Recently, the continuous rise in rice prices in Japan has attracted widespread attention, the pressure on people's lives has increased sharply, and there have been many chaos in the market. According to foreign media reports, the price of rice in Japanese supermarkets has been as high as 13 yen, and it has risen for 0 consecutive weeks, which has made many Japanese netizens call "can't afford to eat rice".

日本農林水產省4月7日公佈的數據顯示，3月24至30日，日本全國超市銷售的5公斤大米平均價格達到4206日元（約合人民幣208元），這一價格已是去年同期的兩倍以上。更為嚴峻的是，該平均價格比前一周還高出約10日元，且已連續13周呈現上漲趨勢。儘管3月下旬起日本政府儲備米開始在門店銷售，但這一舉措目前並未對米價下降起到明顯效果。

米價高漲的背後，是多重因素交織的結果。自2024年夏季以來，極端高溫天氣導致大米歉收，成為米價上漲的重要原因之一。高溫影響了大米的生長和產量，使得市場供應減少。而去年8月，氣象部門發佈日本東部太平洋南海海槽發生大地震可能性增高的警示，這一消息引發了民眾的恐慌，紛紛囤積大米，一度出現“大米荒”。儘管隨著新米上市，“大米荒”有所緩解，但米價卻依然居高不下。

In this context, market chaos is also emerging. In order to seek personal gains, some rice merchants resell the reserve rice that should have been provided to the government at a high price, and do not hesitate to pay liquidated damages. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reported that 2000 companies were penalized for failing to fulfill the contract requirements for delivering about 0 tons of reserve rice to the government. This behavior not only disrupted the market order, but also further exacerbated the rise in rice prices.

The continuous rise in the price of rice has put a heavy burden on the lives of the Japanese people. The soaring price of rice, a staple food for the Japanese, means a significant increase in household food spending. Many Japanese netizens expressed their helplessness and worries on social media, some said that "eating rice has become a luxury now", and some ridiculed that "I can only eat bread to live in the future".

For the Japanese government, how to stabilize the price of rice and ensure market supply has become an urgent problem to be solved. On the one hand, the government needs to strengthen the supervision of the rice market, crack down on illegal activities such as hoarding and price gouging, and maintain market order. On the other hand, measures are also needed to increase the supply of rice, such as encouraging farmers to expand their cultivation areas and improve production techniques.