjusting public pension benefits. To maintain the utility of these statistics and reflect ongoing socio-economic changes, the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications conducts a “base revision” every five years to update the index’s base year. The upcoming 2025 revision marks the 17th such update for Japan. In selecting items, the Ministry adds goods and services that have gained importance in Japanese household spending due to new technologies or changing tastes, while removing those that have declined in significance. The current Japanese draft proposes adding 19 items, removing 11, and merging two into one, resulting in a total of 589 items for the new 2025 standard. This revision ensures that Japanese price measurements remain accurate and reliable as a public statistic. Please refer to the figure below for details regarding the revision plan.

Changing the Contents of the “Shopping Basket” with the Times

The items used to calculate the Japanese CPI represent a fixed “shopping basket” of the average consumer. The 2025 additions strongly reflect recent lifestyle transformations in Japan. Specifically, in the food category, items such as “gummies,” “sparkling water,” and “jelly drinks” are being added. In the healthcare sector, “protein powder” will be adopted, replacing the traditional “green juice” (Aojiru), which was previously used as a representative for health-maintaining preparations. Conversely, items are selected for removal if their “manbunbi” (weight in household spending) falls below 1/10,000 and if their exclusion does not harm the representativeness of their broader category. For example, “dried sardines” (niboshi) and “pickled Chinese cabbage” (hakusaizuke) are candidates for removal in Japan due to decreased spending or difficulties in conducting consistent price surveys. Additionally, the names of some items are being modernized; for instance, the 2020-base term “business suits” (sebiro-fuku) will be updated to “men’s suits” to align with modern Japanese usage. This constant updating is essential for Japanese statistics to stay relevant to current market trends and consumer preferences.

Impact on Consumer Life: Shrinkage and “Ritualization” of the Necktie Market

“Cool Biz” as the Trigger for the Decline of “Battle Gear”

The necktie, which is slated for removal from the Japanese price index in this revision, was once considered an essential piece of “battle gear” for Japanese businesspeople, always paired with a suit. However, its market size in Japan has plummeted since the government-led “Cool Biz” campaign began in 2005. According to data from organizations like the Association of Japan Necktie Manufacturers, the domestic supply of neckties peaked at approximately 51.6 million units in 1996. By 2004, just before the start of Cool Biz, it was around 35 million, and by 2021, it had dropped to roughly 13.49 million. In just 25 years, the Japanese market has shrunk to about a quarter of its peak size. The introduction of Cool Biz provided a powerful social justification for abandoning ties—reframing the act not as a lack of manners, but as a “smart choice for the environment.” This fundamental change in Japanese business etiquette led to a permanent decline in the priority of neckties in Japanese household spending.

Transformation from Practical Items to Ritualistic Ones

The sharp decline in the Japanese tie market is the result of a alignment between the practical needs of businesspeople and a change in corporate culture. The latent discomfort of ties being “hot” or “restrictive” was brought to the surface by the rise of casual office wear promoted by Japanese IT leaders and a general relaxation of corporate dress codes. As a result, neckties have nearly finished their role as everyday “practical items” in Japan and have instead transformed into “ritualistic items” used to show respect on specific occasions. Today, they survive primarily in “non-routine” Japanese scenes such as weddings, funerals, job interviews, important ceremonies, or formal apologies where strict adherence to TPO (Time, Place, and Occasion) is required. The lack of daily practical benefits and the shift toward being a specialized, infrequent purchase are the primary reasons neckties have fallen out of the Japanese “shopping basket” of representative goods. The evolution of the necktie market in Japan demonstrates how quickly non-rational traditions can erode once a viable justification for change is introduced.

Market Background: Rapid Spread and Settlement of Protein Powder

A Huge Market Reaching 300 Billion Yen in Japan

In stark contrast to the necktie, protein powder is gaining spotlight as a new addition to the Japanese CPI. The Japanese market for protein supplements has grown rapidly since the “protein boom” began around 2015. According to a survey by Fuji Keizai, the domestic market is estimated to reach 309.6 billion yen in 2025, a 4.4% increase from 2024. This growth was initially fueled by demand for weight loss following the COVID-19 pandemic and increased media coverage focusing on dieting and body-building for light users. Major Japanese manufacturers like Meiji Holdings, known for the “SAVAS” brand, have remained active in product innovation and outreach. While the initial boom peaked in 2022, the Japanese market has continued to expand slowly as manufacturers release new types of beverages, yogurts, and chilled processed foods that are easy to incorporate into daily meals. By 2024, many Japanese “light users” were seen stepping up to become “heavy users,” with demand stabilizing around those who exercise regularly. Currently, heavy users account for about 50% of the Japanese market, but protein consumption habits have also settled among a broad range of consumers for general health maintenance.

From “Macho” to Health Maintenance for All Japanese Generations

The consumer image of protein powder in Japan is undergoing a significant transformation. Previously, the most common perception was that it was for “people who exercise or do muscle training” (25.9%), but now consumption for “health maintenance and improvement” has risen to 43.1% in Japan. An awareness survey conducted in Japan by Excrie in 2026 revealed that approximately 80% of people consider protein intake important, and about 50% are actively conscious of consuming it. Consumption frequency is particularly high among Japanese youth in their teens and 20s, with teenage girls often using it for dieting or maintaining their physique. Furthermore, as the importance of protein as a nutrient has become widely recognized across Japan, manufacturers have strengthened their outreach to families and seniors. The spread of convenient formats like beverages and processed foods has also helped embed these products into the daily lives of Japanese consumers. This elevation from a niche specialty product to a national health necessity led the Japanese government to officially add it to the price index.

Management and Strategy Background: Evolution of Data Collection and Statistical Accuracy

Improving Accuracy Through the Use of POS Data in Japan

The 2025 base revision introduces significant advancements in how price data is collected within Japan. Acknowledging the increase in online purchases and improvements in information technology, the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is expanding the use of POS (Point of Sale) information. Specifically, for items like “printer ink” and “memory cards”—which were previously surveyed by investigators visiting physical Japanese stores—the Ministry will now utilize POS data that encompasses both face-to-face and internet sales. This allows the government to acquire more massive and detailed data sets. As a result, the frequency of price collection will jump from “specific days each month” to “daily,” enabling the capture of short-term price fluctuations such as limited-time sales more accurately in Japan. While POS data usage accounted for only 0.7% of the total index weight in the 2020-base standard, there are ongoing discussions in Japanese subcommittees to expand this to “white goods” (home appliances) and food products.

Challenges and Overcoming Digital Statistics

While digital methods like POS data and web scraping improve efficiency, they also present statistical challenges for Japan. Establishing robust “quality adjustment” methods is essential to ensure that price changes reflect actual value rather than just product cycles. For products like Japanese PCs or cameras, where product cycles are short and quality improvements are rapid, the Ministry utilizes advanced methods like the “hedonic approach” to subtract the value of quality improvements from the price. Web scraping also faces hurdles in Japan, such as the mixing of irrelevant information or the difficulty of verifying actual sales conditions on websites, necessitating improved data cleaning techniques. Because the Japanese CPI must measure “pure price fluctuations” for identical quality rather than just “average purchase prices,” overcoming these technical barriers is vital for the reliability of Japanese statistics. The Japanese Ministry’s subcommittees are continuing careful but active deliberations to balance accuracy with the reduction of the burden on investigators.

Medium-to-Long-Term Outlook: The Future of Japan Reflected in the Price Index

Linkage Between Lifestyle Changes and Japanese Economic Policy

The revision of items in the Japanese CPI is more than just a clerical process; it is a historical record of the transformation of Japanese society. The symbolic shift from neckties to protein powder suggests that Japanese work styles are being liberated from formal attire and moving toward a focus on “physical health” and “real-world quality of life”. Such changes in the Japanese consumption structure have a significant impact on future economic policies and corporate marketing strategies. The movement of the CPI is directly linked to the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy decisions, and the BOJ’s outlook for the 2026 fiscal year CPI was recently revised downward to +2.5%. By having statistics that more accurately reflect modern Japanese consumption, the “real-world” adjustments to the economy can be carried out properly, allowing for policy planning that truly matches the reality of national life in Japan.

Future Points of Interest and the Utility of Statistics

A major point to watch will be how the “2025-base index,” scheduled for publication starting with July 2026 data, shows continuity or divergence from previous price trends in Japan. With the addition of new items and updated weighting, it is expected to become a metric that feels closer to the actual experience of Japanese consumers. Furthermore, “mid-term reviews” between the five-year major revisions are gaining importance to quickly reflect the rapid adoption or decline of goods and services in Japan. Another major topic is how far information collection using POS data and AI will expand in a digitizing Japan to improve survey efficiency. The Japanese Consumer Price Index records our past choices and supports our future decisions. The fact that neckties have vanished from the Japanese “shopping basket” while protein powder has entered quietly tells the story of the future that the people of Japan are choosing for themselves.

Reference Pages

• [Towards the 2025 Base Revision of the Japanese Consumer Price Index] https://www.stat.go.jp/training/2kenkyu/pdf/z_76.pdf

• [Minutes of the 134th Subcommittee on Service and Enterprise Statistics (Japan)] https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000966458.pdf

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