Against the grain: as costs and temperatures upward thrust, can Japan learn how to love imported rice?

It’s reasonable, filling and a time-honoured approach for place of work staff to calm their starvation pangs. Lunchtime diners at fast-food eating places in central Tokyo are right here for something: gyudon – thinly sliced pork and onions on rice. The topping is wealthy and moreish, however it’s the stickiness of the plump japonica grains underneath that make this one in every of Japan’s best-loved convenience meals.

Rice cultivation in Japan stretches again 1000’s of years. In the Edo duration (1603-1868), a meal for the general public intended a easy bowl of unpolished grain, whilst contributors of the samurai magnificence measured their wealth in rice bales.

But the Japanese staple is in bother, buffeted by way of hovering costs, a fumbled political reaction, and the spectre of actual festival from “inferior” international imports.

The “Reiwa rice crisis” is set greater than drive on family budget. In only a few months, it has resulted in the resignation of a cupboard minister, precipitated radical adjustments in how the staple is shipped, and sparked worry {that a} homegrown foodstuff that sustains tens of millions of households faces an existential risk.

“Rice was once at the heart of everything – the family, the village and ultimately the nation … that’s why it is so important, even now,” stated Hideyuki Suzuki, chair of the Japanese Association of Rice Taste Appraisers.

Successive governments have secure farmers by way of tightly controlling provide, making sure that every one however a tiny amount of rice bought in shops and eating places is homegrown. Protectionism assists in keeping costs top – an association that has suited farmers and which shoppers have come to tolerate – however it is usually affecting provide. Japan might import 60% of its meals, however rice must at all times be the exception, so the considering is going.

But the political and cultural insulation of Japan’s cherished grain is falling aside, amid a doubling in costs and anger amongst shoppers who say their pursuits at all times come 2d to these of farmers – historically robust supporters of the ruling Liberal Democratic birthday celebration (LDP).

Stockpiles, already depleted by way of record-breaking temperatures that affected the 2023 crop, shrank once more ultimate yr, partially because of call for from checklist numbers of holiday makers. Supplies had been additionally hit by way of panic purchasing within the wake of storm and earthquake warnings, forcing some shops to limit gross sales.

This March, as costs spiralled, the federal government took the unheard of step of freeing 300,000 tonnes of rice from its stockpiles. The measure had little impact, on the other hand. By the second one part of May, the typical retail worth of rice bought at supermarkets was once ¥4,285 (£22) for 5kg – nonetheless double that of a yr previous.

As indignant shoppers questioned what had change into of the promised flood of less expensive rice – simplest modest amounts had been showing on grocery store cabinets – politicians blamed wholesalers and vendors for hoarding shares in anticipation of additional shortages.

The gridlock opened the door to a possible answer few would have countenanced only a few years in the past: provides of imported rice that pass well past the 770,000 tonnes Japan already brings in tariff-free beneath a 1993 “minimum access” quota, agreed throughout Uruguay spherical of business negotiations.

Last Friday, short-grain Calrose rice from California went on sale at Aeon, Japan’s greatest store, priced at |¥2,894 for 4kg – about 10% less expensive than its Japanese opposite numbers, even accounting for price lists. The agriculture ministry has licensed imports of South Korean rice for the primary time in 1 / 4 of a century, whilst Vietnam plans to send greater than 20,000 tonnes this yr – greater than 4 occasions ultimate yr’s general. Taiwan exported greater than six occasions as a lot rice to Japan within the first 5 months of this yr than in the similar duration in 2024, and manufacturers in Thailand say they’re poised to take advantage of a unprecedented hole in Japan’s marketplace.

The inflow has sparked debate at the relative deserves of Japanese and imported rice, with knowledgeable tasters drafted in to provide their verdicts. They come with Suzuki, who proclaims it “not bad at all”, in particular in curry, pilaf and risotto.

The rising urge for food for imported rice has created a headache for the LDP because it tries to stay farmers onside whilst addressing a rising shopper outcry weeks earlier than nationwide elections that can be ruled by way of the value of dwelling.

“We have never seen this much stock of imported rice brands on supermarket shelves,” an reliable from the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations informed the Asahi Shimbun. “We are concerned that customers will turn away from domestic rice and choose imported options in the future.”

The debate may be enjoying out on social media: a clip posted this week from the cuisine-inspired anime Oishinbo, through which the central personality, the meals journalist Shiro Yamaoka, lectures an American flesh presser in regards to the superiority of Japanese rice, has gained greater than 200,000 perspectives.

But it isn’t simplest imported rice that has been subjected to the style take a look at. In some other try to calm costs, the brand new agriculture minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, has licensed the discharge of masses of 1000’s of tonnes of less expensive stockpiled rice from the 2020, 2021 and 2022 harvests.

Kozumi, who changed his predecessor ultimate month after he boasted he by no means needed to pay for rice because of presents from supporters, insisted that the grain be shipped immediately to dealers to wreck the logistical gridlock.

The measure made a dent within the moderate worth – and 5kg luggage of 100% “old” grain are retailing for approximately ¥2,000 – however it additionally induced accusations that buyers had been being compelled to shop for inferior produce that one opposition flesh presser described as “animal feed”.

With the following harvest nonetheless months away, imports will proceed to fill the distance, even if earlier experiments with imported rice fared badly. After a catastrophic crop failure in 1993, Japan urgently imported rice from the United States, China and Thailand, just for it to be refrained from by way of shoppers frightened about its protection and suitability for Japanese palates.

“I think people have become more open to foreign rice since then,” Suzuki stated. “It’s much better than it was back in the 1990s.”

Kunihiko Osafune, a meals knowledgeable who runs the Okawari (some other serving to) Japan website online, stated Californian grain was once best for dishes with powerful flavours, comparable to gyudon and curry, whilst onigiri and sushi benefited from the extra subtle flavour of Japanese rice.

“In the past, a good rice crop was a symbol of overall abundance, so I understand why it has become such a big issue beyond the price,” stated Osafune, who travels the rustic searching for elements that pair neatly with rice. “If there wasn’t enough rice, it was seen as a bad sign for the country as a whole,” he added, noting that Japan’s emperors historically plant and harvest a symbolic rice crop within the grounds of the imperial palace.

But although costs drop to ranges low sufficient to placate shoppers, Japan’s courting with rice must adapt, as depopulation, adjustments in vitamin and an aging, shrinking agricultural sector open the door even wider to imports.

“It’s quite possible,” warned Osafune, “that in the near future we will no longer be able to eat Japanese rice.”