date:Apr 07, 2014
Japanese supermarkets raised prices on top of a new sales tax this week, data showed, in the first sign that retailers feel they have the pricing power to withstand the levy.
Prices at 300 supermarkets nationwide were up 0.9 percent from year-earlier levels excluding the tax-hike effect on Tuesday, the day the tax hike took effect, and up 1.5 percent on Wednesday, according to the UTokyo Daily Price Index, a gauge maintained by University of Tokyo Professor Tsutomu Watanabe.
On Monday, the day