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October 09, 2025
 

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FOOD

The agriculture ministry has decided to ease a key bidding rule for government-stockpiled rice which requires a buyback within a year, extending the window to five years in a bid to promote the circulation of such rice in the market.
JAPAN
May 16, 2025
Japan to ease 1-year buyback rule for stockpiled rice
By extending the limit to five years, the government hopes to secure more bidders and promote the circulation of stockpiled rice to lower prices.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass eats California rice at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday along with Mitsuko Tsuchiya, vice president of retailer Aeon.
JAPAN
May 14, 2025
Japanese retailers turn to California rice for cheaper alternative
Major retailer Aeon announced Tuesday it will start selling the “Karoyaka” variety of California rice from June 6.
Dr. Raquel Gomez flips a tortilla at the Industrial Microbiology laboratory of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 13, 2025
Scientists in Mexico develop tortilla for people with no fridge
The wheat flour version developed by Raquel Gomez and her team contains probiotics — live microorganisms found in yogurt and other fermented foods.
Despite the government releasing rice from its emergency stockpile since March, prices have remained high.
JAPAN
May 13, 2025
Rice prices finally fall, but change is in baby steps
The average supermarket price of 5 kilograms of rice dropped for the first time since December, falling ¥19 to ¥4,214.
Shoichi Kojima holding a cheesecake made with funazushi on May 6 in the city of Hikone, Shiga Prefecture
JAPAN
May 13, 2025
Shiga chef turns stinky sushi into cheesecake
Girasole, a restaurant in the city of Hikone, has been serving the funazushi-derived Basque-style cheesecake since April 2021.
A customer walks past a display of rice, with a sign apologizing to shoppers they must be limited to one bag each due to market conditions, at a branch of Japanese discount retailer Don Quijote in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on April 21.
JAPAN
May 10, 2025
As prices soar, Zen-Noh ships just 32% of government-stockpiled rice
The group is currently shipping between 2,000 and 3,000 tons of rice per day, and is working to send out deliveries as quickly as possible, a Zen-Noh official said.
The government began releasing stockpiled rice in March, but this has failed to stem increases in rice prices.
JAPAN
May 8, 2025
Price of rice at Japanese retailers hits record for 17th consecutive week
The average price for 5 kilograms of rice rose to ¥4,233 from ¥4,220 the previous week — more than double the level seen a year earlier.
Imba, a clove farmer who inherited 70 trees from her parents, in Ternate, North Maluku, Indonesia. Colonial powers once warred over the cloves grown on the eastern Indonesian island of Ternate. Today, farmers say the crop's gravest threat is climate change.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 6, 2025
Climate change takes spice from Indonesia clove farms
Clove trees can take more than a decade to mature, and flowers can only be harvested in a small window that depends heavily on weather conditions.
Asuka Tsuzuki (left), the principal of Linden Hall School's secondary school, and Kota Sugimoto, the school's head chef, display the Japanese Agricultural Standards certificate the school obtained for its lunches.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
May 5, 2025
In a national first, Fukuoka school obtains organic lunch certificate
A Fukuoka school has become Japan’s first to earn JAS certification for organic school lunches, using seasonal and local produce to promote environmental education.
Amid shortages, the price of a 5-kilogram bag of rice during the week of April 14 was ¥4,220.
JAPAN
May 4, 2025
Why are rice prices still high in Japan?
The average price of 5 kilograms of rice in mid-April was ¥4,220 — more than double what it cost around the same time last year.
The town of Kanna contacted the Gunma prefectural health center to report that several residents of the Aibara district had visited a medical institution with symptoms including fever and diarrhea.
JAPAN
May 1, 2025
14 people fall ill from tap water poisoning in Gunma
An investigation by the Gunma prefectural health center revealed that the only common factor among those who fell ill was the consumption of tap water.
Although it has been more than a month since the government began releasing its stockpiled rice, retail prices have remained high due to sluggish distribution.
JAPAN
May 1, 2025
Only 1.4% of government-stockpiled rice is reaching retailers in Japan
Wholesalers have not been able to handle the sudden increase in distribution volume.
The prices of 478 products, including House Foods' curry mixes, will be raised in May.
BUSINESS
Apr 30, 2025
Price hikes set for 478 food products in May
The monthly number of food products with higher prices will rise 1.9% from a year earlier, the fifth consecutive monthly increase.
It has been over a month since the government began releasing its stockpiled rice, but retail prices have remained high.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2025
Government-stockpiled rice sold ¥420 cheaper in third auction
Although it has been more than a month since the government began releasing its stockpiled rice, retail prices have remained high.
Amid U.S.-China trade tensions, the U.S. may be looking at Japan as a potential country to make up for a drop in corn exports to China.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 25, 2025
Japan looks to increase U.S. corn imports ahead of more tariff talks
The idea appears to be aimed at appeasing U.S. President Donald Trump's criticisms about Japan's tariffs and could be used as leverage in next week's bilateral negotiations.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food in Tokyo gained 3.4% in April from a year earlier, as a mixture of impacts from last year’s school fee cuts and higher food and energy costs accelerated inflation, according to the internal affairs ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 25, 2025
Tokyo prices rise most in two years, backing central bank's hike path
Consumer prices excluding fresh food gained 3.4% in April from a year earlier. Tokyo's figures are a leading indicator for national price gains.
A plaintiff for a damages lawsuit against Morinaga Milk Industry speaks at a news conference in Osaka after the Osaka District Court dismissed her claims.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 23, 2025
Osaka District Court dismisses lawsuit against Morinaga Milk in arsenic case
Presiding Judge Takenori Nomura ruled the 20-year statute of repose for tort claims had already passed.
Cultured meat over 1 centimeter thick developed using a new method incorporating hollow fibers into the cell culture process
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2025
New method developed to make cultured meat thicker
By incorporating hollow fibers into the cell culture process, the team succeeded in creating meat that was about 1 centimeter thick and weighed about 11 grams.
Bags of rice at a warehouse in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Japan imported South Korean rice for the first time since 1999 this month amid soaring domestic prices for the staple grain.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 21, 2025
Japan buys first South Korean rice in over two decades as prices surge
The Japan office of South Korea’s National Agricultural Cooperative Federation said it brought in and sold 2 tons of Korean rice this month.
A historic surge in rice prices in Japan is prompting retailers to turn to cheaper ingredients like barley and noodles in bento meal boxes to keep costs down and hold on to customers.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2025
Japanese retailers trying to overcome soaring rice prices
Some retailers are expanding the sale of lower-priced foreign rice.
How China waged an infowar against U.S. interests in the Philippines
Association for Philippines-China Understanding (APCU) Chairman Raul Lambino shakes hands with guests during a ceremony for the Award for Promoting Philippines-China Understanding at The Manila Hotel in Manila in June.
‘We have drawn lessons,’ Indian Army chief says of brief clash with Pakistan
Indian Army chief Upendra Dwivedi waves as he arrives to attend the ceremonial reception of Defense Minister Gen Nakatani in New Delhi in May.
Typhoon Halong to cause windstorms, heavy rain and high waves on the Izu islands
Typhoon Halong is moving north near the Izu Islands, with strong winds, high waves and heavy rain expected as it passes early on Thursday, prompting warnings from the weather agency.
Japan's Susumu Kitagawa among three chemistry Nobel winners
Susumu Kitagawa speaks to reporters at Kyoto University on Wednesday after receiving the news that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry the same day.
Takaichi's leadership lineup favors Aso and his allies while shutting out rivals
The LDP's newly-appointed election chief Keiji Furuya (far left), general affairs council chair Haruko Arimura (second from left), vice president Taro Aso (center left), president Sanae Takaichi (center right), secretary-general Shunichi Suzuki (second from right) and policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi in Tokyo on Tuesday.
With nuclear sub proposal, Japan faces array of political and tech challenges
The Jingei, the third of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Taigei-class submarines, was commissioned in March last year. It is equipped with lithium-ion batteries, enabling it to have a longer diving time and cruising distance than older models with lead-acid batteries.
OpenAI’s Sora 2 is drowning in Japanese 'AI slop'
OpenAI has rolled out a social app powered by Sora 2, its artificial intelligence video generator, which was quickly flooded with videos featuring iconic Japanese intellectual property.
Trump has his eyes on the prize — but a Nobel win looks unlikely
A protester holds a sign with an image depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and the words "Nobel" written on it, as supporters and family members of hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, demonstrate to demand the immediate end of the war and the release of all hostages, outside the U.S. Consulate in Tel Aviv, on Sept. 2.
‘Takaichi trade’ stalls as political reality calls for wait-and-see approach
Tokyo stocks staged a powerful rally on Monday. On Tuesday, they rallied again, then retreated.
‘We have drawn lessons,’ Indian Army chief says of brief clash with Pakistan
Indian Army chief Upendra Dwivedi waves as he arrives to attend the ceremonial reception of Defense Minister Gen Nakatani in New Delhi in May.

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