Q Why don't the Japanese complain about the high prices?

A According to the Economic Planning Agency's annual report comparing prices in four Western cities, Tokyo's prices were 1.41 times higher than New York, 1.46 times higher than London, 1.3 times higher than Paris, and 1.38 times higher than Berlin.

Visitors from other countries are amazed at Japan's high prices. The high appreciation of the yen, particularity in early 1990 is an impact the Japanese realize all too well the visitors are forced to contend with.

Prices are determined by the structure of each country's economy, and Japan's economy is based on its economic strength stemming from the rise in its national income of fifty years of economic growth.

The Japanese realize that prices are not low, but based on their national income, they feel that prices are not so high that they are unable to afford what they need to live on. They either accept it or feel it is unavoidable. They are more concerned about prices being stable than too high.

The early 1990s ushered in a period of low economic growth which saw a cessation in the rise in the national income. Although prices were adjusted through price cutting, the Japanese still have not come to the point of giving serious thought to prices. But even the Japanese will not keep quiet if income failed to keep up with price increases.