Tokyo restaurant owner Arata Hirano has taken the bold step of switching to an American variety of rice, doubling its price since his first purchase last summer. Despite this, imported rice is becoming increasingly popular among restaurants and supermarkets in Japan, driven by a severe rice shortage and rising prices at home.
Wholesale domestic prices have surged 70% over the past year, hitting record highs, while inflation has raised the cost of living. Businesses are now betting that the Japanese government’s traditional emphasis on self-sufficiency may be open to change.
Several major retailers have begun selling imported rice blends, with supermarket giant Aeon and fast-food chain Matsuya offering American-Japanese blends at lower prices than domestic rice. Taiwanese rice has also been flying off the shelves.
The US is Japan’s largest supplier of staple rice, accounting for around 60% of tariff-free imports last fiscal year. However, President Trump has called out Japan’s high tariffs on rice, lambasting them as a 700% levy. Japanese policymakers dispute this figure and say it’s based on outdated international rice prices.
A panel advising the finance ministry has proposed expanding imports of staple rice to help stabilize supply, but Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party is unlikely to risk angering farmers ahead of upper house elections in July.
As the situation continues to unfold, one thing is clear: Japan’s growing appetite for foreign rice may offer a glimmer of hope for Tokyo in trade negotiations with the US.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/japan/more-japanese-embracing-foreign-rice-even-before-it-became-tariff-topic-2025-04-16