Japanese Government Faces Discontent Over Rice Prices Ahead of Elections

The Japanese government is contending with record low approval ratings as rising rice prices have sparked frustration among consumers, just weeks before important national elections.

Efforts to lower traditional rice prices have had minimal impact, highlighting the need for reduced consumption taxes to help ease the financial burden on households.

A recent poll from Kyoto Press indicates that many consumers are discontent with Prime Minister Ishauba’s administration due to increased strain on their finances.

The poll shows Ishauba’s cabinet approval rate has plummeted to 27.4%, which is the lowest since he took office last October, marking a drop of over 5 percentage points within the past month.

The ruling Liberal Democrats (LDP), of which Ishauba is a member, have not yet considered reducing the 10% sales tax, which has become a central topic for the upcoming Senate election in July.

Ishauba is already feeling pressure since the LDP and its junior coalition partner lost their majority in the House last fall. A poor performance in the Senate elections could intensify calls from party members for him to step down.

Nearly 75% of those surveyed expressed that taxes on a variety of goods and services should either be lowered or entirely eliminated.

Worryingly for Ishauba, about 87% of respondents deemed the government’s attempts to curb rice prices as “inadequate,” while over 74% expressed skepticism regarding ongoing US customs negotiations, including discussions on importing various foods.

This year, the Ishauba government took an unusual step by tapping into its significant rice reserves. In March, it started releasing stocks to counteract price hikes attributed to increased demand, supply chain issues, and suspected hoarding by wholesalers.

However, this action—typically reserved for natural disasters or crop failures—didn’t produce the expected results.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the average price of 5kg of rice in supermarkets was 4,214 yen (approximately $29) as of May 4th. This figure is 18 yen lower than the peak from a week prior but still double the price from the same period last year.

In response, the government announced last week that it will release an additional 300,000 tonnes of rice over the three months leading up to July—a move intended to double the rice stock available, surpassing the 300,000 tonnes released from emergency reserves since March. Some rice will also be sold directly to stores, skipping wholesalers to expedite delivery.

The rice crisis in the US has compelled many Japanese restaurants and consumers to seek out cheaper imports. Notably, in April, Japan imported rice from South Korea for the first time in over 25 years.

Additionally, supermarket chain Eon has announced plans to begin selling US-produced Calrose rice starting next month, which will be about 10% cheaper than domestically produced varieties.