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April 26, 2025
 

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MAFF

Government-stockpiled rice stacked in a warehouse in Feb. 18 in Saitama Prefecture
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2025
Japan to hold third auction of stockpiled rice next week
In total, 100,000 tons of reserved 2023 rice will be auctioned.
Farm minister Taku Eto (second from right) meets with rice wholesalers and retailers on Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2025
Rice wholesalers and retailers call for better stockpile distribution
The average price of rice sold at supermarkets across the country in the week through April 6 rose for the 14th straight week.
Stockpiled rice at a rice-polishing factory in Saitama Prefecture in March
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2025
Japan to release stockpiled rice monthly amid record high prices
The move comes after two previous releases appeared to have had little effect in stabilizing prices.
Increasing rice production for exports would help enhance supply flexibility as rice could be diverted for domestic consumption in case of a shortage.
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2025
Japan advised to boost rice exports to 353,000 tons in 2030
Increasing rice production for exports would help expand supply flexibility as rice could be diverted for domestic consumption in case of a shortage.
Government's stockpiled rice at a warehouse in Saitama Prefecture in February
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2025
Japan begins taking bids in second auction of stockpiled rice
The focus is on whether the release of reserve rice will help curb soaring rice prices.
Bags of the government's rice stockpile are shipped out of a warehouse in Saitama Prefecture on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2025
Portion of government rice stockpile to hit shelves as early as next week
In a bid to stop the surging price of rice, the government auctioned off a portion of its emergency stockpile.
Rice buyers have been racing to secure supplies since an extreme shortage last summer.
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2025
Japan sells 141,796 tons of reserve rice in auction
The weighted average of the auctioned rice prices came to ¥21,217 per 60 kilograms. The rice is expected to hit store shelves as early as late this month.
The government's stockpile of rice in Saitama Prefecture in February
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2025
For first time ever, government begins auction of rice stockpile
Rice from the stockpile is expected to hit shelves from around the end of the month.
Government stockpiled rice stored in a warehouse on Feb. 18 in Saitama Prefecture
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2025
Japanese government to auction stockpiled rice on March 10
It is the first time stockpiled rice will be released to ensure smooth distribution. This was previously limited to cases of seriously poor harvests and large-scale disasters.
Behind a record-breaking rise in Japan's rice prices are intensifying competition among buyers since the serious shortage of the country's staple food in stores in summer 2024 and hoarding by those bullish about rice prices.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2025
Price of rice sold to wholesalers surges to another high in Japan
The January average rose 69% from a year earlier to ¥25,927 per 60 kilograms of brown rice amid intensifying demand.
The government's stockpiled rice in Tokyo in 1999. Since 1995, the government has been stockpiling around 200,000 tons of rice from the annual harvest to ensure that there is enough to go around during emergencies.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2025
Government taps rice stockpile to reverse price increases
This will be the first time the stockpile has been used to reduce prices instead of due to emergencies.
A farmer stands next to his flood-damaged rice field after Typhoon Shanshan passed through Yufu, Oita Prefecture, in August 2024.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2025
Japan plans to sell rice from emergency stockpiles to cut prices
The government will discuss selling part of its strategic rice reserve next week, the agriculture minister said Friday.
Poor weather conditions have led to a surge in cabbage prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 22, 2025
Cabbage prices triple in Japan after unfavorable weather
"Cabbage prices are expected to remain high for a while," an agriculture ministry official said.
To counter the impact of aging rural demographics, the agriculture ministry is introducing a new initiative to dispatch corporate personnel to rural areas to increase the number of people engaged with farming communities.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 13, 2025
Japan farm ministry aims to dispatch corporate workers to rural areas
The initiative aims to promote rural revitalization through corporate-sponsored training programs and employee side jobs connecting businesses with farming villages.
Food loss happens at food-related businesses including-food makers, retailers and restaurants, as well as at households.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2024
Japan drafts more ambitious 60% goal for cutting business food loss by 2030
The government hopes to require food businesses to change practices such as rejecting foods and beverages that are close to their best-before date.
The rice harvest ramped up this month and will ease a supply squeeze, but farmers and Japan’s main grain distributor have agreed to higher contract prices.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2024
Rice inflation to persist despite harvest, as prices rise over 20% on year
Tokyo shoppers were paying 23% more than a year ago for 5 kilogram bags of rice last month, while wholesale prices have risen 28% — the biggest hike since 1975.
Shuzo Fukushi, who heads Rice Meister Kojimachi in Tokyo, shows a bag of Calrose mixed with domestic rice at his store on Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 6, 2024
Demand for Calrose rice rises amid Japanese rice shortage
The California rice is a medium-grain variety cheaper than the Japanese short-grain cultivar, but with a similar taste.
Empty shelves of rice are pictured in a supermarket in Tokyo on Aug. 27 with a notice asking customers to buy one brand a day for a family.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2024
Agricultural Ministry holds meeting on rice shortage in stores
As of the end of June, private-sector rice inventories in the country stood at 1.56 million metric tons, the lowest since comparable data became available in 1999.
A supermarket worker puts up a sign asking purchasers to buy only one bag per person, in Tokyo on July 25.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2024
Why it's hard to find rice at Japan's supermarkets right now
In recent weeks, store shelves have often been barren, with many shops displaying signs asking purchasers to stick to one bag per person.
Japan's food self-sufficiency rate has declined on the back of the country's changing food culture as demand for rice declines.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2024
Japan's food self-sufficiency rate remained stable at 38% in fiscal 2023
The rate has remained stagnant even though the government aims to raise it to 45% by fiscal 2030.
Naked man’s rampage in Saitama linked to one fatality and 10 injured
Police believe Daisuke Nishimura may have been involved in roughly 20 incidents in the 90 minutes leading up to his arrest, including a fatal hit-and-run and multiple assaults.
Japan set to fine cyclists on the spot for rule violations from 2026
Under new rules, those who use smartphones while riding a bicycle would be subject to the maximum fine of ¥12,000.
Japan brings forward deadline for electronic travel authorization system
Japan is planning to implement by March 2029 a new online screening system in which foreign visitors who don’t need a visa apply for a certification before entering the country.
Built in a flash, Osaka Expo pavilions wrestle with sustainability
Kengo Kuma & Associates oversaw the construction of the Malaysia pavilion, which is encased in interwoven rows of bamboo that appear to ripple.
Social media helps fuel growing 'sex tourism' in Japan
People walk down a street in the red-light entertainment area of Kabukicho in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on March 31.
Amid uncertain tariffs, is now the time to buy a new iPhone?
An Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in September. Prices for the newest iPhone models start at around ¥100,000 ($700) in Japan.
Built in a flash, Osaka Expo pavilions wrestle with sustainability
Kengo Kuma & Associates oversaw the construction of the Malaysia pavilion, which is encased in interwoven rows of bamboo that appear to ripple.
Japan weighs using U.S. rice imports as tariff negotiation tool with Trump
A restaurant owner pours California-grown Calrose rice into a rice cooker at his restaurant in Tokyo
Is Japan’s parliament ready to welcome more youth to its ranks?
Lower House lawmaker Kai Odake in his Tokyo office on Wednesday
Crow meat, goat tartare: Mauvaise Herbe raises its game
Crow meat, shaped into a ball and attached to a foot of the bird, is one of the peculiar offerings of game at Mauvaise Herbe.

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