This year’s first auction for rice as staple food will take place on June 27 instead of the usual September, agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Thursday. Read more
Seeing wage hikes as a key part of its growth strategy, the government vowed to realize pay raises that exceed price increases in a stable way. Read more
Inflation-adjusted pay has now fallen for four straight months. Read more
As convenience stores prepare to sell government stockpiled rice from older harvests to consumers, Lawson says it will offer rice balls made of “vintage rice.” Read more
Government efforts to accelerate the pace of pay increases could lead to poorly performing companies going out of business. Read more
A share of 72.3% of farmers, however, expect prices for 2025 rice to be higher than for 2024 rice. Read more
Lines formed in the early hours of Saturday morning at an outlet in Chiba Prefecture as people clamored to purchase 5 kilogram bags of rice for ¥2,000. Read more
Smaller retailers and rice shops can buy rice stockpiled from the 2021 harvest from the government via no-bid contracts. Read more
Smaller shops in Japan are worried that older batches might not taste as good, which could cause customers to take their business elsewhere. Read more
The rapid shipment is in sharp contrast with previous arrangements using auctions, under which it took months to sell and ship 310,000 metric tons of rice in phases. Read more
