Tag - food

 
Menu
Search
 
July 04, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

FOOD

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at an Upper House Budget Committee meeting on Monday as agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi looks on.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2025
Japan to set up minister-level meeting to address rice supplies
The government released a further 300,000 metric tons of stockpiled rice last week in a bid to bring down prices.
Rice from government stockpiles is sold at a store in Sendai on Saturday.
JAPAN
May 31, 2025
41% of Japanese rice farmers expect price drop in 2026
A share of 72.3% of farmers, however, expect prices for 2025 rice to be higher than for 2024 rice.
Iris Ohyama began sales of government-stockpiled rice at a home center location in Chiba Prefecture on Saturday morning.
JAPAN
May 31, 2025
Japanese customers brave the rain to line up for cheap stockpiled rice
Lines formed in the early hours of Saturday morning at an outlet in Chiba Prefecture as people clamored to purchase 5 kilogram bags of rice for ¥2,000.
A rice shop owner listens to an online briefing by the farm ministry on the no-bid contract method of purchase for small retailers looking to buy stockpiled rice from the government, on Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
May 30, 2025
Farm ministry starts accepting applications for older rice from small buyers
Smaller retailers and rice shops can buy rice stockpiled from the 2021 harvest from the government via no-bid contracts.
Stockpiled rice arrives Thursday at a rice-milling factory operated by a subsidiary of household appliance company Iris Ohyama in the town of Watari, Miyagi Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
May 30, 2025
Some retailers hesitant to buy stockpiled rice on quality concerns
Smaller shops in Japan are worried that older batches might not taste as good, which could cause customers to take their business elsewhere.
A government white paper on agriculture attributed the recent rice price hikes partly to some producers boosting direct sales to consumers and sales to nonconventional buyers.
JAPAN
May 30, 2025
Government blames rice price surges on procurement route changes
Rice prices at retailers soared because wholesalers had to buy at relatively high prices to supplement shortfalls, a white paper concluded.
Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi’s push to slash rice prices could either mark a populist gesture or ignite a political revolution that challenges the entrenched agricultural lobby and the foundations of postwar conservative power.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 30, 2025
Can the 'rice man,' Koizumi, save the day?
Late last week, newly appointed farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced that he aimed to bring the rice price range down to around ¥2,000 per 5 kilograms.
Prices of more than 1,900 food items, including precooked rice products, will be raised next month, three times the year-before level, according to research company Teikoku Databank.
JAPAN
May 30, 2025
Prices to rise for 1,932 food products in Japan in June
The number marked the sixth consecutive month of increase, boosted by rising prices of rice.
Tokyo’s consumer price index that serves as a leading indicator for national inflation trends posted in May the biggest year-on-year rise since January 2023.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 30, 2025
Tokyo prices rising most in two years keeps BOJ on hike path
The food price gains are a worrisome sign for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba ahead of a summer election expected to be held by July.
Stockpiled rice arrives Thursday at a rice-milling factory operated by an Iris Ohyama subsidiary in the town of Watari, Miyagi Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
May 29, 2025
Stockpiled rice shipped within three days and set to hit shelves next week
The rapid shipment is in sharp contrast with previous arrangements using auctions, under which it took months to sell and ship 310,000 metric tons of rice in phases.
Agrolend CEO Andre Glezer (second from right), JICA Brazil Office chief Akihiro Miyazaki (far left) and others on Wednesday in Sao Paulo
BUSINESS / Companies
May 29, 2025
JICA signs deal to invest in Brazilian farming fintech firm
JICA hopes the investment will help ensure stable food procurement by Japan, which imports such crops as soybeans and corns from the South American agricultural giant.
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks at a Lower House farm committee in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 28, 2025
With latest move, farm ministry sets sights on ¥1,800 for a 5-kg bag of rice
The agriculture ministry will sell older batches of stockpiled rice to smaller retailers and rice shops via no-bid contracts, and pause offerings to big buyers.
Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi said at a news conference Tuesday that the ministry is planning to sign contracts with retailers that have applied by Wednesday for the no-bid procedure and hand them the stockpile rice as early as Thursday.
JAPAN
May 27, 2025
At least 33 retailers applied for no-bid contracts for rice, farm ministry says
The ministry is planning to sign contracts with retailers that have applied by Wednesday and hand them the stockpiled rice as early as Thursday.
Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi visits a supermarket to check the prices of rice on Friday in Koto.
JAPAN
May 26, 2025
Bags of rice at half price will hit stores by early June, Koizumi says
With necessary costs added on, a 5-kilogram bag of rice is set to cost ¥2,160 at retailers in June.
A University of Osaka study of more than 1,400 fourth-graders has found that children who chew poorly and eat quickly are significantly more likely to be obese.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 26, 2025
Study links poor chewing to higher obesity risk in children
The University of Osaka study involving over 1,400 fourth-graders is among the first to demonstrate a clear link between eating behavior and obesity risk in children.
Mervat Hijazi washes clothes inside the tent they took shelter in after being displaced in Gaza City.
WORLD / Society
May 24, 2025
Diary of a Gazan family's descent toward starvation
The family's plight is a snapshot of the misery plaguing the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
Mixue, a Chinese bubble tea chain, has become the world’s largest food and beverage chain, with tens of thousands of stores all over Asia. The company is just one example of the increasing reach and popularity of Chinese cultural exports across the globe.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 23, 2025
How China’s soft power is rewriting Asian culture
Chinese cultural exports are becoming increasingly popular across the world and especially Asia. Do they promote cross-border understanding or are they tools for propaganda?
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
May 23, 2025
Japan pledges immediate rice price cuts to stop shift to foreign brands
The government has been releasing some of its stockpiled rice since March but that has yet to translate to lower supermarket prices.
Palestinian workers pack bread in a bakery that returned to operations after being closed due to a flour shortage, in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on Thursday.
WORLD
May 23, 2025
Some flour reaches Gaza as blockade eases, with aid groups calling for more
Israel imposed the blockade on all supplies in March, saying Hamas was seizing deliveries for its fighters — a charge the group denies.
New farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks during a news conference on Wednesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 22, 2025
‘Rice minister’ Koizumi faces urgent task to bring prices down quickly
Lawmakers have been questioning whether auctioning stockpiled rice is really effective in bringing down prices.
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Onosato's yokozuna promotion causes rare quirk in new sumo rankings
Newly promoted yokozuna Onosato holds a copy of the latest banzuke ranking in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, on Monday.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Over 900 earthquakes strike Tokara islands in space of two weeks
A screenshot shows many quakes occurring in the Tokara islands over the past 30 days, in this image taken from the U.S. Geological Survey website.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027
Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER