Japan’s tofu shops facing fight for survival amid rising costs

Many tofu shops in Japan are struggling amid higher prices for imported soybeans following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, although demand remains solid for the Japanese staple.

A tofu shop run by Takashi Kurosawa in Tokyo’s Minato Ward is among the 42% or so of medium-size and small stores that remained in the red in the fiscal year that ended in March, with 47% incurring losses in the previous year, according to a recent survey by credit research firm Teikoku Databank.