100-yen shop

Stocking a variety of items such as decorations, stationery, cup noodles, slippers, containers, batteries, spoons and bowls, each item is priced at precisely 100 yen,[1] which is considered attractive to Japanese consumers because it can be paid for with a single 100-yen coin.

However, the current Japanese consumption tax of 8% (food and drinks) or 10% (other items) is also added, making a 100-yen purchase actually cost 108 or 110 yen.

Some shops, such as Lawson 100, specialize in certain items, such as groceries or natural goods, but this is less common than the variety store model.

[9] Similar shops have opened around other parts of Asia as well, some operated by Japanese companies such as Daiso, which now has branches in 25 countries outside of Japan.

[12][13] By the Meiji period, this had expanded to clothing stores and food stands, and stores selling only 1-yen items were not uncommon[14] The first 100-yen shop in its modern form was opened in 1985 in Kasugai, Aichi prefecture by Akira Matsubayashi, the founder of the company Life Standard.