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August 11, 2026
 

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RICE

A few tricks from Korea can spice up Japan's otherwise plan "inari-zushi" pockets.
LIFE / Food & Drink / The Recipe Box
Aug 2, 2026
A sushi rice pocket by any other name
Â鶹´«Ã½ ¡°inari-zushi¡± sushi pockets are normally plain compared to their Korean counterparts, but a blend of the two makes for a delectable treat.
Seiichi Yamaguchi has spent decades growing rice in Yaita, Tochigi Prefecture. Now in his early 70s, he says modern machinery has allowed him to keep farming longer than he once thought possible.
JAPAN / Society / Photo essay
Jul 31, 2026
A succession crisis in Â鶹´«Ã½ fields
Technology has transformed rice farming in Japan, extending older farmers¡¯ careers while making succession a matter of choice.
Bags of rice displayed for sale at a store in Aichi Prefecture. The amount of domestic rice consumed in the year from July 2025 hit a record low of 6.83 million tons on a preliminary basis in terms of brown rice.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2026
Japan sees record low consumption of domestic rice following shortages
The decline in domestic rice consumption is largely due to an increase in rice imports that came as domestic prices jumped in the wake of severe shortages in summer 2024 and later.
Bags of rice at a supermarket in Aichi Prefecture. A bill designed to stabilize rice supply and demand has been passed by the parliament.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2026
Diet enacts bill to stabilize rice supply and demand
Various businesses will now have to report inventory, shipments and sales volumes in order to help improve the accuracy of forecasts.
The diffusion index for Â鶹´«Ã½ three-month rice price outlook fell 4 points to 19 in June, matching the record low set in August 2014 and staying below 50 for a ninth straight month, according to an agricultural group.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ rice prices likely to fall in coming months
An index for the outlook on rice prices over the next three months has shown stronger expectations for lower prices.
Japanese agriculture minister Norikazu Suzuki promotes Japanese rice at a supermarket near Paris on Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ farm minister promotes Japanese rice in France
Agriculture minister Norikazu Suzuki handed out rice balls made from Japanese rice to shoppers during a Japanese food fair.
The Japanese government's fiscal 2025 white paper on food, agriculture and rural areas noted that private-sector rice imports surged after retail prices of the grain in May 2025 roughly doubled from a year before.
JAPAN
May 29, 2026
Japan voices concern over rice imports in white paper
Private-sector rice imports experienced a sharp increase after retail prices roughly doubled year on year in May 2025.
Despite government efforts to lower the price of rice by tapping into the nation¡¯s emergency stockpile, the cost of Â鶹´«Ã½ staple grain remains at an all-time high.
JAPAN / Society
May 27, 2026
Rice consumption in fiscal 2025 the lowest in seven years
The drop coincided with last summer¡¯s ¡°Reiwa rice riots¡± when the staple disappeared from supermarket shelves and prices surged nationwide.
A worker cultivates rice plants at a farm in Bangkok. Rice supply is expected to fall this year due to impacts of the Iran war and an emerging El Nino weather phenomenon that is set to usher in hotter, drier conditions.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2026
From surplus to strain: Iran war and El Nino threaten global rice supply
Rice is central to global food security, and even small supply disruptions can ripple through countries, raising prices and straining household budgets.
A worker harvests rice in Vietnam's Dong Thap province on March 25.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 11, 2026
Fuel shortages from Iran war threaten Asia¡¯s biggest food staple
Across Southeast Asia, tens of millions are struggling to find affordable crop nutrients as well as the diesel needed for operating machinery.
Government-stockpiled rice for sale at a supermarket in Tokyo last May
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2026
Rice prices in Japan drop for seventh straight week
The figure dipped below year-before levels, when prices climbed into the ?4,000 range and government stockpiles began to be released.
The governments latest revisions to the staple food law reflects lessons from severe rice shortages that began in summer 2024.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2026
Japanese government approves bill to boost demand-based rice production
The revised law will explicitly stipulate the long-standing policy of promoting rice production that matches demand, with the aim of preventing price declines due to oversupply.
Kiyoshi Gonda (left), sixth-generation sakemaker of Gonda Shuzo in Saitama Prefecture, wants to make his sake from as many local ingredients as possible.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 27, 2026
A Saitama sake brewery embraces a little-known rice variety
Gonda Shuzo in Kumagaya is banking on Sake Musashi, a local cultivar, to define the terroir of the region¡¯s sake.
"Sekihan," a dish of sticky rice with adzuki beans, is popular during festive occasions because of its red hue, a color associated with good fortune in Japan.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Washoku Essentials
Mar 20, 2026
Eat a bowl of red rice for good luck
A dish of sticky grains with adzuki beans, ¡°sekihan¡± is traditionally served to celebrate auspicious beginnings in school and work.
A bamboo steamer, leftover sushi rice and canned mackerel are all you need to whip up a fuss-free, wholesome meal.
LIFE / Food & Drink / The Recipe Box
Mar 10, 2026
Need a quick, healthy meal? Steam a bowl of sushi
Make the best use of your leftover sushi rice with ¡°seiro-mushi,¡± a bamboo basket-steaming method that has caught on with the time-pressed in Japan.
Bags of rice at a supermarket in Yokohama. Japan's staple food law stipulates that releases of government-stockpiled rice be used to cover "supply shortages due to falling production."
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2026
Rice prices remain high in Japan even after stockpile releases
The country¡¯s staple food law stipulates that releases of government-stockpiled rice be used to cover ¡°supply shortages due to falling production.¡±
A promotional event for sake held by the National Tax Agency in 2024
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 10, 2026
Japan moves to help sake breweries hit by surge in rice prices
The price of sake rice harvested in 2025 is about 1.5 to 2.3 times higher than the previous year.
A poster board shows candidates in the Miyazaki No. 2 district for Sunday's Lower House election in Hyuga, Miyazaki Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 5, 2026
Rice gaffe haunts ex-farm minister Eto on campaign trail
Eto is facing an uphill battle to retain his seat after resigning from the Cabinet last year over insensitive remarks about rice amid a spike in prices for the staple grain.
Masako (left) and Takeyuki Satokawa sit on a ridge by one of their rice paddies as they recall their years of farming in Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Feb 2, 2026
¡®It would only burden our children¡¯: Aging farmers quit rice production
Training a successor is important, but most farmers have been too busy trying to survive instead, one member of an agricultural cooperative corporation said.
Workers harvest calrose medium grain rice in California. Japan's rice imports from the United States accounted for about 78% of total rice imports in 2025.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 29, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ private-sector rice imports jump by 95 times in 2025
Demand for foreign rice was strong despite high tariffs because of surging prices for domestically grown rice.
America¡¯s cyberforces grapple with cluster of deaths by suicide
The U.S. Cyber Command building (center) stands on the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital's largest summer o-Bon festivals.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.
Speaking Japanese at the movies with ¡®Chiikawa¡¯
A "Chiikawa The Movie" poster is seen at Toho Cinemas in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.
How Â鶹´«Ã½ racehorses find second careers away from the track
TCC Therapy Park is supported financially by racing organizations as well as donations from members of the public.
Will Takaichi¡¯s consumption tax cut break the LDP?
Despite months of debate, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi failed to gain consensus within the Liberal Democratic Party on a two-year reduction of the consumption tax.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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