The ongoing rice crisis in Japan has forced many retailers out of business while dealing a particularly heavy blow to small shops, despite the release of government stockpiles since March this year.
Stores are struggling to keep up with demand and soaring prices have put the staple food out of reach for many households. Despite government interventions, such as releasing emergency rice reserves, prices have remained high.
According to a recent survey by a Japanese research firm, the fiscal year from April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025 saw the number of rice shop closures increase by 10 percent compared to the same period the previous year. Meanwhile, 47.6 percent of the surveyed retailers reported disruption to their business operations.
In Japan, rice is distributed through a multi-layered supply chain before reaching consumers. Farmers typically sell their harvest to collection agents, notably the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA). The agents pass the rice to wholesalers, who then sell it to retailers such as supermarkets or specialty rice shops. Each step in the chain adds transportation fees and profit margins that accumulate and are eventually passed on to households.
Official data show that the average retail price of rice currently stands at 852 yen (about 5.88 U.S. dollars) per kilogram, significantly higher than the 330-yen advance payment the JA offers to farmers.
The supply crunch and high costs have prompted a retail shop in Chiba Prefecture to step up purchase directly from farmers. Meanwhile, another rice store in Tokyo said the types of rice on its shelves have nearly halved compared with last summer, while prices have surged.
"I'm able to source some brands for my store, but at really high prices. As for some other brands, even the wholesalers have gone out of stock," Koichi Ogawa, owner of a rice store in Tokyo, told China Central Television (CCTV) in an interview.
Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries released rice reserves for emergency use since March in a bid to stabilize prices, and has only in the recent week begun accepting applications from small and mid-sized retailers to buy the government-stockpiled rice.
However, this move has failed to curb the crisis because not even a limited amount made it to small retailers like the ones CCTV visited in Tokyo and Chiba.
"Small shops like ours usually come behind second, or even third place on the government's priority list. We always come as the last, because all the policies favor the large companies. We actually feel quite dissatisfied with this," said Motoaki Makino, a rice retailer in Chiba Prefecture.
Japan's small retailers hit hard by rice shortages, soaring prices
