Japan is the world’s biggest market for super-sized packaged goods, with an estimated 7.6 billion items sold on average per year.
But with a shrinking number of shoppers, the number of products is rapidly shrinking as well.
For the past several years, Japanese retailers have struggled to compete with foreign rivals in the world of super-size.
The U.S. has emerged as a strong contender for the super-market, with more than 5 million items sold per day, but the Japanese market has become less saturated, and prices are rising.
According to research firm NPD Group, the average price of a super-food item rose to a record high of 3,977 yen ($29) per kilogram in June from 2,811 yen in April.
The price of an entire product, or a 100-gram package of chips, rose to 3,721 yen per kilo from 3,560 yen.
The trend of lower prices for imported products has also led to a decline in domestic consumption, which is now the country’s primary source of foreign currency income.
The country has also been hit by a severe deflationary spiral.
“Japan is becoming the global market for sugary soft drinks and snacks,” said Shigehiro Ishikawa, an analyst at Nippon Shimbun.
“Ishikawa also expects this trend to continue, as consumers move from domestic consumption to sugary foods and snacks.”
The U.K., the world leader in sugary snacks, recently surpassed Japan in sales, but still ranks second to the Japanese in overall sales, according to NPD.
The Japanese market, which has the largest market share in the industrialized world, has been a key player in Japan’s soft drink industry, selling more than 3 billion servings of soft drinks in 2014.
The shrinking market has also hurt the U.s.
Supermarket Association, which was created in 2004 to promote and maintain an environment conducive to the sale of sugary food products in the U: Supermarketers have to follow a strict guidelines on packaging and labeling to avoid being identified as “superfood” or “super” in order to be approved for sale.
A recent survey by the association found that a quarter of its members were already in a state of denial about sugary products, with a third saying they had “never considered buying a sugary drink in their lives.”
The association is also seeking new regulations to help protect consumers from being harmed by the artificial sweeteners and other artificial ingredients that have been added to sugared foods and drinks.
A new report by the group found that as much as one third of sugarees sold in Japan in 2014 were made of artificially sweetened drinks, with the majority of these products being made with sugar.
“It’s becoming clear that the Japanese government has no clue about the extent of the problem,” said Masahiko Hirano, a spokesman for the association.
“The government has to make a concerted effort to ensure that sugary drinks are only sold in vending machines and that they are labeled appropriately.”
The government, however, has so far taken no steps to crack down on the artificial ingredients and sweeteners that have flooded the market.
As a result, Japanese consumers have been able to continue to buy sugary snack and other sugary items, with prices still climbing, despite the fact that consumers are increasingly realizing that they can no longer trust the government to protect their health.