Bad harvests, panic purchases, exploding prices – for the first time, the government in Tokyo has to tap into the state rice supply. Will the staple food of the Japanese become a luxury goods?
When Ichiro Kokubo ranks with the forklift in front of his shop on the edge of Tokios, it doesn’t look like there is a problem: he shifts tons of tear bags from one corner to the other. The warehouse is full of various types of rice from all over Japan. The rice master proudly presents its supplies.
When looking at the offer in his shop, things look different. Four -digit sums appear on the price tags for the first time: one kilo of rice for more than 1,000 yen (around 6.30 euros). A year ago, a maximum of four euros had to be given pride for Japan’s pride.
Some of the prices have increased by up to 80 percent. In international comparison, Japanese rice has always been relatively expensive, but there has never been such a prices explosion.
210,000 tons are auctioned
In order to calm the people of the sushi, Mochi, Onigiri eater and sake drinker, Agriculture Minister Taku ETO decides to take a historical step: in mid-February he announced that his government will release parts of their rice for the first time to stabilize the prices. There is initially 210,000 tons that are to be auctioned at wholesalers.
Actually, this reserve is only intended for particularly poor harvests – or to ensure the care of people in natural disasters. This time Japan’s hunger for affordable rice is to be breastfed.
The minister combines the release of the spare icy with the message: “There is definitely enough rice in Japan to cover the need.” There is only one problem with the distribution, ETO sends afterwards. Really?
Speculators at work
The fact is: in the hot summer of 2023 the harvest was bad, in 2024 it was average. Climate change also causes problems with rice cultivation. The quality decreases. Many farmers are also increasingly selling their rice directly to their customers – and not through powerful agricultural cooperatives or farmers’ associations. The amount of good rice on the free market is getting smaller. This attracts speculators and drives prices.
Japan cares almost 100 percent with rice. In the current situation, simply buy cheap products from abroad? The pride prohibits this. Especially since the core of the problem is also to be found in strict state control of rice cultivation.
Kimio Inagaki, research director and expert for the local food and agricultural sector, criticizes the government’s riding policy: there are too many subsidies for feed rice and the cultivation of other plants. On the other hand, farmers who could produce edible rice would not receive support from the state. So they waived the extension, explains Inagaki.
The state is also limited. Politicians officially ended in reducing areas in 2018, but in reality there are little incentives for farmers to grow rice in full rivers in their fields. Japan could therefore produce significantly more rice than it currently does: in 2024 it was 6.8 million tons.
Waiting for the new harvest
This fact also does not lead to more understanding among the population. Reismeister Ichiro Kokubo reports on customers who pay grent of teeth to pay the significantly higher prices. Others, in turn, have now more often refrained from Japan’s staple. “Rice for Japanese is like breathing,” says the head of the travel shop with a smile.
He does not have to accept any significant losses in sales, says Kokubo. This is also due to the fact that in contrast to many large supermarkets in the area, he always has filled camps: “The customers are rediscovering our small rice shops.”
In principle, he finds it correct that the state wants to release part of its rice reserves. However, he does not believe that the prices are sinking noticeably – especially since the Ministry of Agriculture has announced that it will return the same amount later. An end to the rice crisis in Japan is not in sight for the time being. Much will depend on the harvest this year. But at least the warehouse of Ichiro Kokubo is still full.
