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on august 26, osaka governor yoshimura hirofumi called on the japanese government to release government-reserved rice, saying "there is no need to let rice sit in warehouses"; on september 2, he called again, but was rejected again. japan's chief cabinet secretary yoshimasa hayashi said on september 2 that new rice is gradually coming to the market, and the rice shortage will be alleviated.

rice shortage continues

since july this year, a "rice shortage" has begun to appear in some areas of japan, and the impact has gradually spread to more areas of japan, including some supermarkets in major cities such as tokyo and osaka, which have run out of rice or have purchase restrictions. a common notice at the entrance of the supermarket is "limited to one bag per family per day." a recent emergency survey in osaka prefecture showed that about 80% of retail stores in the area are facing a shortage of rice. therefore, many people have turned to buying alternative foods such as ramen, pasta or bread. some people on social media also said that they have been able to eat only noodles for several days. japanese media called this phenomenon "rice riots in the reiwa era."

on august 26, osaka governor yoshimura hirofumi said he had applied to the ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries to release the national reserve rice. he pointed out that in the current situation of tight rice supply, there is no need to let rice continue to "sleep" in warehouses. yoshimura hirofumi also called on the public to buy rationally and avoid unnecessary hoarding.

japanese minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries tetsuo sakamoto said at a press conference on august 30 that the new rice will soon be on the market, and the ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries will not release reserve rice to avoid affecting the circulation of rice. in response to public criticism that the central government is slow to respond to the "rice shortage", he said "i don't think it's too late."

on september 2, yoshimura hirofumi again called on the japanese government to release government-reserved rice, but was rejected again. at a press conference on the 2nd, japan's chief cabinet secretary yoshimasa hayashi responded to the rice shortage by saying that the country reserves rice to cope with the annual supply shortage. he emphasized: "new rice has also begun to be put on the market, and the shortage is expected to gradually improve in the future."

japanese authorities attributed the rice shortage to extreme weather, an increase in tourists and hoarding by the public. according to the authorities, the main reason for this "rice shortage" is the extreme heat last summer. the high temperature and drought caused a decline in rice production in major producing areas and poor rice quality. in addition, the number of foreign tourists has increased significantly this summer, which has boosted the demand for rice in the catering industry, causing a shortage of domestic rice. the japan meteorological agency issued a "huge earthquake" alert in the nankai trough earlier this month. the earthquake warning triggered a large number of people to rush to buy and hoard rice, resulting in a decrease in the amount of rice circulating in the market. the industry originally expected that the new rice would soon be on the market, which was expected to alleviate the rice shortage to a certain extent, but typhoon shanshan brought strong winds and heavy rains to many parts of japan, and the outside world was worried that it would affect the rice harvest of the season.

the july national consumer price index released by japan's ministry of internal affairs and communications last week showed that rice prices in japan rose 17.2% over the past year, the largest increase in 20 years. according to statistics from the ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, as of the end of june this year, the country's private rice inventory was 1.56 million tons, a decrease of 410,000 tons from the same period last year, the lowest since 1999.

(japan's private rice inventory in june was 1.56 million tons source: ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries)

rice prices soar in many parts of japan

currently, some areas in japan have started selling new rice, but the price is much higher than usual.

according to a report by the japan broadcasting association on the 28th, the rice-producing area of ​​fukui prefecture began selling new rice last week, but due to the nationwide rice shortage in japan, the price of new rice is more than 30% higher than usual. for example, the newly listed hanakoshimae rice is now priced at 4,780 yen (about 232.2 yuan) per 10 kilograms, while under normal circumstances, the price of this rice is around 3,500 yen per 10 kilograms.

a resident living in nakano ward, tokyo, japan, told the securities times that new rice started to appear on supermarket shelves in his area last week. he said: "before, the price of 5 kg of rice here was generally between 2,000 yen and 3,000 yen, depending on the quality. however, the price of new rice on the shelves has risen significantly, and some new rice has reached more than 3,500 yen per 5 kg."

previously, due to the ongoing rice panic, many supermarkets in japan posted notices that "one bag per household per day". regarding the purchase limit policy, the resident said that when supermarkets in nakano district sell rice, they will hang a sign on the shelf indicating "one bag per household", but there is no mandatory measure, and customers can buy one more bag if they need.

it is understood that in addition to rice and rice balls and rice crackers made from rice, the prices of some other commodities in japan have also risen recently, increasing the burden on residents' lives. a local lady told the securities times reporter: "although the prices of some fast food bento boxes have not changed recently, the portions of the bento boxes have obviously decreased, and the meat products in some bento boxes have become visibly less."

industry insiders predict that the tight rice supply in japan will continue until next year. former ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries official yamashita hitoshi said that it is unreasonable for the japanese authorities to blame the "rice shortage" on factors such as climate, increased tourists and people's hoarding. even if 3 million tourists stay in japan for a week every month and eat rice for three meals, the total amount of rice consumed only accounts for about 0.5% of the total domestic consumption. he believes that the root cause of this "rice shortage" lies in the long-term policy mistakes of the japanese government.

source: securities times