Rice prices Japan's issue, on and off the farm

All is calm at Satoshi Yamazaki's rice farm, with its freshly planted rows of vivid-green seedlings, but a row over the cost of the staple in Japan is threatening to deal the government a blow at the ballot box. Shortages of the grain caused by a supply chain snarl-up have seen prices almost double in a year, fuelling frustration over inflation — and voters could let their anger be known in upper house elections due next month. To help ease the pain for consumers and restaurants, the government started tapping emergency stockpiles in March, having only previously done so during disasters.
Yamazaki, who grows about 10 per cent of his rice organically using ducks to eat pests, said he understands high prices are 'troubling' for ordinary people. But he stressed that thin profits are a concern for many of those who produce it. 'There's a gap between shop prices and what farmers sell rice for to traders and the like,' he told AFP in the northern Niigata region.
'Not all the money paid at shops becomes our income,' said Yamazaki, a 42-year-old father of seven. A mosaic of factors lies behind the shortages, including an intensely hot and dry summer two years ago that damaged harvests nationwide. Since then some traders have been hoarding rice in a bid to boost their profits down the line, experts say. The issue was made worse by panic-buying last year prompted by a government warning about a potential 'megaquake' that did not strike. Meanwhile, the rising price of imported food has boosted the popularity of domestic rice, while record numbers of tourists are also blamed for a spike in consumption.
Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi has pledged to cut prices quicker by selling stockpiled rice directly to retailers — attracting long queues to some shops. It appears to be working: the average retail price has edged down for a second week to 4,223 yen ($29) for five kilograms (11 pounds), down from a high of 4,285 yen in May. That hasn't stopped opposition politicians — with an eye on the elections — and online critics branding the reserve rice 'old', with some likening it to animal feed. But analysts also blame Japan's decades-old policy of cutting rice-farming land. The policy was introduced to support prices that were being hit by falling demand brought about by changes in the Japanese diet. Under the 1971 policy, farmers were told to reduce the amount of space used to grow the grain in favour of other crops.
That saw the amount of land used for rice paddies — not including for livestock feed — plunge below 1.4 million hectares (3.5 million acres) in 2024, from a peak of 3.3 million hectares in 1960. While the policy was officially abolished in 2018, it has continued in a form of incentives pushing farmers towards other commodities like soybeans.
Adding to the crisis is Japan's ageing population. Many rice farmers are old and their children have no interest in taking over. Eighty percent of rice farmers are part-time with less than two hectares of fields but they account for only 20 percent of production, said agronomy expert Kazunuki Oizumi, professor emeritus of Miyagi University. Their main revenue comes from other jobs or pensions, he added.
Toru Wakui, chairman of a large-scale farm in the northern Akita region who has for decades fought against the acreage reduction, said Japan should 'seek an increase in rice production and exports to foreign markets'. 'If you only think about the domestic market while increasing output, of course prices will fall,' he told AFP. 'We need to look for markets abroad.'
'The 55 years of acreage reduction destroyed Japan's agriculture,' said Wakui, 76, who urged Koizumi in a letter last month to 'declare an expansion in rice production'. He also said Japan should consider a scheme to help young people start agriculture businesses without the burden of initial investment in fields and machinery, by involving other sectors including banks and trading companies. Public support for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's government has tumbled to its lowest level since he took office in October, which local media say was partly caused by the surge in inflation and soaring rice costs.
He has told parliament that increasing production is 'an option' to temper prices, but said food security and the livelihood of producers was also important. For the farmer Yamazaki, 'wanting cheap rice with high quality' is a pipe dream. 'We farmers are a little baffled by the limelight that suddenly shifted to us,' he said. 'But I think it's a good opportunity for the public to think about how rice is produced.'

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Sharjah 24

2 hours ago

• Sharjah 24

'Turkish salmon': the Black Sea's new rose-coloured gold

"Our exports surged from $500,000 in 2017 to $86 million last year, and this is just the beginning," said Denizer, general manager of Polifish, one of the Black Sea's main producers of what is marketed as "Turkish salmon". In its infancy just a decade ago, production of trout -- which in Turkey is almost exclusively farmed for export -- has exploded in line with the global demand for salmon, despite criticism of the intensive aquaculture required to farm it. Last year, the country exported more than 78,000 tonnes of trout raised in its cooler northern Black Sea waters, a figure 16 times higher than in 2018. And it brought in almost $498 million for Turkish producers, a number set to increase but is still far from the $12.8 billion netted by Norwegian salmon and trout giants in the same year. Russia, which banned Norwegian salmon in 2014 after the West imposed sanctions over its annexation of Crimea, accounts for 74.1 percent of "Turkish salmon" exports, followed by Vietnam with 6.0 percent, and then Belarus, Germany and Japan. Spectacular success Stale Knudsen, an anthropologist at Norway's Bergen University and a specialist on Black Sea fishing, said Russia offered "an available market that was easy to access, near Turkey". For him, the "spectacular success" of trout is also down to Turkey's experience and the technology used in farming sea bass and sea bream, a field in which it leads Europe. Turkish producers have also benefitted from the country's large number of reservoirs where the fish are a raised for several months before being transferred to the Black Sea. There, the water temperature -- which stays below 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 Fahrenheit) between October and June -- allows the fish to reach 2.5 to 3.0 kilogrammes (5.5-6.6 pounds) by the time they are harvested. Last, but not least, is the price. "Our 'salmon' is about 15 to 20 percent cheaper than Norwegian salmon," said Ismail Kobya, deputy general manager of Akerko, a sector heavyweight that mainly exports to Japan and Russia. "The species may be different but in terms of taste, colour and flesh quality, our fish is superior to Norwegian salmon, according to our Japanese clients," Kobya told AFP at Akerko's headquarters near the northeastern town of Trabzon, where a Turkish flag flies alongside those of Russia and Japan. Inside, a hundred or so employees in long blue waterproofs, green head coverings and rubber boots behead, gut, clean and debone trout that has an Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification for responsible farming practises. Disease risks "Over the last two years, many Turkish producers have moved to get those certifications," said Knudsen, though he does not believe such labels are always a guarantee of sustainability. "I think the rationale behind that is not only to become more sustainable, but is more importantly a strategy to try to enter the European markets... where the Norwegians have some kind of control," he said. In a 2024 study, researchers from a Turkish public institute raised concerns that "the rapid growth of the trout farming sector... led to an uncontrolled decline in the survival rate" of the fish. Pointing to the "spread of diseases" and "improper breeding management", the researchers found that nearly 70 percent of the trout were dying prematurely. Polifish, which also has an ASC certification, acknowledged a mortality rate of around 50 percent of their fish stocks, predominantly in the reservoirs. "When the fish are small, their immune systems aren't fully working," said its deputy general manager Talha Altun. Akerko for its part claims to have "reached a stage where we have almost no disease". "In our Black Sea cages, the mortality rate is lower than five percent, but these are farming operations and anything can happen," Kobya said. Fake fish Visible from the shore, the fish farms have attracted the wrath of local fishermen worried about the cages, which have a 50-metre (165-foot) diameter, being set up where they cast their nets to catch anchovy, mackerel and bonito. Mustafa Kuru, head of a local fishermen's union, is a vocal opponent of a farming project that has been set up in his fishing zone just 70 kilometres (45 miles) from the Georgian border. "The cages block the movement of the fish and what happens then? The fish start leaving the area," he said, accusing the trout farmers of pumping chemicals into their "fake fish". He said a lack of fish stocks in the area had already forced two boats from his port to cast their nets much further afield -- off the western coast of Africa. "If the fish leave, our boats will end up going to rack and ruin in our ports," he warned.

Al Etihad

3 hours ago

• Al Etihad

Israel attacks nuclear site in Isfahan: Iranian media

21 June 2025 10:28 TEHRAN (AFP)Israel attacked Iran's Isfahan nuclear site in the early hours of Saturday, the Iranian Fars news agency reported, saying there were no hazardous leaks or risk to the a security official, it said Israel carried out multiple attacks including on the Isfahan site, saying "most of the explosive sounds heard in these attacks were related to air defence activity". There was no "leakage of hazardous materials," the official was quoted as saying.

Gulf Today

8 hours ago

• Gulf Today

Thousands of foreigners being evacuated from Israel and Iran as war rages on

Governments around the world are attempting to evacuate thousands of their nationals caught up in the rapidly spiralling Israel-Iran conflict, organising buses and planes and in some cases assisting people crossing borders on foot. Foreigners have rushed to leave both countries after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign last Friday targeting Iran's nuclear and military facilities, sparking retaliation from Tehran. But with Israel's air space closed and the two countries exchanging heavy missile fire, many people are being evacuated from third countries. Europe European countries have already repatriated hundreds of their citizens from Israel. The Czech Republic and Slovakia said Tuesday they had taken 181 people home on government planes. "It was not possible to send the army plane straight to Israel," the Czech defence ministry said in a statement, citing the air space closure. People arrive with their luggage before the departure of buses slated to evacuate foreign passport holders, mainly European and Polish, out of Israel, at a meeting point in Tel Aviv. AFP "The evacuees were taken to an airport in a neighbouring country by buses. They crossed the border on foot." The German government said flights were scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday via Jordan, while Poland said the first of its citizens were due to arrive back on Wednesday. Greece said it had repatriated 105 of its citizens plus a number of foreign nationals via Egypt, while a private plane with 148 people landed in the Bulgarian capital Sophia on Tuesday. United States The US ambassador to Israel on Wednesday announced plans for evacuating Americans by air and sea. The embassy is "working on evacuation flights & cruise ship departures" for "American citizens wanting to leave Israel," Ambassador Mike Huckabee posted on social media. Australia Australia has started evacuating around 1,500 citizens from Iran and more than 1,200 from Israel -- but missile barrages have made it too risky for civilian aircraft to land in either country, its foreign minister said. People register before the departure of a bus slated to evacuate foreign passport holders, mainly European and Polish, out of Israel, at a bus stop in Tel Aviv. AFP "There's no capacity for people to get civilian aircraft in, it is too risky, and the airspace is closed," Foreign Minister Penny Wong told national broadcaster ABC. "We have taken the opportunity to get a small group of Australians out of Israel through a land border crossing. "We are seeking to try and do more of that over the next 24 hours." Pakistan Pakistan has shut its border crossings with neighbouring Iran, except to Pakistanis wanting to return home. Around 1,000 Pakistanis have fled so far, including at least 200 students. Pakistani citizens who were evacuated from Iran walk across the Pakistan-Iran border at Taftan, Balochistan province on Wednesday. The foreign ministry said the families of diplomats and some non-essential staff from Iran had been evacuated. India Around 110 students who fled Iran over the land border with Armenia have landed in New Delhi, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Thursday. Indian students pose for a photograph during their evacuation from Tehran. There are around 10,000 Indian citizens in Iran. In Israel there are around 30,000 Indians, according to the country's embassy in New Delhi. New Zealand New Zealand closed its embassy in Iran, evacuating two staff members and their family to Azerbaijan by land. "If and when opportunities arise to assist the departure of other New Zealanders in Iran and Israel, we will pursue them with urgency," Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement Thursday. Japan Japan has ordered military planes to be on standby for around 1,000 Japanese nationals believed to live in Israel, and around 280 in Iran, according to government ministers. People evacuated from Israel disembark from a plane, amid the Israel-Iran conflict, at Vasil Levski Sofia airport, Sofia, Bulgaria, on Wednesday. Reuters The Japanese embassies in Iran and Israel are preparing to use buses to evacuate citizens to neighbouring countries, a government spokesman said, as the war entered its seventh day. Indonesia Indonesia is preparing to evacuate around 380 of its citizens currently in Iran by land, Jakarta's foreign minister said Thursday. "Flights are no longer possible, so the only way is land route. It will start tonight," Foreign Minister Sugiono, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said in a video. Philippines The Philippines is preparing to repatriate 28 Israel-based Filipino workers out of 178 who asked for help, the Department of Migrant Workers secretary Hans Cacdac said Thursday. At least 21 Philippine government officials have also crossed into Jordan by land from Israel since the conflict began, the foreign ministry said. Agence France-Presse