Japan pledges immediate rice relief for consumers to prevent shift to foreign brands

Koizumi pledges immediate rice relief for consumers to prevent shift to foreign brands

Japan's new agriculture minister pledged on Friday to quickly move rice from government stockpiles to store shelves where they would be offered at prices significantly lower than current levels, seeking to stem a consumer shift to cheaper, foreign brands. Soaring rice prices, due in part to crop damage from extreme…

Japan pledges immediate rice relief for consumers to prevent shift to foreign brands

Soaring rice prices accelerated overall food inflation to 7 per cent in April. Read more at straitstimes.com.

At a press conference following a cabinet meeting on the 23rd, Agriculture Minister Koizumi Shinjiro revealed plans to have government stockpiled rice on store shelves as early as June at around 2,000 yen per 5 kilograms. Discretionary contracts will be utilized. Koizumi emphasized that "rice prices are currently far too high, and are putting a damper on Japan's entire economy." At the press conference, Koizumi said, "It is now possible that we …

May 23, 2025 Foreign news agencies reported that Japan's new agriculture minister pledged today to accelerate the release of rice from government reserves to store shelves, selling it at prices significantly lower than the current level, in a bid to stop consumers from buying cheaper foreign brands. The government began selling some of its rice reserves in March, but it has not yet resulted in a drop in the price of rice sold at supermarkets. Sh…