Latest news with #Aeon
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Japan to Set Up Minister-Level Meeting to Address Rice Supplies
(Bloomberg) -- Japan will set up a minister-level meeting as early as this week to address the supply of rice, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said in parliament on Monday, as the government seeks to stabilize the price of the nation's staple grain and quell public anger ahead of a summer election. Billionaire Steve Cohen Wants NY to Expand Taxpayer-Backed Ferry Where the Wild Children's Museums Are The Economic Benefits of Paying Workers to Move Now With Colorful Blocks, Tirana's Pyramid Represents a Changing Albania NYC Congestion Toll Brings In $216 Million in First Four Months The government released a further 300,000 metric tons of stockpiled rice last week in a bid to bring down prices, which have doubled in the past year. The move came as households struggle with inflation less than two months before an upper house election that could punish a minority government already on the back foot after an underwhelming performance in last year's general vote. 'With rice costing twice as much — even 2.5 times as much in some regions — as last year, it's very important to steady that and stabilize the market,' Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said in the same parliamentary session on Monday. Retailers including Aeon Co Ltd. and Pan Pacific International Holdings Corp., the parent company of popular discount store Don Quijote, started selling the stockpiled rice over the weekend, according to statements from both companies. Aeon priced its 5 kilogram bag at just under ¥2,000 before tax, well below the ¥4,200 per bag average consumers are seeing at storefronts. The government auctioned off batches of stockpiled rice starting in February, but prices have continued to hit record highs. Koizumi announced last week that the most recent release would be sold at a fixed price instead of auctioned, and bypass the usual supply chain, which includes rice collection agencies and wholesalers. YouTube Is Swallowing TV Whole, and It's Coming for the Sitcom Millions of Americans Are Obsessed With This Japanese Barbecue Sauce Mark Zuckerberg Loves MAGA Now. Will MAGA Ever Love Him Back? Will Small Business Owners Knock Down Trump's Mighty Tariffs? Trump Considers Deporting Migrants to Rwanda After the UK Decides Not To ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Japan Times
a day ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Japan to set up minister-level meeting to address rice supplies
Japan will set up a minister-level meeting as early as this week to address the supply of rice, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said in parliament on Monday, as the government seeks to stabilize the price of the nation's staple grain and quell public anger ahead of a summer election. The government released a further 300,000 metric tons of stockpiled rice last week in a bid to bring down prices, which have doubled in the past year. The move came as households struggle with inflation less than two months before an Upper House election that could punish a minority government already on the back foot after an underwhelming performance in last year's general vote. "With rice costing twice as much — even 2.5 times as much in some regions — as last year, it's very important to steady that and stabilize the market,' agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi said in the same parliamentary session on Monday. Retailers including Aeon and Pan Pacific International Holdings, the parent company of popular discount store Don Quijote, started selling the stockpiled rice over the weekend, according to statements from both companies. Aeon priced its 5-kilogram bag at just under ¥2,000 ($14) before tax, well below the ¥4,200 per bag average consumers are seeing at storefronts. The government auctioned off batches of stockpiled rice starting in February, but prices have continued to hit record highs. Koizumi announced last week that the most recent release would be sold at a fixed price instead of auctioned, and bypass the usual supply chain, which includes rice collection agencies and wholesalers.
NHK
3 days ago
- Business
- NHK
Rice from Japan government stockpiles hits shelves
Rice from Japanese government stockpiles sold through special no-bid contracts has hit store shelves at some retailers, amid high prices. Major supermarket operator Ito-Yokado began selling the grain on Saturday at an outlet in Tokyo's Ota Ward. Employees stacked up 500 bags of rice in a dedicated section after a truck arrived on Saturday morning. A five-kilogram bag was priced at 2,160 yen including tax, or about 15 dollars. Purchases were limited to one per family. All the bags sold out about 30 minutes after the store opened at 10 a.m. A woman in her 30s who bought the rice said she had stood in line because she heard that rice was at half the current price. She hoped that prices of other types of rice will go down. Ito Yokado signed a contract to buy 5,000 kilograms harvested in 2022 through the no-bid program. President Yamamoto Tetsuya said the company applied for the purchase because it wanted to offer rice at a reasonable price. He said he had little idea about price trends for other types of rice, but wants to offer customers stockpiled rice as one of the options. Household goods maker Iris Ohyama also started selling government-stockpiled rice on Saturday at two outlets in Miyagi and Chiba prefectures. It signed a contract to purchase 10,000 tons. Major retailer Aeon is expected to sell the rice from Sunday. The government offered the sale of a total of 300,000 tons of rice -- 200,000 tons from the 2022 harvest and 100,000 tons from the 2021 harvest -- directly to retailers. Attention is focused on whether the widespread sale of the stockpiles will help bring down rice prices.
NHK
4 days ago
- Business
- NHK
Japan's smaller retailers start applying for stockpiled rice
Japan's agriculture ministry has begun accepting applications from small and mid-sized retailers to buy government-stockpiled rice. A total of 80,000 tons harvested in 2021 are up for sale through no-bid contracts. The ministry says 60,000 tons are available to the small and mid-sized retailers. The remainder will go to rice shops equipped with polishing facilities. Agriculture Minister Koizumi Shinjiro has projected that with distribution cost included, the retail price before tax will be around 1,800 yen, or 12 dollars and 50 cents per five kilograms. That's less than half the current supermarket price. Recently, consumers have seen the price of Japan's staple grain hiked to over 4,000 yen. In the meantime, large retailers are beginning to receive their shipments. The operator of discount chain Don Quijote plans to start selling the rice in Tokyo from early June, and then expand the number of stores across the country. Aeon says it will start selling it at some of its stores from Sunday and Monday. The retail giant has bought 20,000 tons, the largest amount among retailers. A 5-kilogram bag will be priced at about 2,100 yen including tax. The bags are limited to one per family. Meanwhile, Japan's Transport Minister Nakano Hiromasa has said he will set up an office to support distribution of the rice. The office will support the drawing up of adjustments between the agriculture ministry and logistics operators that transport the rice. Nakano said he will cooperate closely with the agriculture ministry to prevent distribution bottlenecks.
The Mainichi
4 days ago
- Business
- The Mainichi
'American and Japanese rice farmers can join forces': US ambassador says on exports
TOKYO -- U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass, who assumed his position in April, contributed an opinion piece to the Mainichi Shimbun regarding exports of U.S. rice, stating, "American and Japanese rice farmers can join forces to bring relief to Japanese households." Below is the full text. * * * Rice: Easing the Burden on Japanese Consumers By U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass My first few weeks in Japan as the U.S. Ambassador have reinforced for me the indispensable role of rice in the national diet. Whether it's part of a lunch bento, a sushi dinner, or an onigiri on the go, rice is eaten at least once a day by most Japanese. So, when the price of that staple increases drastically, every consumer and family is impacted. With a standard 5-kilogram bag of rice now twice as much as it was a year ago, Japanese consumers are having to make hard choices about what they buy and what they eat each day. Since food represents the largest share of monthly spending for Japanese households, the current rice situation is, naturally, causing concern across the country. Americans understand what it feels like when the price of a staple food skyrockets. Last year, the United States faced its own crisis when a bird flu outbreak led to a dramatic surge in egg prices. To help mitigate a shortage, the U.S. government looked for a solution overseas, temporarily sourcing eggs from producers as far away as South Korea and Turkey. Within a remarkably short period, egg supplies stabilized and prices returned to near-normal levels. It was bold and unconventional thinking that averted an even worse situation for American consumers. In contrast, the Japanese public has endured months of rising rice prices. Even the release of emergency stockpiles has failed to ease the burden for the average consumer. Unfortunately, a combination of restrictive domestic production policies, a deficient distribution system, and protectionism have hampered the government's ability to provide immediate relief to Japanese consumers and their strained household budgets. Amid the ongoing difficulties, retailers are doing their best to meet consumer demand. Japan's largest supermarket chain, Aeon, for example, will offer premium California-grown Calrose rice at stores across Japan from June 6. Earlier this month, I hosted an event at the Ambassador's Residence in Tokyo to launch Aeon's new product and commended the retailer for providing its customers with another rice option to help them manage their weekly grocery costs. While many Japanese may not immediately associate rice with America, it has been grown in California for more than a century. Initially using methods learned from Japanese growers, farmers in California now produce high-grade rice varieties that meet the exacting standards of the Japanese market. Getting their Calrose rice on supermarket shelves in Japan, however, can be a bigger challenge. The California farmers receive around $670 (approx. 97,000 yen) per ton for their rice, which is a fair market price. But, by the time the same rice reaches the kitchen of a Japanese family, its price has ballooned to around $5,500 (roughly 800,000 yen) per ton. Multiple charges and costs applied once the rice arrives in Japan add an extra 3,500 yen to a 5-kilogram bag. It's an arrangement with no tangible benefit for the Japanese consumer. Japan's rice challenge has highlighted the urgent need for a trading system that is flexible and responsive to market needs. Reform doesn't mean undermining the livelihoods of Japanese farmers, either. As somebody with roots in farming in my home state of Oregon, I understand the essential role our agricultural sector plays in our economies and communities. I also know what it's like to wake up before dawn and spend all day, whatever the weather, tending to livestock or crops. It's hard work that requires determination and adaptability. Like Japanese farmers, American farmers are proud and dedicated stewards of the land they cultivate and the animals they raise. And just as they deserve to be paid fairly for what they produce, consumers deserve to pay a fair price for it. As last year's egg challenges in the U.S. showed, when a nation's food security is at stake, it takes resourcefulness, ingenuity, and even help from your friends to ensure supply chains are secure and supermarket shelves are stocked. The United States and Japan have a long history of helping each other in times of adversity, just as our two countries have worked together for decades to preserve peace and deliver development to nations across the world. Now, in another example of what we can accomplish as friends and partners, American and Japanese rice farmers can join forces to bring relief to Japanese households.
