After decades of sharp policy swings since World War II, Japan's rice farmers are greeting the government's latest call to boost output with skepticism. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/17/japan/japan-rice-growers-buffeted-by-postwar-policy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #rice #agriculture #food #maff
The average price per 5 kilograms of rice sold at some 1,000 supermarkets in Japan last week topped ¥4,000 for the first time since early June, the agriculture ministry has said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/13/japan/rice-prices-rebound/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #rice #inflation #shijirokoizumi
Heavy rain and widespread flooding in basmati rice-growing regions of India and Pakistan have raised concerns over output of the premium staple, driving prices higher on an expected fall in supply. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/09/09/markets/flood-india-pakistan-basmati-prices/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #markets #rice #floods #india #pakistan
Japan’s top conveyor-belt sushi chain, Sushiro, is leaning on profits from its rapid overseas expansion to take a bite out of surging rice costs at home. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/09/01/companies/japan-suhi-chain-overseas-expansion/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #companies #inflation #sushi #restaurants #rice #sushiro
Japan's agriculture ministry decided to extend the deadline for selling government-stockpiled rice released under discretionary contracts, believing slow deliveries to retailers is making it difficult to sell all of it. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/20/japan/rice-sales-deadline-extension/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan#maff #agriculture #rice
High temperatures across much of Japan are set to last for another month, according to the national weather forecaster, with the persistent heat potentially keeping power demand elevated. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/20/japan/heat-in-japan-to-persist-for-a-month/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #heatwaves #meteorologicalagency #hydropower #rice
Retail prices of rice at about 1,000 supermarkets across Japan averaged ¥3,737 per 5-kilogram bag from Aug. 4 to 10, up ¥195 from the previous week and around 1.4 times the price a year earlier. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/19/japan/society/rice-price-increase-august/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society#maff #rice #agriculture
India's drive to produce more ethanol is prompting its farmers to switch away from growing oilseeds, undermining government efforts in the world's largest buyer of cooking oils to reduce imports. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/08/12/markets/india-ethanol-edible-oil-sufficiency/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #markets #india #oil #agriculture #ethanol #india #corn #rice #soybeans
Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited a rice field in a suburb of Seoul to inspect the local rice farming situation and receive explanations from a rice farmer on measures to combat high temperatures and pests. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/11/japan/farm-minister-visits-rice-field-south-korea/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #shinjirokoizumi #rice #agriculture #southkorea
Record high temperatures in Japan could curb the country’s rice production, threatening to create shortages of the staple grain and fresh price spikes as public resentment mounts over the cost of living. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/08/japan/japan-rice-crop-at-risk/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #rice #agriculture #food #heatwaves #climatechange
Japan’s farm ministry has apologized for its erroneous rice supply and demand forecasts, which Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba admitted were what caused prices to surge across the nation in the past year. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/08/japan/politics/ldp-policy-panel-on-rice/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #food#maff #rice #shigeruishiba #shinjirokoizumi #ldp #agriculture
Japan is poised to reverse its long-standing rice curb policy, following a government admission that it had been miscalculating demand. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/06/japan/rice-ishiba-increase/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #rice #shigeruishiba #agriculture
The Philippines may temporarily suspend rice imports to support local farmers in the world’s biggest buyer, potentially increasing the risk of expanding a global surplus. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/08/04/rice-importer-philippines-farmers/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #philippines #rice #agriculture #trade #southeastasia
Japan may abandon its de facto policy of limiting the cultivation of rice in response to the country's severe shortage of the staple grain and soaring prices. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/04/japan/japan-rice-policy-shift/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #rice #inflation#maff #agriculture
The first rice harvest of 2025 has hit shelves in Japan, with prices significantly higher than last year against the backdrop of strong demand for domestic rice brands. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/01/japan/first-rice-crop-put-on-sale/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #rice #inflation #food
The diversification of rice sales channels may have contributed to the surge in prices of the staple since last summer, according to a survey released by the agriculture ministry Wednesday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/07/30/rice-price-surge-survey/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #rice#maff #inflation
Alex Akselrod
boosted
Ishiba's future in balance as polls hint at rout in Upper House election https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/19/japan/politics/ishiba-ldp-upper-house-election-focus/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #shigeruishiba #trade #tariffs #us #donaldtrump #inflation #rice #ldp#upperhouse #diet #2025upperhouseelection
With rice shortages hitting vulnerable people especially hard ahead of Sunday's Upper House election, nonprofit groups are emphasizing the need for political leadership capable of tackling poverty. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/18/japan/politics/food-poverty-issues-upper-house-poll/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #rice #food #poverty #2025upperhouseelection #inflation