Pricele #31: Big Mac in Japan 🇯🇵
The puzzle for 31 July 2026 asked what one burger of big mac costs in Japan. Here is the answer and the context behind it.
The answer
Big Mac · Japan
$3.03
480 JPY
About 11 minutes of the average local wage buys one.
Cheaper than 87% of the 33 countries in the game.
Source: The Economist Big Mac Index, Jan 2026.
About big mac
The Big Mac is the most-quoted price in economics. The Economist started publishing its Big Mac Index in 1986 as a light-hearted way to test purchasing-power parity — the theory that a currency should buy the same basket of goods anywhere. Because the burger is close to identical everywhere it is sold, the gap between what it costs in two countries is a rough read on whether a currency is over- or undervalued.
Where Japan sits
Of the 33 countries priced for big mac, Japan ranks #29 from the top at $3.03 — 47% below the median of $5.69.
Japan is the clearest case in the game of a country that stopped feeling expensive. A weak yen has pushed dollar prices well below where they sat a decade ago, and the Big Mac Index now scores the yen as one of the most undervalued major currencies. Fruit is the exception — premium apples are a gift category and priced like one.
| Nearby on the big mac table | USD | Local | Work time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt | $2.65 | 125 EGP | 88 min |
| Vietnam | $2.89 | 76,000 VND | 62 min |
| Japan | $3.03 | 480 JPY | 11 min |
| South Africa | $3.36 | 54.9 ZAR | 45 min |
| China | $3.66 | 25.5 CNY | 40 min |
What else costs what in Japan
| Item | USD | Local | Work time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coca-Cola (330ml can) | $1.15 | 180 JPY | 4 min |
| Cappuccino | $3.14 | 497 JPY | 12 min |
| Milk (1 litre) | $1.47 | 233 JPY | 6 min |
| Eggs (dozen) | $2.07 | 328 JPY | 8 min |
| Apples (1 kg) | $4.94 | 782 JPY | 19 min |
| Gasoline (1 litre) | $1.09 | 173 JPY | 4 min |
Go deeper
See the full table for big mac in every country or everything priced in Japan.