Japan's food self-sufficiency rate falls to record low

Japan's food self-sufficiency rate on a caloric intake basis dropped one percentage point to 37 percent in fiscal 2025, covering April 2025 to March 2026, marking a record low, according to the data released by the country's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on Friday.

The food self-sufficiency rate measures the proportion of domestically produced food in a country's total food supply.

The ministry attributed the decline largely to reduced rice consumption.

Rice has long been supplied mainly by domestic production and serves as a key pillar of Japan's food self-sufficiency. Rising prices have led households to cut back on rice consumption, which significantly pulled down the overall food self-sufficiency rate.

In 10 days, Canada will face sweeping U.S. tariffs of up to 50 percent on key imports, a move announced by President Donald Trump on July 20 under Section 338 of the U.S. Tariff Act.

The new policy targets most Canadian imports, including wines and auto parts, worth around 20 billion dollars. There will be no exceptions for goods covered by an existing trade pact, the United-States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Analysts warn the tariffs will intensify cost pressures already squeezing households. For some, the strain has become personal. One Canadian truck driver described how rising prices forced him to move into his vehicle to cut debt.

"The prices of everything are sky high for no reason. It's the same product but everything has doubled or tripled in price. I had to move out of my apartment after seven years. I just moved out five days ago so I can get my debt level down. I am living in my truck now," said a Canadian driver.

Companies across Canada also report mounting pressure. Tess Patterson, a wine club manager, said businesses are struggling to shield customers from higher costs.

"We really don't want to pass that cost to our consumers. However, you know, as time goes by, that does slowly increase. So, therefore, it makes very hard for our consumers to basically purchase and get their hands on and that's not what we want to see," said Patterson.