Small, Midsize Stores Apply for Stockpiled Rice; 80,000 Tons Designated in Aim to Distribute Cheaper Rice More Widely

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:29 JST, May 30, 2025

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry started to receive applications on Friday from small and midsize supermarkets and rice shops for the purchase of government-stockpiled rice through discretionary contracts.

The ministry is set to release 80,000 tons of stockpiled rice produced in 2021, of which 60,000 tons is for small and midsize supermarkets and 20,000 tons is for rice shops.

Through this measure, the government aims to more thoroughly distribute stockpiled rice nationwide.

“We’re beginning new discretionary contracts to distribute stockpiled rice to many people more widely across the country to places which major retailers can’t reach,” agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi said at a press conference on Friday.

Small and midsize supermarkets will be eligible providing they have a record of handling 1,000 tons to 10,000 tons of rice a year. Rice shops must be capable of polishing the rice. Joint applications are being accepted. Applications will be accepted for purchases of at least 10 tons, and the upper limit for a single business operator is 1,000 tons.

The government will deliver the rice to a location requested by the shops and cover the transportation costs.

The government is processing applications by email from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Emails sent after 5 p.m. will be handled the next weekday.

For the 2021 harvest, the government has set the price of 60 kilograms of unpolished rice at ¥10,080 excluding tax, compared with ¥11,010 for rice harvested in 2022. The rice is expected to be sold to consumers for about ¥1,800 for five kilograms.

For major retailers, 300,000 tons of stockpiled rice has been allocated through discretionary contracts; 200,000 tons was harvested in 2022, with the remaining 100,000 tons harvested in 2021.

61 major retailers apply

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said on Thursday that it had confirmed purchase applications by 61 major retailers for 219,691 tons of stockpiled rice in its first release under discretionary contracts.

Of the confirmed amount, 199,868 tons was produced in 2022 and 19,823 tons was produced in 2021. Aeon group, Ito Yokado Co. and Pan Pacific International Holdings Corp., which operates discount store Don Quijote, are among the major retailers that have applied.

The ministry rejected an application from FamilyMart Co., which had planned to sell stockpiled rice for ¥432 a kilogram including tax, targeting those living alone.