Major convenience store chain operators Lawson and FamilyMart on Thursday began selling government-stockpiled rice released under no-bid contracts.

Their sales are expected to make it easier for consumers to access stockpiled rice after it sold out quickly at major supermarkets and other places.

On Thursday, Lawson started selling 1-kilogram and 2-kg bags of stockpiled rice at ¥360 and ¥700 before tax, respectively, at 10 outlets in Tokyo and Osaka Prefecture.

A customer in his 50s who bought the rice at an outlet in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward said, "I'm glad, because it's cheap."

"I heard it doesn't smell that much, so I want to eat it right away," he added.

Lawson will sell the rice nationwide except for Okinawa Prefecture, from June 14.

FamilyMart started selling stockpiled rice at 20 outlets on the first day, offering only 1-kg bags. It plans to sell the rice at all stores across the country by mid-July.

At a FamilyMart store in Tokyo's Minato Ward, the rice sold out in about 30 minutes from the start of sales at 8 a.m.

FamilyMart President Kensuke Hosomi suggested that his company plans to lower prices of certain brands of rice sold at FamilyMart outlets. "I hope that it will be a turning point in the rice issue," he added.

After inspecting the FamilyMart store, agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi said, "I feel encouraged by the timely sale (of stockpiled rice), which was launched at a time when it was necessary to calm down the entire market."

Seven-Eleven Japan will start selling stockpiled rice at some stores in Tokyo, Osaka and the four prefectures of the Shikoku region on June 17, planning to expand the sales area nationwide in stages.