[ti:Price of Famous Japanese Snack Goes Up for First Time in 40 Years] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The cost of a well-loved snack in Japan [00:04.76]is increasing for the first time in over 40 years. [00:10.84]Umaibo corn puff was introduced in Japan in 1979. [00:17.40]Its name means "delicious stick." [00:21.20]People have loved Umaibo for many years [00:25.00]for its special crunch and its 10-yen price. [00:30.16]One Japanese yen is less than one U.S. cent [00:35.84]– or one-hundredth of a dollar. [00:39.68]The maker of Umaibo, Yaokin Corp, [00:44.12]is increasing the price to 12 yen. [00:47.60]The snack's first-ever price increase will begin in April. [00:53.84]The price change is a reminder that Japan is feeling [00:58.04]the effects of rising costs of raw materials and transportation. [01:05.32]Prices of goods have been rising in many countries. [01:09.36]But Japanese companies have so far [01:13.16]avoided increasing prices out of fear of losing buyers. [01:19.24]Longtime fans of Umaibo [01:21.84]are surprised and saddened by the cost change. [01:25.92]"Umaibo have been the same price for so long, [01:29.88]so a 2-yen increase is a big deal," [01:33.28]59-year-old Noriko Eda told Reuters. "I was surprised." [01:40.60]Umaibo come in 15 flavors, or tastes, such as cheese, [01:46.40]seasoned fish egg and creamy corn soup. [01:50.76]Around 700 million of the crunchy sticks are sold each year. [01:56.68]The cost has stayed so low [01:59.16]that even children can buy themselves Umaibo. [02:02.84]For many Japanese, [02:04.76]the snack reminds them of when they were young. [02:09.16]Takeshi Nemoto has been in charge of purchasing snacks [02:13.64]at Tokyo snack shop Kawahara Shoten for many years. [02:19.44]He said other snack manufacturers may also have to raise prices. [02:25.44]"There's nothing we can do," he said. [02:28.16]"From the manufacturer's point of view [02:30.64]they can't stay profitable anymore [02:33.12]unless they raise the price." [02:35.64]Some fans of Umaibo saw the change as the end of an era. [02:41.44]"We're witnessing a turning point of history," [02:45.28]rock musician Atsushi Osawa said on Twitter. [02:49.80]His band, Uchikubi Gokumon Doukoukai, [02:54.84]included the snack in a 2010 song. [02:58.72]They sang about Umaibo's "miracle price." [03:03.12]The musician said, "The price has started to diverge from the lyrics." [03:09.16]I'm Ashley Thompson. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM