TOKYO, Japan: Japan's cherished cherry blossom picnics are becoming more expensive as global inflation drives up the cost of food and drinks, according to a new analysis.

Prices for typical "hanami" picnic items have risen sharply, with a dedicated index showing costs are up 25 percent since 2020, the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute said on March 24.

Each year from late March to early April, people across Japan gather in parks and along riverbanks to celebrate cherry blossoms, laying out blue tarps and sharing meals, snacks, and drinks with family and friends.

But the tradition is increasingly affected by rising raw material costs, which have pushed companies to raise prices on a wide range of food and beverages.

To measure the impact, Hideo Kumano, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research, updated an index he first created in 2020. It tracks the weighted-average prices of 14 popular hanami items, including rice balls, bento boxes, fried chicken, potato chips, and beer.

The index showed that costs rose 4.2 percent in February from a year earlier and have climbed 25.0 percent since 2020.

Some items have seen even steeper increases. Japanese sweet buns rose 46.1 percent from 2000 levels, while carbonated drinks increased 45.7 percent and rice balls 45.0 percent, according to the data.

"A weak yen and rising global commodity prices are causing cost-push inflation in Japan," Kumano said. "Hanami is clearly facing the negative effect of the global inflationary trend."

Japan, long accustomed to low or falling prices, has seen inflation pick up in recent years, driven by higher import costs linked to a weaker yen and rising global commodity prices following the war in Ukraine.

Core consumer inflation remained above the Bank of Japan's two percent target for nearly four years before easing to 1.6 percent in February, largely due to government fuel subsidies.

Even so, the rising cost of everyday items is now being felt in seasonal traditions such as hanami, underscoring how inflation is reshaping consumer habits in Japan.