Imported Rice

Japan’s rice prices have skyrocketed over the last year or two. This led my husband and I to something of a dilemma recently when we came upon imported rice for sale at the supermarket.

Up until last summer, we always bought not just Japan-grown rice, but rice grown in our prefecture of residence, Chiba. Not only was it locally grown (yay!) but it also was the cheapest rice for sale, a 5 kilogram bag costing less than 2000 yen or sometimes even less than 1500 yen. 

Those days seem well and truly gone lately, however. Not only can we not find Chiba rice on the supermarket shelves, but most 5 kilogram bags cost more than 4000 yen. I’ve been buying what I can when I have to.

In the end, it wasn’t much of a decision. Whatever discomfort we might have about current politics and rice being used as a bargaining chip in a trade game, the rice imported from America is substantially cheaper than most Japanese rice currently, with a 4 kilogram bag costing 2200 yen before tax. Our wallets did the talking in the end, and here we are.

For what it’s worth, we haven’t noticed any difference in taste, texture, or quality - or I haven’t, anyway, but I’m not quite the discerning rice eater my husband is. When I used the last of our Japanese rice and refilled the rice container with the American-grown rice, I did notice that the American grains were visibly larger. 

Japan not being able to take care of itself in regard to such a core staple makes me uneasy, but it seems we may have to just get used to it. The local rice prices don’t seem to be dropping to any major degree, and I’m seeing more and more imported rice in the supermarket shelves. I suppose it’s something that we can still get what we need, wherever it may be from.