Private sector continues to import record amounts of rice
Not only is Japan eating more rice grown overseas, the Finance Ministry reported the private sector imported a record 3,000 tons in fiscal 2024 to combat the shortage at home and ballooning prices of domestic harvests.
This record noted in the trade statistics report released by the ministry's Customs and Tariff Bureau marked an all-time-high since fiscal 2000 when data was first recorded.
It has also already been eclipsed by this fiscal year's still-growing totals.
Rice imports reached about 6,800 tons in April alone, more than double the private sector's total imports of 3,011 tons during fiscal 2024. Most was sourced from the United States.
Comparatively, the government can currently import about 770,000 tons of rice annually without being subject to tariffs under the World Trade Organization's "minimum access" system.
Private sector buyers have access to 100,000 of the 770,000 tons to consume as a staple food.
If private companies import outside this framework, a tariff of 341 yen ($2.38) per kilogram is imposed. Recently, imports outside the quota have increased significantly.
The Asahi Shimbun's calculations based on the statistics from the Finance Ministry show the private sector imported about 730 tons of rice in fiscal 2023. This shot up to 3,011 tons in fiscal 2024.
Zooming in, about 1,300 tons of rice were imported this March followed by 6,838 tons in April—around 80 times more than last year's average monthly totals.
About 80 percent of April's imports were from the United States, followed by India, Thailand and Vietnam.
While this amount is still insignificant when factoring in that the total domestic demand for the staple is about 7 million tons, having the option to buy rice grown abroad may still be attractive to some consumers. Even with tariffs, it is more affordable than the soaring prices of domestic brands.
According to the farm ministry, the latest average cost for a 5-kilogram bag of rice is 4,260 yen including tax while Calrose rice from the U.S. goes for about 300 yen less.
Kazunuki Oizumi, a professor emeritus at Miyagi University who specializes in agricultural management, believes the government should push to turn Japanese rice into a viable export to remain competitive.
'Rice is the only staple food that Japan can domestically supply to meet its demand,' he said. 'Therefore, the government should develop the rice industry to enter overseas markets through expanding the scale of production and technological innovations.'
Oizumi went on to say that the recent increase in imports 'reflects the government's failure in agricultural policy, which kept rice prices high. The country is at a crossroads regarding food security, facing a choice between relying on imports or domestic production.'
(This article was written by Roku Goda and Nobufumi Yamada.)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
31 minutes ago
- The Mainichi
Fatal explosion at US Steel's plant raises questions about its future, despite heavy investment
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- The fatal explosion last week at U.S. Steel's Pittsburgh-area coal-processing plant has revived debate about its future just as the iconic American company was emerging from a long period of uncertainty. The fortunes of steelmaking in the U.S. -- along with profits, share prices and steel prices -- have been buoyed by years of friendly administrations in Washington that slapped tariffs on foreign imports and bolstered the industry's anti-competitive trade cases against China. Most recently, President Donald Trump's administration postponed new hazardous air pollution requirements for the nation's roughly dozen coke plants, like Clairton, and he approved U.S. Steel's nearly $15 billion acquisition by Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel. Nippon Steel's promised infusion of cash has brought vows that steelmaking will continue in the Mon Valley, a river valley south of Pittsburgh long synonymous with steelmaking. "We're investing money here. And we wouldn't have done the deal with Nippon Steel if we weren't absolutely sure that we were going to have an enduring future here in the Mon Valley," David Burritt, U.S. Steel's CEO, told a news conference the day after the explosion. "You can count on this facility to be around for a long, long time." Will the explosion change anything? The explosion killed two workers and hospitalized 10 with a blast so powerful that it took hours to find two missing workers beneath charred wreckage and rubble. The cause is under investigation. The plant is considered the largest coking operation in North America and, along with a blast furnace and finishing mill up the Monongahela River, is one of a handful of integrated steelmaking operations left in the U.S. The explosion now could test Nippon Steel's resolve in propping up the nearly 110-year-old Clairton plant, or at least force it to spend more than it had anticipated. Nippon Steel didn't respond to a question as to whether the explosion will change its approach to the plant. Rather, a spokesperson for the company said its "commitment to the Mon Valley remains strong" and that it sent "technical experts to work with the local teams in the Clairton Plant, and to provide our full support." Meanwhile, Burritt said he had talked to top Nippon Steel officials after the explosion and that "this facility and the Mon Valley are here to stay." U.S. Steel officials maintain that safety is their top priority and that they spend $100 million a year on environmental compliance at Clairton alone. However, repairing Clairton could be expensive, an investigation into the explosion could turn up more problems, and an official from the United Steelworkers union said it's a constant struggle to get U.S. Steel to invest in its plants. Besides that, production at the facility could be affected for some time. The plant has six batteries of ovens and two -- where the explosion occurred -- were damaged. Two others are on a reduced production schedule because of the explosion. There is no timeline to get the damaged batteries running again, U.S. Steel said. Accidents are nothing new at Clairton Accidents are nothing new at Clairton, which heats coal to high temperatures to make coke, a key component in steelmaking, and produces combustible gases as byproducts. An explosion in February injured two workers. Even as Nippon Steel was closing the deal in June, a breakdown at the plant dealt three days of a rotten egg odor into the air around it from elevated hydrogen sulfide emissions, the environmental group GASP reported. The Breathe Project, a public health organization, said U.S. Steel has been forced to pay $57 million in fines and settlements since Jan. 1, 2020, for problems at the Clairton plant. A lawsuit over a Christmas Eve fire at the Clairton plant in 2018 that saturated the area's air for weeks with sulfur dioxide produced a withering assessment of conditions there. An engineer for the environmental groups that sued wrote that he "found no indication that U.S. Steel has an effective, comprehensive maintenance program for the Clairton plant." The Clairton plant, he wrote, is "inherently dangerous because of the combination of its deficient maintenance and its defective design." U.S. Steel settled, agreeing to spend millions on upgrades. Matthew Mehalik, executive director of the Breathe Project, said U.S. Steel has shown more willingness to spend money on fines, lobbying the government and buying back shares to reward shareholders than making its plants safe. Will Clairton be modernized? It's not clear whether Nippon Steel will change Clairton. Central to Trump's approval of the acquisition was Nippon Steel's promises to invest $11 billion into U.S. Steel's aging plants and to give the federal government a say in decisions involving domestic steel production, including plant closings. But much of the $2.2 billion that Nippon Steel has earmarked for the Mon Valley plants is expected to go toward upgrading the finishing mill, or building a new one. For years before the acquisition, U.S. Steel had signaled that the Mon Valley was on the chopping block. That left workers there uncertain whether they'd have jobs in a couple years and whispering that U.S. Steel couldn't fill openings because nobody believed the jobs would exist much longer. Relics of steelmaking's past In many ways, U.S. Steel's Mon Valley plants are relics of steelmaking's past. In the early 1970s, U.S. steel production led the world and was at an all-time high, thanks to 62 coke plants that fed 141 blast furnaces. Nobody in the U.S. has opened a new blast furnace in decades, as foreign competition devastated the American steel industry and coal fell out of favor. Now, China is dominant in steel and heavily invested in coal-based steelmaking. In the U.S., there are barely a dozen coke plants and blast furnaces left, as the country's steelmaking has shifted to cheaper electric arc furnaces that use electricity, not coal. Blast furnaces won't entirely go away, analysts say, since they produce metals that are preferred by automakers, appliance makers and oil and gas exploration firms. Still, Christopher Briem, an economist at the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Social and Urban Research, questioned whether the Clairton plant really will survive much longer, given its age and condition. It could be particularly vulnerable if the economy slides into recession or the fundamentals of the American steel market shift, he said.
Yomiuri Shimbun
3 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Leadership Struggle for AI Governance Spreads in Southeast Asia as Counter to Chinese Inroads in Region
Japan, the United States and Europe are in a leadership battle with China over rulemaking for artificial intelligence, and Southeast Asia has become a front line. Japan is trying to draw the Association of Southeast Asian Nations into the rulemaking process by backing efforts by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to promote trustworthy AI. On Aug. 6, about 30 ASEAN officials and AI experts gathered at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Bangkok for a workshop to explain the OECD's AI Policy Toolkit. The intention of the meeting was to give a hearing to the Southeast Asian countries' opinions on the Toolkit, which will be announced next spring. The OECD has established AI principles that emphasize a 'human-centric' approach to AI and respect for human rights. The Toolkit includes a self-assessment questionnaire designed to help countries bridge the gap between the OECD AI Principles and their own policies. It also provides examples of how the principles are being applied in other countries. Japan has been supporting workshops that use the Toolkit to promote the OECD AI Principles and that get ASEAN members involved in creating OECD-centered rules for AI governance. As international regulations will determine the future direction of AI development, Japan is trying to win over 'like-minded companions' at the rulemaking stage. 'We must establish a reliable framework in terms of ethics and transparency,' Ambassador to Thailand Masato Otaka said at the meeting. In the background of these efforts are similar moves by China, which has stressed the need to adopt the BRICS framework for AI governance. BRICS, a bloc of major emerging economies, has established a presence in Southeast Asia, with Indonesia recently becoming a member. Following a BRICS summit in Brazil in July, a document summarizing the results of the event was released. The document stated that 'Public Interest Comes First' in AI development. The OECD is wary that the statement reflects China's desire to take the lead in rulemaking in the field of AI. China is making inroads within ASEAN, with Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. having expanded its market share in various countries in the region. A participant in the August workshop expressed support for the OECD AI Principles, saying, 'Technological innovation and reliability should go hand in hand.' However, they added: 'Many groups besides the OECD have proposed AI rules. We need to consider which rules will best serve our national interests.'
Japan Today
3 hours ago
- Japan Today
Fatal explosion at U.S. Steel's plant raises questions about its future, despite heavy investment
A portion of the Clairton Coke Works, a U.S. Steel plant, is seen in Clairton, Pa, on Aug 11. By MARC LEVY The fatal explosion last week at U.S. Steel's Pittsburgh-area coal-processing plant has revived debate about its future just as the iconic American company was emerging from a long period of uncertainty. The fortunes of steelmaking in the U.S. — along with profits, share prices and steel prices — have been buoyed by years of friendly administrations in Washington that slapped tariffs on foreign imports and bolstered the industry's anti-competitive trade cases against China. Most recently, President Donald Trump's administration postponed new hazardous air pollution requirements for the nation's roughly dozen coke plants, like Clairton, and he approved U.S. Steel's nearly $15 billion acquisition by Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel. Nippon Steel's promised infusion of cash has brought vows that steelmaking will continue in the Mon Valley, a river valley south of Pittsburgh long synonymous with steelmaking. 'We're investing money here. And we wouldn't have done the deal with Nippon Steel if we weren't absolutely sure that we were going to have an enduring future here in the Mon Valley," David Burritt, U.S. Steel's CEO, told a news conference the day after the explosion. 'You can count on this facility to be around for a long, long time.' The explosion killed two workers and hospitalized 10 with a blast so powerful that it took hours to find two missing workers beneath charred wreckage and rubble. The cause is under investigation. The plant is considered the largest coking operation in North America and, along with a blast furnace and finishing mill up the Monongahela River, is one of a handful of integrated steelmaking operations left in the U.S. The explosion now could test Nippon Steel's resolve in propping up the nearly 110-year-old Clairton plant, or at least force it to spend more than it had anticipated. Nippon Steel didn't respond to a question as to whether the explosion will change its approach to the plant. Rather, a spokesperson for the company said its 'commitment to the Mon Valley remains strong' and that it sent 'technical experts to work with the local teams in the Clairton Plant, and to provide our full support.' Meanwhile, Burritt said he had talked to top Nippon Steel officials after the explosion and that 'this facility and the Mon Valley are here to stay.' U.S. Steel officials maintain that safety is their top priority and that they spend $100 million a year on environmental compliance at Clairton alone. However, repairing Clairton could be expensive, an investigation into the explosion could turn up more problems, and an official from the United Steelworkers union said it's a constant struggle to get U.S. Steel to invest in its plants. Besides that, production at the facility could be affected for some time. The plant has six batteries of ovens and two — where the explosion occurred — were damaged. Two others are on a reduced production schedule because of the explosion. There is no timeline to get the damaged batteries running again, U.S. Steel said. Accidents are nothing new at Clairton, which heats coal to high temperatures to make coke, a key component in steelmaking, and produces combustible gases as byproducts. An explosion in February injured two workers. Even as Nippon Steel was closing the deal in June, a breakdown at the plant dealt three days of a rotten egg odor into the air around it from elevated hydrogen sulfide emissions, the environmental group GASP reported. The Breathe Project, a public health organization, said U.S. Steel has been forced to pay $57 million in fines and settlements since Jan. 1, 2020, for problems at the Clairton plant. A lawsuit over a Christmas Eve fire at the Clairton plant in 2018 that saturated the area's air for weeks with sulfur dioxide produced a withering assessment of conditions there. An engineer for the environmental groups that sued wrote that he 'found no indication that U.S. Steel has an effective, comprehensive maintenance program for the Clairton plant.' The Clairton plant, he wrote, is "inherently dangerous because of the combination of its deficient maintenance and its defective design." U.S. Steel settled, agreeing to spend millions on upgrades. Matthew Mehalik, executive director of the Breathe Project, said U.S. Steel has shown more willingness to spend money on fines, lobbying the government and buying back shares to reward shareholders than making its plants safe. It's not clear whether Nippon Steel will change Clairton. Central to Trump's approval of the acquisition was Nippon Steel's promises to invest $11 billion into U.S. Steel's aging plants and to give the federal government a say in decisions involving domestic steel production, including plant closings. But much of the $2.2 billion that Nippon Steel has earmarked for the Mon Valley plants is expected to go toward upgrading the finishing mill, or building a new one. For years before the acquisition, U.S. Steel had signaled that the Mon Valley was on the chopping block. That left workers there uncertain whether they'd have jobs in a couple years and whispering that U.S. Steel couldn't fill openings because nobody believed the jobs would exist much longer. In many ways, U.S. Steel's Mon Valley plants are relics of steelmaking's past. In the early 1970s, U.S. steel production led the world and was at an all-time high, thanks to 62 coke plants that fed 141 blast furnaces. Nobody in the U.S. has built a blast furnace since then, as foreign competition devastated the American steel industry and coal fell out of favor. Now, China is dominant in steel and heavily invested in coal-based steelmaking. In the U.S., there are barely a dozen coke plants and blast furnaces left, as the country's steelmaking has shifted to cheaper electric arc furnaces that use electricity, not coal. Blast furnaces won't entirely go away, analysts say, since they produce metals that are preferred by automakers, appliance makers and oil and gas exploration firms. Still, Christopher Briem, an economist at the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Social and Urban Research, questioned whether the Clairton plant really will survive much longer, given its age and condition. It could be particularly vulnerable if the economy slides into recession or the fundamentals of the American steel market shift, he said. 'I'm not quite sure it's all set in stone as people believe,' Briem said. 'If the market does not bode well for U.S. Steel, for American steel, is Nippon Steel really going to keep these things?' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
