Over two weeks of cloudy and rainy days in Tokyo and nearby areas has resulted in higher vegetable prices and sluggish sales of summer clothing.

Tokyo has seen less than 3 hours of sunlight per day from June 27.

Vegetable prices at wholesale markets in the capital have shot up because of the poor weather, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, with cucumber prices around 70 percent higher than usual.

On Tuesday, temperatures were unseasonably cool with little sunlight, with only 22.1 C recorded in Tokyo and 21.9 C in Yokohama, according to the Meteorological Agency.

The cool weather can be explained by an anticyclone in the Sea of Okhotsk that is sending cold humid air from the north towards northern and eastern Japan.