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June 06, 2025
 

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MAFF

Lawson plans to sell 1-kilogram and 2-kg bags of rice it bought from the government's stockpile at ¥360 ($2.50) and ¥700 respectively.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2025
Aging rice? Lawson prefers to call it 'vintage.'
As convenience stores prepare to sell government stockpiled rice from older harvests to consumers, Lawson says it will offer rice balls made of "vintage rice."
The average price of rice sold at some 1,000 supermarkets across Japan in the week through May 25 stood at ¥4,260 ($29.80) per 5 kilograms, down ¥25 from the previous week.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2025
Retail prices for rice across Japan make first dip in three weeks
The average price in the week through May 25 stood at ¥4,260 ($29.80) per 5 kilograms, down by ¥25 from the previous week.
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.
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks during an Upper House agriculture committee meeting on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 30, 2025
Some LDP lawmakers wary of Koizumi's aggressive price policy
There are fears that the approach may cause farmers, a key support bloc, to distance themselves from the party.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Agriculture minister Taku Eto (left), who resigned on Wednesday, and former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi
JAPAN / Politics
May 21, 2025
Shinjiro Koizumi takes farm ministry reins after predecessor's rice gaffe
Taku Eto resigned from the post after coming under fire for bragging about how much rice his supporters give him.
Questionable websites appear to be taking advantage of consumers looking for cheaper rice online amid the high prices of the staple grain in the nation.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 21, 2025
Beware of dubious websites offering cheap rice, consumer watchdog warns
The Consumer Affairs Agency urges consumers to verify the legitimacy of websites offering rice at unusually low prices before making any purchase.
Agriculture minister Taku Eto responds to questions from reporters on Monday at the Prime Minister's Office.
JAPAN / Politics
May 20, 2025
Ishiba won't sack farm minister over rice gaffe
The prime minister wants agriculture minister Taku Eto to focus on finding a solution for soaring rice prices.
Agriculture minister Taku Eto has come under fire for saying at the weekend that he receives so much rice from his supporters that he has enough to sell it.
JAPAN / Politics
May 19, 2025
Amid rice shortage, farm minister comes under fire for saying he gets plenty
Agriculture minister Taku Eto reportedly said at a fundraiser that he gets so much rice from supporters, he has enough to sell it.
The agriculture ministry on Friday announced a set of measures aimed at speeding up the distribution of government-released stockpiled rice to store shelves, including the creation of an auction quota for bidders ready to sell rice to retailers sooner.
JAPAN
May 16, 2025
Japan announces fresh measures to improve supply of rice
Among the measures is an auction quota for bidders ready to sell stockpiled rice to retailers within a month of purchase.
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.
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.
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.
Japan’s fertility rate hits record low despite government push
The total number of births dropped to about 686,000, marking the first time the figure has fallen below 700,000, according to a health ministry release on Wednesday.
Japan eyes tougher rules for foreign residents and tax hike for tourists
A tax-free shop in Kyoto in April 2024. Last week, members of a Liberal Democratic Party study group drafted a proposal seeking to scrap the country's tax-free shopping system altogether.
Hakuho’s departure highlights worrying sumo trend
Former <i>yokozuna</i> Hakuho performs a ring-entering ceremony at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
Is Japan ready to say goodbye to tax-free shopping?
Arrows lead to the tax-free counter at a branch of discount retailer Don Quijote in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward.
South Korea’s Lee pledges to heal deep wounds as ‘president for everyone’
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung waves with his his wife, Kim Hye-gyeong, following his inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday.
Nintendo’s Switch 2 console is finally here
The Switch 2 is Nintendo's first new gaming console in eight years.
Hakuho’s departure highlights worrying sumo trend
Former <i>yokozuna</i> Hakuho performs a ring-entering ceremony at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.
Japanese baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima dies at 89
Shigeo Nagashima (left), then the manager of the Tokyo Giants, waves to fans with players and coaches during a victory parade in central Tokyo in 2000. Nagashima died at the age of 89 on Tuesday.
‘A garden is a grand teacher’: The Kamakura Gardener nurtures via YouTube
American Robert Jefferson runs a YouTube channel called The Kamakura Gardener that invites viewers to enjoy the pleasures of gardening, cooking and slow living.

Podcast

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

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
By Alex K.T. Martin

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