In MY 2021/22, profit margins of Japanese soybean crushing surpassed those of canola crushing. Meanwhile, as hotel, restaurant, and institutional service industries (HRI) began to recover from the effects of the COVID pandemic, demand for soybean oil spiked as canola oil demand dropped with less home cooking than during the peak crisis period. The price of palm oil also spiked which made palm stearin oil for power generation unprofitable. FAS/Tokyo expects Japan will increase soybean imports but decrease rapeseed and palm oil imports. Japan has suffered from a general deflation since the mid-1990s, but global commodities are a notable exception which will be felt by Japanese households. As a hedge against future price hikes, vegetable oil users already have stockpiled vegetable oil products. Of course, this hoarding will result in softer consumption at some time.