Japanese consumers regularly lament on Twitter over “shrinkflated” products—goods that are getting smaller but not cheaper. Shrinkflation was coined by British economist Pippa Malmgren and is a disguised inflation practice. It’s also all too common in Japan.
Bags of potato chips, chocolate bars, tuna cans, bento and more, are discreetly getting smaller while their prices stay the same. Wages also haven’t changed much in Japan since the 2000s. This stealthy price tactic (ステルス値上げ) can affect a families’ food budget. Many well-known brands such as Calbee, Meiji, Country Ma’am, and Kewpie have shrunk their products as demonstrated below by user @ppsh41_1945.
Next time you hit the store, double-check the package quantity. You might be surprised by what you find. Shrinkflation, a Japanese website tracking this trend, keeps a list of products that have shrunk in recent years.
The incredible shrinking food
— 大神ひろし (@ppsh41_1945) June 12, 2021
“Fumio Kishida [the former Minister for Foreign Affairs] says things like ‘the fruits of growth realized by Abenomics,’ but let’s take a look at some of the foods that have become smaller under the Abe administration here.
It is Abenomics that has caused prices to soar while wages have not increased much, and products have become smaller like this, hurting people’s lives.”
The conjunction それでは
Conjunctions are very useful words or expressions used to connect two sentences and the Japanese language has many of them. Today, let’s have a look at それでは, also known as では and the casual じゃ. This conjunction is used following three patterns.
You share your opinions on what precedes.
- 事実だと言ってますが、それでは本当なんでしょうか?: “They say it’s the truth, but is it really?”
- それではこうしたらどうか?: “In that situation, what should we do?”
You mark the start or the end of a particular situation or topic.
- それではこれで失礼します: “[Then] I’ll leave you to it.”
- それではもういいから行って食うといい: “Well, that’s set, let’s go and eat.”
Finally, それでは is used as a farewell greetings.
- また会えるといいね。それでは: “I hope we can meet again, see you then.”
|アベノミクス||abenomikusu||Abenomics, economic and monetary policies of Shinzo Abe|
|実現する||jitsugen suru||Make happen, put in practice|
|成長の果実||seichou no kajitsu||The fruits of growth|
|安倍政権下||abe seikenka||Under the Abe administration|
|食品||shokuhin||Foods, food products|
|国民生活||kokumin seikatsu||People’s lives|
|打撃を与える||dageki o ataeru||Deliver a blow [to something, someone], strike|