Rice was stolen in three separate incidents Sunday morning in Niigata, Ibaraki and Chiba prefectures amid a rising number of thefts following this autumn's poor harvest.
Police said 390 kg of the popular Koshihikari variety, worth 130,000 yen, was stolen from 54-year-old farmer Kazunori Horie in Shitada, Niigata Prefecture.
In Itako, Ibaraki Prefecture, 40 kg of the Koshihikari brand, worth 15,000 yen, was stolen from a grocery store along with 30 kg of glutinous rice and 1,000 sheets of seaweed.
In Oamishirasato, Chiba Prefecture, 900 kg of Koshihikari, worth 330,000 yen, was stolen from a storage facility belonging to a farmers' cooperative.