The unprecedented release from emergency rice stockpiles was seen in part as an attempt to figure out distribution problems. The government has denied there is now a rice shortage, but officials ...

Japan’s ruling party is betting on lower rice prices winning urban votes at the risk of alienating their traditional farm ...

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan said on Friday it would release another 300,000 metric tons of rice from its emergency stockpile through July and tweak its purchasing policy to counter a shortage and rein ...

It’s eaten with almost every meal, but a shortage of rice has sent prices soaring in Japan. The crisis has forced the government to release emergency supply.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's agriculture minister was forced to resign Wednesday because of political fallout over his recent comments that he “never had to buy rice” because he got it from ...

Japan's farm minister said on Tuesday the government stood ready to offer more stockpiled rice as consumers formed long queues to snatch up cheap, emergency-use grain made available through some ...

The ministry says it plans to release another 60,000 tons if necessary. "This is a highly irregular situation," agriculture minister Taku Eto told parliament on Monday.

The agriculture ministry is expected to select successful bidders for 150,000 tons of rice by Wednesday — with the auctioned grain expected to hit store shelves by the end of March.