Rice prices soar in Japan

[Anchor]

In Japan, which experienced a rice shortage last year, rice prices are skyrocketing.

With rice prices doubling in just a year, panic buying is further fueling the upward trend.

Our correspondent Hwang Jin-woo reports from Tokyo.

[Report]

This is a rural area in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.

Even though rice planting has not yet begun, people are already looking to buy rice that will be harvested this fall.

A restaurant chain has contracted to purchase 40 tons of rice from this village.

[Rice Purchasing Manager: "We want to gather rice as early as possible with a sense of urgency so that customers can feel secure with a stable supply."]

The early rice contracts are due to the rice shortage Japan experienced during last year's harvest season, along with the recent sharp rise in rice prices.

The retail price of a 5kg bag of rice, which was 2,045 yen a year ago, has recently doubled to 4,077 yen.

As rice prices rise, the prices of popular Japanese dishes like donburi and sushi are also on the rise.

Despite the increase in rice prices, the amount of rice purchased by Japanese people has actually increased.

This is not because they are consuming more, but rather due to the psychology of wanting to buy in advance as prices continue to rise.

It is analyzed that corporate hoarding is also contributing to the rise in rice prices.

Recently, a foreigner appeared at a rice retail store, offering to sell 3 tons of brown rice at the increased price.

[Miyata Yuji/Rice Direct Sales Store Manager: "If it's 100 bags of brown rice, I can't think of it as rice consumed at home, so I thought there was a possibility of it being for resale and refused to purchase."]

The Japanese government plans to release 140,000 tons of stockpiled rice to the market next week.

This is the first time in Japan that stockpiled rice has been released due to a rice shortage rather than a disaster.

This is Hwang Jin-woo reporting for KBS News from Tokyo.