Life News
Japan's rice price falls for a ninth straight week, and the trade expects more
After two years of high prices, Japanese shoppers are seeing rice get steadily cheaper. Jiji Press, carried by Nippon.com, reported on April 17 that rice at about 1,000 supermarkets averaged 3,873 yen per 5 kg in the latest week, down 60 yen, the ninth straight weekly decline according to the agriculture ministry. Brand rice, 76% of sales, averaged 3,941 yen, and cheaper blended rice 3,659 yen.
Wholesale prices are falling too. The March price for 60 kg of 2025 brown rice was 33,345 yen, down 1,711 yen from February and the steepest monthly drop since the survey began in 2006, though still 29% higher than a year earlier.
Earlier in the slide, bne IntelliNews marked the moment the average first slipped below 4,000 yen, to 3,980 yen in the week to March 15, the first time since August 2025. It explained that the 2025 harvest exceeded demand, pushing prices down. Tuoi Tre News reported that many in the rice industry expect prices to keep falling over the next three months as inventories rise, with an outlook index below 50 for six months running.
How each outlet framed it
- Jiji Press / Nippon.com — the weekly shelf price, by brand and blend, plus wholesale data.
- bne IntelliNews — the symbolic 4,000-yen line and why the harvest matters.
- Tuoi Tre News — what producers, wholesalers and retailers expect next.
What we don't know yet: How low prices will go. Wholesale prices remain well above last year's, and prices briefly dipped under 4,000 yen last year before rebounding when the new harvest arrived.