In today’s developed economies, lining up to buy a staple grain may seem like a thing of the past. But in Japan, it’s become a stark reality as a rice shortage sends prices soaring. A 5 ...

Browse here. Last year, Japan recorded a poor rice harvest nationwide because of exceptionally hot weather. Ministry data showed the country’s private-sector rice inventory fell to 1.56 million tons ...

“The 55 years of acreage reduction destroyed Japan’s agriculture,” said Wakui, 76, who urged Koizumi in a letter last month to “declare an expansion in rice production”.

For more than half a century, the Japanese government has encouraged its rice farmers to grow less of the crop so that prices of the national staple grain remained relatively high and steady.

Japan Rice Farmers Climate Change A farmer operates harvester machine on a rice terrace during harvest in Kamimomi village, Okayama prefecture, Japan on Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill ...