Rice in Japan increasingly scarce: Prices hit 30-year high

There is hardly any other food as important in Japan as rice. Now supplies are falling and prices are rising. In addition to climate change, tourism is also playing a role.

Tokyo. The news coming out of the Japanese media these days easily recalls worse times. The country’s elders can even think back again to the weeks and months after World War II, when hunger was rife in Japan. It has been known since the end of July that rice is becoming a scarce commodity in Japan. In a country where most traditional dishes cannot be separated from the grain, this can cause existential fear.