The pace of the spread of highly pathogenic bird flu in Japan has accelerated since the beginning of 2025, sparking concerns over the negative impact on household budgets, such as a spike in egg prices.
So far in January, as many as 13 bird flu cases have been confirmed at chicken farms across the country, including multiple cases in the city of Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, and the most recent outbreak reported by the Chiba Prefectural Government on Wednesday.
“Bird flu is apparently widespread,” agriculture minister Taku Eto said during a meeting to discuss countermeasures at his ministry on Tuesday.
The current increasing pace of infections suggests that the number of cases this month will top the current worst January record of 19 marked in the 2022-2023 season, experts said.
To curb the spread, the ministry has been asking poultry farmers to take strict hygiene control measures and report to local authorities as soon as possible if they see something wrong with their chickens.
In the current 2024-2025 season, which began last October, 29 cases had been confirmed as of Wednesday, already exceeding 11 for the whole of the 2023-2024 season and 25 for the 2021-2022 season.
Recalling that wholesale prices of eggs soared beyond ┬е350 per kilogram and “impacted daily meals tremendously” in the 2022-2023 season with 84 cases, an all-time high, Eto stressed, “We must do whatever we can to contain bird flu.”
