A simmering crisis over staple rice has suddenly boiled over in Japan. Since 2023, a punishing heatwave slashed harvests to their lowest in over a decade. As of June 2025, a 5-kilogram bag of ...

Agriculture Minister Taku Eto sparked outrage after telling reporters he had 'so much rice at home' that he could sell it - The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images An off-the-cuff remark about never paying for ...

The surge in rice prices in Japan has had a knock-on effect on an indispensable feature of New Year feasts. Mochi cakes are ...

Whether it’s posting pictures of him eating gyudon (beef bowl) between meetings or holding rice balls at campaign stops, Shinjiro Koizumi has worked hard to portray himself as a regular Tokyoite. The ...

The average retail price of the staple grain hit a new record high for the first time in three weeks, according to ...

TOKYO >> Japan said on Friday it would release another 300,000 metric tons of rice from its emergency stockpile through July and tweak its purchasing policy to counter a shortage and rein in sky-high ...

A rice field in Mito, Japan, where farmers are being encouraged to grow more of the staple crop to make up for shortages on store shelves, on Wednesday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Elaine Kurtenbach) ...

After months of increasing rice prices, Japanese consumers may be finally getting some relief. Stream San Diego News for free, 24/7, wherever you are with NBC 7. Data from Japan's agriculture ministry ...

TOKYO (AP) -- Rice is essential to Japanese culture, tradition and politics. People take pride in the oval-shaped sticky Japonica grain, which is still a staple even though total consumption has ...

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Rice-based food has been selected as Japan's "Dish of the Year" for 2025, reflecting public interest in the ...

In Japan, the ruling government is weighing whether or not to put rice on the table. President Donald Trump’s tariffs have forced countries around the world—most recently announced, China—to take a ...