Retail prices for rice in Japan remain above 4,000 yen per 5 kilograms on average, nearly double the levels before supply shortages affected consumers.
The Ministry of Agriculture announced in February last year that it would release 210,000 tons of stockpiled rice to help stabilize the market.
The move reversed the ministry’s earlier stance, which assumed that the 2024 rice harvest would be sufficient to meet domestic demand.
Under the country’s staple food law, government-stockpiled rice is intended to address supply shortages caused by falling production.
Despite rice shortages starting in summer 2024, the government initially did not release stockpiled rice, even after public calls for intervention.
When 2024 rice eventually reached store shelves, prices did not fall and, in fact, continued to rise, prompting further government action.
The ministry later revised its rules to allow stockpiled rice to be released whenever disruptions in smooth rice distribution occur.
In March 2025, the government began distributing stockpiled rice mainly through agricultural cooperatives via a bidding system, aiming to ease pressure on retail prices.