Economy Heat and quake drive up Japan's rice prices by 23%

The average price in September last year, when rice from the 2023 harvest began hitting store shelves, was JPY 1,878. However, prices have surged since this spring amid growing concerns about a rice shortage, topping JPY 2,000 in June. Still, the increased cost of living kept demand for rice solid as consumers saw rice as relatively cheaper than other staple foods such as bread. Some consumers began stockpiling rice after the weather agency in August issued its first-ever advisory for the increased risk of a megaquake along the Nakai Trough that stretches from central to southwestern Japan in the Pacific. A surge in foreign tourists to Japan also prompted some restaurants to purchase more rice. The total spending by foreign visitors to Japan this year is expected to rise 1.8-fold to approximately JPY 9.69 trillion, according to an estimate by Katsuhiro Miyamoto, a professor emeritus at Kansai University.

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