Persistent rice price hikes have increased the financial burden on Japanese people and raised public concerns about the country's rice policy.
The average price of rice in Japan has reached 4,267 yen per 5 kilos, remaining at an elevated level, according to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on Friday.
Calling the situation worrying, some residents have complained about the government's rice policy in interviews with the China Central Television (CCTV).
"I really think rice prices are too high now. Why not thinking more seriously to adopt truly sound grain policies? Is the government just playing it by ear? I really hope they can think things through in a serious and systematic manner," said a resident.
"Rice prices have been staying at a high level. Looking at the government's current plans, I'm afraid they won't increase production. I feel that things are moving in a very bad direction. It's truly worrying," said another resident.
Tadao Koike, 55, runs a nearly century-old rice shop in Tokyo. His store currently sells about 80 varieties of rice, primarily from Japan's main rice-producing regions.
Koike told CCTV that the overall price of rice in his shop has jumped by 40 to 50 percent compared with that in 2024, which has led to a customer churn.
"In 2025, our customers generally said rice is too expensive. In 2024, even when prices rose somewhat, most customers would still say, 'this level of increase is acceptable.' But their reactions to 2025 rice prices were almost unanimously 'too expensive.' Some regular customers have indeed stopped coming. The prices are really too high. Thinking in their shoes, I completely understand that," he said.
In 2025, the Japanese government released a large number of reserve rice to stabilize prices and once changed the course toward boosting rice production. However, incumbent Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reversed the policy after taking office in October 2025, and the 50-year-old policy of reducing rice production only halted for four months.
Koike pointed out that the government's u-turns in production policy have sparked growing unease among rice producers.
"I feel pity for the producers. The government policies are not addressing the root issues, and rice production will continue to decrease. So, even if production increases temporarily, there will still be a shortage of rice in the long run. Ultimately, prices won't drop significantly and will likely remain high," Koike said.
Soaring rice prices squeeze household budgets in Japan, sparking policy concerns
For more than 1,000 years, Jingdezhen, the "porcelain capital" in east China's Jiangxi Province, has shaped how the world understands porcelain, with even discarded shards preserving a living tradition.
Weng Yanjun, president of the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Institute, reflected on the scale and challenge behind Jingdezhen's historic creations.
"When I look at this gigantic dragon jar, I couldn't help going back to 600 years ago, when the emperor had this order to create something bigger than ever before. The failure rate of the dragon jar is so high. It could be nine out of 10. Even making failure products like this takes courage, takes techniques and takes commitment," said Weng.
Those failed attempts, once discarded, now preserve the evidence of how Jingdezhen pursued perfection.
For more than 1,000 years, Jingdezhen's porcelain industry has endured through the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (960-1911). What has survived is not only its porcelain, but also a living heritage of raw materials, workshops, kilns and specialized craftsmanship.
Those firings produced masterpieces as well as failures, with the discarded pieces forming another kind of archive.
At the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Institute, Weng told archaeology students that fragmented specimens sometimes provide more information than complete artifacts.
Weng leads the development of the world's first Ancient Ceramics Gene Bank, which extracts and catalogs the defining characteristics of each ceramic shard.
"For our institute alone, we have excavated more than 20 million pieces of shards for the past over 1,200 years. Among those shards, we do sorting, we do restoration, and we do scientific tests. And then we find, wow, a small shard can tell us much more information than even a whole piece," said Weng.
Using a standardized sample library and unified data framework, the project records each piece's shape, decoration, body material, glaze, color, firing marks and inscriptions, creating a valuable resource for authentication and research around the world.
"The whole city is a wonderful lab and space range makes Jingdezhen uniquely a wonderful example of how the handicraft ancient industry with porcelain as the focus survived even to today," Weng added.
Jingdezhen once helped establish benchmarks for how porcelain was made. Now, the gene bank is turning fragments into a language that can be read beyond the city. For French artist and researcher Yann Colleu, learning to read that language has also changed the way he creates.
"Since my childhood, my parents had these teapots, tea sets, plates and cups. I was very curious about the pattern, like the meaning, what was behind it? Actually when I discovered in Jingdezhen that it was a bat, because of 'fu' and 'fu' is fortune, but also you have the 'wufu,' like the five blessings. I was like a child with stars in the eyes, discovering the world for the first time," said Colleu, PhD candidate at Jingdezhen Ceramic University.
What once seemed abstract became part of Yann's own visual language. In his work, traditional Jingdezhen motifs and production scenes are reimagined through a contemporary, cross-cultural lens.
"Jingdezhen is a timeless city. The past, the present and even the future are tied together. This is one of illustration of 72 traditional steps developing during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The difference is, instead of using Chinese characters, I use foreigners. I want to use the past to talk about the present and even the future with Jingdezhen," said Colleu.
The Jingdezhen Handicraft Porcelain Industry Sites were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on Saturday. The inscription recognizes not just a single kiln or masterpiece, but an entire production system, from its archaeological remains and traditional craftsmanship to its industrial knowledge and global influence.
Porcelain shards preserve Jingdezhen’s timeless legacy
