Japan’s Crisis over Skyrocketing Rice Prices, Political Fallout Deepens

By Megha Bajaj

Interestingly, Japan is always known for its innovative technology and its pursuit of global leadership. However, the country is currently hitting the headlines for a rice crisis. Rice prices in Japan have surged in the past few months. According to the latest news on rice prices in Japan, the upward trend continues. A recent report on rice prices in Japan states that retail rice prices in Japan are still averaging over 4,000 JPY per 5-kilogram packet, nearly double the level before the supply shortage. This suggests that the release of emergency or normal rice stocks to reduce rice prices in Japan has not had the desired effect.

Skyrocketing rice prices surge despite releasing the rice stock in 2024

To control the rice crisis in Japan, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture released 210,000 tons of rice stock. The Japanese government decided that the release of the stockpiled rice would be used to address supply shortages due to production declines. However, in the summer of 2024, rice began disappearing from stores, and the shortage made headlines. Following this, the Japanese public demanded that the government release the stockpiled rice, but the government took no action. Even after rice was introduced to the market in 2024, rice prices did not decrease, but instead increased, further burdening the pockets of the public. Rice prices were then expected to decline in 2025 due to increased supply, as it was expected that rice production in 2025 would be the highest since 2017. However, Japan’s agricultural cooperatives provided farmers higher initial payments than last year to secure rice.

Consequently, a spike in rice prices has been observed. Experts now call the government’s release of stockpiles to normalise rice prices in Japan a delayed measure, arguing that this was not timely, leading to a persistent spike in rice prices. In addition, Japan’s Agriculture Department has admitted that its estimates of rice demand were incorrect, predicting a supply shortage until 2024. It stated that releasing stockpiled rice earlier could have curbed the uncontrolled rice prices. Experts say that Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture failed to accurately predict the projected rice supply for 2025, which has led to high retail rice prices in Japan.

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Rice Crisis brought a shift in Japanese Politics

Now, the Japanese public is forced to buy expensive rice. In Japan, a 5-kilogram packet of rice still costs more than 4,000 Japanese yen. Japan’s rice crisis brought not only a crisis but also a shift in Japanese politics. The rice crisis gained further attention when the then Japanese Agriculture Minister, Taku Eto, was forced to resign from his post due to a statement he made on rice. During an event, Eto stated that he did not buy rice. He cited receiving rice as gifts from supporters. This statement caused widespread uproar in Japan, infuriating the consumers who are already grappling with skyrocketing rice prices. Eto faced criticism over this issue and ultimately resigned as Japan’s Agriculture Minister.

In the Japanese government’s efforts to reduce inflation in Japan, Japan’s new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, has taken several decisions in her initial term, followed by campaigning with promises to control rising inflation. However, experts differ on some of the decisions taken on the rice front. In fact, Japan’s new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, is not effective in stabilising rice prices in Japan. Experts point to the need for a concrete strategy to stabilise rice prices in Japan. Notably, rice is Japan’s staple food, and the country has been self-sufficient in rice. However, over the past year, the rice shortage in Japan has sparked global fame. Now, the skyrocketing rice prices in Japan are becoming a major issue.