Latest news with #IrisOhyama
NHK
10-06-2025
- Business
- NHK
Rice rides bullet train to feed Tokyo
A company in northeastern Japan that bought rice from government stockpiles shipped the crop to Tokyo by Shinkansen bullet train. The unit of household goods maker Iris Ohyama loaded 1 ton of the grain in 5-kilogram bags onto the train at Sendai Station on Tuesday. The bags were sold at an event space in Tokyo Station for 2,160 yen, or about 15 dollars, to customers who had pre-ordered. One man buying rice said, "I've been eating rice priced at 2,000 yen for 2 kilograms. So this is the same price for 5 kilos. It's much cheaper." East Japan Railway says its Shinkansen can provide a fast way for companies in rural areas that want to ship rice to stores in cities.
Kyodo News
31-05-2025
- Business
- Kyodo News
Japan's cheaper stockpiled rice starts hitting store shelves
KYODO NEWS - 6 hours ago - 15:52 | All, Japan The Japanese government's stockpiled rice released through direct contracts with retailers began hitting store shelves Saturday, with consumers flocking to the cheaper products. Major supermarket operator Ito-Yokado Co. and home appliance company Iris Ohyama Inc. were the first to start selling the rice at some of their shops, both setting a price tag of 2,160 yen ($15) including tax for a 5 kilogram-bag. At an Ito-Yokado store in Tokyo's Ota Ward, 500 bags of rice sold out in just 30 minutes since its opening at 10 a.m. Other Ito-Yokado stores will also start selling the rice on Sunday or later. At a home center operated by an Iris Ohyama group company in Sendai, northeastern Japan, some 250 people lined up before 8 a.m. in the rain to get numbered tickets to purchase the rice. "It's cheap, and that helps," Mitsuko Matsuura, 71, said, expressing her relief that she was able to purchase the rice. She also said its taste was "not so different" from newly harvested rice. An 82-year-old man was disappointed that he was not able to make a purchase. "We are a family of five, so it's quite tough. I would like to come again to buy (the rice)." In the latest effort to bring down the soaring price of rice that has been hitting households, the Japanese government began selling its stockpiles through direct contracts with retailers earlier this week. Subject to the direct contracts is 300,000 tons of rice from 2021 and 2022. Ito-Yokado secured 5,000 tons and Iris Ohyama 10,000 tons of the 2022 harvest. Supermarket giant Aeon Co. and discount store chain Don Quijote will also start selling the stockpiles they procured from Sunday. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries initially offered reserve rice through auctions. But it switched to selling it directly to retailers in the hope that doing so will be more effective in curbing rice prices. Related coverage: Japan consumer watchdog warns of rice scam websites as prices soar Japan eyes more rice exports as domestic consumption set to decline Japan opposition chief rebuked for calling gov't reserve rice "animal feed"
Japan Today
31-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
Cheaper stockpiled rice starts hitting store shelves in Japan
Bags of reserve rice released from government stockpiles are seen on the shelves at an Ito-Yokado supermarket in Tokyo on Saturday. The Japanese government's stockpiled rice released through direct contracts with retailers began hitting store shelves Saturday, with consumers flocking to the cheaper products. Major supermarket operator Ito-Yokado Co and home appliance company Iris Ohyama Inc were the first to start selling the rice at some of their shops, both setting a price tag of 2,160 yen including tax for a 5 kilogram-bag. At an Ito-Yokado store in Tokyo's Ota Ward, 500 bags of rice sold out in just 30 minutes since its opening at 10 a.m. Other Ito-Yokado stores will also start selling the rice on Sunday or later. At a home center operated by an Iris Ohyama group company in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, some 250 people lined up before 8 a.m. in the rain to get numbered tickets to purchase the rice. "It's cheap, and that helps," Mitsuko Matsuura, 71, said, expressing her relief that she was able to purchase the rice. She also said its taste was "not so different" from newly harvested rice. An 82-year-old man was disappointed that he was not able to make a purchase. "We are a family of five, so it's quite tough. I would like to come again to buy (the rice)." In the latest effort to bring down the soaring price of rice that has been hitting households, the Japanese government began selling its stockpiles through direct contracts with retailers earlier this week. Subject to the direct contracts is 300,000 tons of rice from 2021 and 2022. Ito-Yokado secured 5,000 tons and Iris Ohyama 10,000 tons of the 2022 harvest. Supermarket giant Aeon Co and discount store chain Don Quijote will also start selling the stockpiles they procured from Sunday. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries initially offered reserve rice through auctions. But it switched to selling it directly to retailers in the hope that doing so will be more effective in curbing rice prices. © KYODO
Kyodo News
31-05-2025
- Business
- Kyodo News
Japan's cheaper stockpiled rice starts hitting store shelves
KYODO NEWS - 11 minutes ago - 14:33 | All, Japan The Japanese government's stockpiled rice released through direct contracts with retailers began hitting store shelves Saturday, with consumers flocking to the cheaper products. Major supermarket operator Ito-Yokado Co. and home appliance company Iris Ohyama Inc. were the first to start selling the rice at some of their shops, both setting a price tag of 2,160 yen ($15) including tax for a 5 kilogram-bag. At an Ito-Yokado store in Tokyo's Ota Ward, 500 bags of rice sold out in just 30 minutes since its opening at 10 a.m. Other Ito-Yokado stores will also start selling the rice on Sunday or later. At a home center operated by an Iris Ohyama group company in Sendai, northeastern Japan, some 250 people lined up before 8 a.m. in the rain to get numbered tickets to purchase the rice. "It's cheap, and that helps," Mitsuko Matsuura, 71, said, expressing her relief that she was able to purchase the rice. She also said its taste was "not so different" from newly harvested rice. An 82-year-old man was disappointed that he was not able to make a purchase. "We are a family of five, so it's quite tough. I would like to come again to buy (the rice)." In the latest effort to bring down the soaring price of rice that has been hitting households, the Japanese government began selling its stockpiles through direct contracts with retailers earlier this week. Subject to the direct contracts is 300,000 tons of rice from 2021 and 2022. Ito-Yokado secured 5,000 tons and Iris Ohyama 10,000 tons of the 2022 harvest. Supermarket giant Aeon Co. and discount store chain Don Quijote will also start selling the stockpiles they procured from Sunday. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries initially offered reserve rice through auctions. But it switched to selling it directly to retailers in the hope that doing so will be more effective in curbing rice prices. Related coverage: Japan consumer watchdog warns of rice scam websites as prices soar Japan eyes more rice exports as domestic consumption set to decline Japan opposition chief rebuked for calling gov't reserve rice "animal feed"
NHK
31-05-2025
- Business
- NHK
Rice from Japan government stockpiles hits shelves
Rice from Japanese government stockpiles sold through special no-bid contracts has hit store shelves at some retailers, amid high prices. Major supermarket operator Ito-Yokado began selling the grain on Saturday at an outlet in Tokyo's Ota Ward. Employees stacked up 500 bags of rice in a dedicated section after a truck arrived on Saturday morning. A five-kilogram bag was priced at 2,160 yen including tax, or about 15 dollars. Purchases were limited to one per family. All the bags sold out about 30 minutes after the store opened at 10 a.m. A woman in her 30s who bought the rice said she had stood in line because she heard that rice was at half the current price. She hoped that prices of other types of rice will go down. Ito Yokado signed a contract to buy 5,000 kilograms harvested in 2022 through the no-bid program. President Yamamoto Tetsuya said the company applied for the purchase because it wanted to offer rice at a reasonable price. He said he had little idea about price trends for other types of rice, but wants to offer customers stockpiled rice as one of the options. Household goods maker Iris Ohyama also started selling government-stockpiled rice on Saturday at two outlets in Miyagi and Chiba prefectures. It signed a contract to purchase 10,000 tons. Major retailer Aeon is expected to sell the rice from Sunday. The government offered the sale of a total of 300,000 tons of rice -- 200,000 tons from the 2022 harvest and 100,000 tons from the 2021 harvest -- directly to retailers. Attention is focused on whether the widespread sale of the stockpiles will help bring down rice prices.
