Umaibo, a crunchy corn snack that means ‘delicious stick’, increases in price from ¥10 to ¥12 – the first rise in the face of higher import costs

One of Japan’s best-loved snacks is to go up in price – by a whopping 20% – for the first time since its launch more than four decades ago,

But Umaibo – literally “delicious stick” – will still be a steal for schoolchildren at just ¥12 apiece (US10c, not including sales tax), up from the current ¥10, when the change goes into effect in April.