Tag - rice

 
 

RICE

Behind a record-breaking rise in Japan's rice prices are intensifying competition among buyers since the serious shortage of the country's staple food in stores in summer 2024 and hoarding by those bullish about rice prices.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2025
Price of rice sold to wholesalers surges to another high in Japan
The January average rose 69% from a year earlier to ¥25,927 per 60 kilograms of brown rice amid intensifying demand.
The government's stockpiled rice in Tokyo in 1999. Since 1995, the government has been stockpiling around 200,000 tons of rice from the annual harvest to ensure that there is enough to go around during emergencies.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2025
Government taps rice stockpile to reverse price increases
This will be the first time the stockpile has been used to reduce prices instead of due to emergencies.
Japanese rice fish detect ultraviolet rays from sunlight directly with the pituitary gland and turn their bodies black for protection, a team has found.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2025
Japanese rice fish detect UV rays with pituitary gland
The team suspects that animals with almost translucent bodies may have yet more systems to detect light directly.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a committee meeting in parliament on Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2025
Ishiba seeks quick action in bid to fight inflation
The prime minister's plan comes as households face soaring rice and vegetable prices.
A farmer stands next to his flood-damaged rice field after Typhoon Shanshan passed through Yufu, Oita Prefecture, in August 2024.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2025
Japan plans to sell rice from emergency stockpiles to cut prices
The government will discuss selling part of its strategic rice reserve next week, the agriculture minister said Friday.
Arsenal's  Leandro Trossard celebrates after scoring against Tottenham during their match in London on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Jan 16, 2025
Confident Mikel Arteta says Arsenal back in Premier League title race
Desperately needing a win to close the gap on Liverpool at the top of the table, Arteta's side staged a stirring rally after Son Heung-min's early opener for Tottenham.
The central Hokkaido city of Asahikawa made headlines this year when one of its suburbs was named as the best place to live in Japan — a ranking earned in part due to the community's many outstanding restaurants and cafes.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 28, 2024
How Hokkaido quietly became a culinary treasure trove in 2024
Food trucks, morsels with cutesy cues from nature and more helped Japan’s northernmost island have a stellar year.
A variety of rice cookers at a home appliance store
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Dec 16, 2024
Companies rush to high-end rice cookers as consumer tastes change
Appliance-makers are working with rice growers to boost demand, as well as debuting products that focus on flavor and features.
Japanese food makers plan to raise prices for 109 items in December, a survey released by research company Teikoku Databank on Friday showed.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 29, 2024
Japanese food makers to raise prices for 109 items in December
The total number of food items subject to price increases throughout 2024 is expected to fall by about 60% from the previous year to 12,520.
The Finance Ministry noted firm private consumption in raising its economic assessments in the Kanto region and other areas.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 7, 2024
Government upgrades economic views for five regions
In a quarterly report, the Finance Ministry raised its views for the Kanto, Hokuriku, Tokai, Shikoku and Okinawa regions.
According to Teikoku Databank, the upcoming price increases can be attributed to higher material costs and will be led by processed food and snacks.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 1, 2024
Japan to see price hikes for 282 food products this month
The upcoming price increases can be attributed to higher material costs and will be led by processed food and snacks.
A visitor tries sake during an event for Japanese food products held on the outskirts of Paris on Monday.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2024
Japanese prefectures showcase food products in France
Ishikawa Prefecture, which was hit by a major earthquake on Jan. 1, offered curry specially arranged for the European market at the event.
Flooding in Feni, Bangladesh, on Aug. 25. Bangladesh's agriculture ministry said such flooding this year has resulted in a substantial loss of rice production.
WORLD
Oct 20, 2024
Floods destroy 1.1 million tons of rice in Bangladesh
Floods in Bangladesh have destroyed about 1.1 million metric tons of rice, leading to increased imports amid rising food prices.
Deployed properly, uncooked rice can be a secret weapon to imbue your favorite cocktails with a certain je ne sais quoi.
LIFE / Food & Drink / The Recipe Box
Sep 29, 2024
The secret ingredient in this cocktail? Rice.
Using uncooked rice as an additive for mixing cocktails is a fun way to uncover subtleties in your favorite sips.
A farmer harvests rice in a paddy field in Tamba-Sasayama, Hyogo Prefecture, last month.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 25, 2024
In need of rice and some Japanese words that describe necessity
When does something go from being a "want" to a "need"? A few grammar structures can give the listener a sense of how urgent a situation is becoming.
The Japanese word for cooked rice, "gohan," is the same word used for meals in general.
LIFE / Language / Vocabulary Boost
Sep 25, 2024
Some idioms and terms pertaining to Japan's favorite grain
When one kind of food is so essential to the diet of an entire culture, it's bound to affect the language.
The rice harvest ramped up this month and will ease a supply squeeze, but farmers and Japan’s main grain distributor have agreed to higher contract prices.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2024
Rice inflation to persist despite harvest, as prices rise over 20% on year
Tokyo shoppers were paying 23% more than a year ago for 5 kilogram bags of rice last month, while wholesale prices have risen 28% — the biggest hike since 1975.
Rice in a field in Tambasasayama, Hyogo Prefecture in August. Rice prices jumped 28.3%, posting the largest increase since September 1975.
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2024
Japan core consumer prices up 2.8% in August
Rice prices shot up 28.3%, electricity rates soared 26.2% and city gas rates 15.1%, following an end of government subsidies.
Shuzo Fukushi, who heads Rice Meister Kojimachi in Tokyo, shows a bag of Calrose mixed with domestic rice at his store on Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 6, 2024
Demand for Calrose rice rises amid Japanese rice shortage
The California rice is a medium-grain variety cheaper than the Japanese short-grain cultivar, but with a similar taste.
Empty shelves of rice are pictured in a supermarket in Tokyo on Aug. 27 with a notice asking customers to buy one brand a day for a family.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2024
Agricultural Ministry holds meeting on rice shortage in stores
As of the end of June, private-sector rice inventories in the country stood at 1.56 million metric tons, the lowest since comparable data became available in 1999.

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