Retail rice prices in Japan are still above ¥4,000 per 5 kilograms on average, almost double the level before supply shortages hit consumers, even after the government’s releases of stockpiled rice to keep prices low.
In February last year, the agriculture ministry announced plans to release 210,000 tons of stockpiled rice. The decision came as a reversal of its policy because the ministry had expected that the volume of 2024 rice would be enough to cover demand.
The country’s staple food law stipulates that releases of government-stockpiled rice be used to cover “supply shortages due to falling production.”