Japan’s retail rice price reaches an all-time high despite a strong harvest, extending a six-week surge and deepening pressures on household budgets.
Retail rice prices in Japan have climbed to their highest level since the government relaxed emergency stockpile releases, underscoring persistent cost pressures facing households despite expectations of improved supply this year.
According to data released Friday November 14, 2025, by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the average price of rice sold at supermarkets nationwide reached 4,444 JPY — roughly US$28 — per 5-kilogram bag during the week ending Sunday November 16, 2025. The figure represents an increase of 116 JPY ($0.74), from the previous week, marking the sixth straight week of rising prices.
The latest surge surpasses previous highs recorded before the government intervened by releasing emergency rice reserves earlier this year in an effort to ease market tightness. That intervention briefly slowed the pace of price increases but failed to halt the broader upward trend that has persisted through much of 2024.
The ministry’s weekly survey covered approximately 6,000 supermarkets across the country. Comparable data has only been available since February 2025, making the current price level the highest since systematic tracking began.
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The continued rise in retail prices comes as something of a surprise. Many market observers had predicted that a strong harvest this year would begin to cool price pressures, especially after the poor yields of 2024 created widespread supply concerns. While wholesale prices between distributors and brokers have begun to decline in recent weeks, analysts caution that the effects of lower upstream costs typically take time to filter through to consumers.
Japan’s rice market has faced significant disruptions over the past year, driven largely by erratic weather patterns that damaged crops and squeezed supply. The resulting shortage contributed to a sharp jump in prices, adding to the financial burdens of households already grappling with higher energy bills and elevated costs for imported goods.
Economists say that even with improved harvest conditions, retailers may remain cautious about cutting prices quickly. Many supermarkets are still adjusting to earlier increases in procurement costs and are likely to wait for sustained declines in wholesale markets before passing savings on to shoppers.
The government has not announced any immediate plans to conduct additional emergency stockpile releases, but officials say they are monitoring price movements closely. For now, consumers continue to face historically high rice prices, turning one of Japan’s most essential staples into another symbol of the country’s ongoing cost-of-living challenges.
Africa Daily News, New York
