Japan's appetite for rice set to keep prices high as farm politics persist
Advertisement
Supermarket prices for rice remained stubbornly high at 4,214 yen (US$28.50) per five kilograms in the week to May 4 despite the first decline in 18 weeks after a record peak the previous week, and they were more than double the price from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
The persistent price surge, which began in the summer of 2024, has rattled the food sector. Convenience stores have raised prices on rice balls and bento boxes, while beef bowl chains Matsuya and Yoshinoya have shifted to imported or blended rice to contain costs.
Several factors are fuelling the spike, according to Ogawa Masayuki, an assistant professor and an agricultural economist at Utsunomiya University. On the demand side, record inbound tourism and heightened hoarding due to fears of a major earthquake along the Nankai Trough have led to a price jump.
'On the supply side, the hot weather [in 2023] caused a significant drop in rice quality,' Ogawa told This Week in Asia.
Advertisement
The record-breaking summer heat of that year severely affected grain quality and rice yields.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Weakened mandate looms for Ishiba as Japan votes in upper house election
Japanese voters could unleash political turmoil as voting got under way on Sunday in a tightly contested upper house election, with rising prices and immigration concerns threatening to weaken Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba 's grip on power. Opinion polls suggest Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and coalition partner Komeito may fall short of the 50 seats needed to retain control of the 248-seat upper house of parliament in an election where half the seats are up for grabs. The polls show smaller opposition parties pushing for tax cuts and increased public spending are set to gain, among them the right-wing Sanseito, which vows to curb immigration, oppose foreign capital inflows and reverse gender equality moves. A poor showing by the coalition could shake investor confidence in the world's fourth-largest economy and disrupt critical trade talks with the United States, analysts said. Ishiba may have to choose between making way for a new LDP leader or scrambling to secure the backing of some opposition parties with policy compromises, said Rintaro Nishimura, an associate at the Asia Group in Japan. 'Each scenario requires the LDP and Komeito to make certain concessions, and will be challenging, as any potential partner has leverage in the negotiations.'
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
How China's pragmatic balancing puts it in Asean pole position
There is no sign that US President Donald Trump is going to budge on his tariff policy. The 90-day pause on his 'Liberation Day' tariffs does not preclude his penchant for protectionism or punishing countries for adopting what he sees as unfair trade practices. His latest round of tariffs, which is set to take effect on August 1 , bodes ill for East Asia. Japan and South Korea – two of Washington's closest allies in Asia – will see their exports hit with a 25 per cent tariff, while Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar will see increases of between 25 and 40 per cent. All of these countries' economies rely on exports to the United States. The importance of the US market helps explain why the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has not responded with reciprocal measures, with some members advocating for diversifying trade partners and increasing trade within Asean as a hedge against the US. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim made this point while addressing Asean foreign ministers in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month, saying 'we need to fortify our internal foundations. Trade more among ourselves, invest more in one another'. Asean countries need contingency planning given the importance of US trade to the bloc's economy. Asean's goods trade with the US was worth US$476.8 billion in 2024, with more than 6,000 American companies operating in member nations. As such, it is understandable why Thailand pushed Trump administration officials to review their proposed tariff rate while Vietnam raced to secure an agreement with Washington. Meanwhile, Japan verbally lashed out at Trump's tariffs while South Korea tried to strike a more measured tone.
The Standard
2 days ago
- The Standard
US Treasury's Bessent says good tariff deal with Japan still possible
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shakes hands with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, before their meeting at the prime minister's office in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, July 18, 2025. Shuji Kajiyama/Pool via REUTERS
