Japan's efforts to lower the price of rice through the release of its stockpile may finally be making some progress, albeit at a snail's pace.
The average supermarket price of 5 kilograms of rice dropped last week for the first time since December, falling ¥19 to ¥4,214. This amounts to a 0.4% decline from the week starting April 28, the farm ministry announced Monday.
However, the hefty ¥4,000 price tag is still more than double the price from the same period last year.
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