When a severe rice shortage sent prices skyrocketing in Japan last year, Tokyo restaurant owner Arata Hirano did what had once seemed unthinkable: He switched to a US variety.
The price of the Californian Calrose rice he buys has doubled since his first purchase last summer, but even so it is far cheaper than home-grown grains.
“Unless domestic prices fall below Calrose prices, I don’t plan to switch back,” said Hirano, whose restaurant offers meal sets of fish, rice, soup and sides.
His willingness to embrace foreign rice might presage a seismic change in mindset for Japanese businesses and consumers — one that could allow Tokyo leeway to relax some restrictions if rice becomes a thorny topic in tariff talks with US President Donald Trump, who has called out Japan’s high levies on its staple grain.
Wholesale prices for domestic rice have surged about 70 percent over the past year to hit their highest levels since current records began in 2006. Crops were hit by extreme heat while a tourism boom has added to demand. Worries abound that not much will change this year.
With inflation also raising the cost of living, businesses are now betting that a nation of people known for their discerning palates and pride in their staple grain is open to change.
Supermarket giant Aeon last week began selling an 80-20 American-Japanese blend that is about 10 percent cheaper than domestic rice after a test sales-run proved a hit. Fast-food chain Matsuya and restaurant operator Colowide began serving pure US rice this year. At supermarket chain Seiyu, Taiwanese rice has been flying off the shelves since last year.
It is a sharp contrast to 1993, when the Thai rice the Japanese government imported during an acute shortage was largely shunned, leaving supermarkets with piles of unsold bags.
Rare shortages aside, for most of the past six decades, nearly all of Japan’s so-called staple rice — which is consumed at meals as opposed to rice used for feed or ingredients in other products — has been home-grown. There has not been much need for imports while high tariffs, put in place to ensure Japanese self-sufficiency for its most basic food, have protected local farmers from competition.
Japan limits tariff-free “minimum access” imports of staple rice to 100,000 tonnes a year, or about 1 percent of total consumption. The US accounted for roughly 60 percent of that amount last fiscal year, trailed by Australia, Thailand and Taiwan. Anything above that is subject to a levy of ￥341 (US$2.39) per kilogram.
When Trump announced sweeping tariffs on much of the world this month, he lambasted Japan for what he said was a 700 percent tariff on rice, a reference to that levy. Japanese policymakers called his remarks on the sensitive topic “regrettable.” They also dispute the 700 percent figure, saying it is based on outdated international rice prices.
It is unclear, however, just how much — if at all — rice will be discussed in bilateral tariff negotiations that began this week. Some analysts think Trump’s Republican administration might not be focused on rice as exports to Japan come from California, a Democratic-leaning state. Nor is it clear how much Japan might be willing to yield in opening up its rice market.
In one sign that there might be room for some change, a panel advising the Japanese Ministry of Finance on Tuesday proposed expanding imports of staple rice, saying that lifting the 100,000 tonne tariff-free cap could help stabilize supply.
That said, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party is unlikely to risk angering farmers, traditionally a strong support base, ahead of upper house elections in July.
“It’s not possible to make big concessions on rice just before the elections,” said Junichi Sugawara, senior fellow at Tokyo-based Owls Consulting Group.
What is clear is that supply remains an issue.
In the fiscal year that ended in March, tariff-free imports of staple rice hit Japan’s 100,000 tonnes cap for the first time in seven years.
The amount of tariffed imports, while still tiny, also jumped, quadrupling in the first 11 months of fiscal 2024 to just under 1,500 tonnes.
And this year, rice importer Kanematsu is shipping in its first large-scale purchase of US staple rice, 10,000 tonnes worth.
“We’re receiving many inquiries from the restaurant industry, convenience stores, supermarkets and rice wholesalers,” a Kanematsu spokesperson said.
In the week to April 6, Japanese supermarket rice prices hit an average of ￥4,214 per 5kg, marking their 14th straight week of increase and more than double the same period a year earlier. That is despite a rare release of rice from the government’s emergency stockpiles that started last month and is set to continue every month through July.
As for the quality and taste of imported rice, Miki Nihei, a customer at Hirano’s restaurant, Shokudou Arata, said she had no complaints and was surprised to learn it was not Japanese.
“I had no idea,” she said. “I have no qualms about eating imported rice. Prices have gone up, so I’m always looking for cheaper options.”
In the event of a war with China, Taiwan has some surprisingly tough defenses that could make it as difficult to tackle as a porcupine: A shoreline dotted with swamps, rocks and concrete barriers; conscription for all adult men; highways and airports that are built to double as hardened combat facilities. This porcupine has a soft underbelly, though, and the war in Iran is exposing it: energy. About 39,000 ships dock at Taiwan’s ports each year, more than the 30,000 that transit the Strait of Hormuz. About one-fifth of their inbound tonnage is coal, oil, refined fuels and liquefied natural gas (LNG),
On Monday, the day before Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) departed on her visit to China, the party released a promotional video titled “Only with peace can we ‘lie flat’” to highlight its desire to have peace across the Taiwan Strait. However, its use of the expression “lie flat” (tang ping, 躺平) drew sarcastic comments, with critics saying it sounded as if the party was “bowing down” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Amid the controversy over the opposition parties blocking proposed defense budgets, Cheng departed for China after receiving an invitation from the CCP, with a meeting with
To counter the CCP’s escalating threats, Taiwan must build a national consensus and demonstrate the capability and the will to fight. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) often leans on a seductive mantra to soften its threats, such as “Chinese do not kill Chinese.” The slogan is designed to frame territorial conquest (annexation) as a domestic family matter. A look at the historical ledger reveals a different truth. For the CCP, being labeled “family” has never been a guarantee of safety; it has been the primary prerequisite for state-sanctioned slaughter. From the forced starvation of 150,000 civilians at the Siege of Changchun
The two major opposition parties, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), jointly announced on Tuesday last week that former TPP lawmaker Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) would be their joint candidate for Chiayi mayor, following polling conducted earlier this month. It is the first case of blue-white (KMT-TPP) cooperation in selecting a joint candidate under an agreement signed by their chairpersons last month. KMT and TPP supporters have blamed their 2024 presidential election loss on failing to decide on a joint candidate, which ended in a dramatic breakdown with participants pointing fingers, calling polls unfair, sobbing and walking
RSS