Rising Price of Glutinous Rice, Used to Make Mochi, Casting Shadow on New Year’s Celebrations in Japan

By Ryosuke Kobashiri / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

15:12 JST, December 27, 2025

OSAKA — The rising price of glutinous rice, which is used to make mochi rice cakes and mirin cooking rice wine, is casting a shadow over preparations for New Year’s celebrations.

This year’s purchase price for mochi manufacturers and distributors is more than double that of last year. The reason is said to be the result of the decrease in the volume of glutinous rice on the market, as more glutinous rice farmers have switched to growing staple rice due to the rice shortage and price increases that have continued since 2024.

The demand for glutinous rice is at its highest around this time of year, as mochi rice cakes are essential for zoni soup dishes and mirin is indispensable for osechi New Year’s dishes. Retailers are struggling to keep prices in check.

3 times more expensive

Freshly made mochi rice cakes are lined up at a factory of Kouseido, a Japanese sweets company in Suminoe Ward, Osaka, on Dec. 17.

The purchase price of Saga Prefecture glutinous rice, which was used to make the mochi, was 2.5 to 3 times higher than last year.

“I’ve never seen such a surge in [glutinous rice] prices,” said Muneki Maeda, 60, the managing director of the company.

However, the company has only increased its small and cut mochi rice cake prices by about 10%, cutting into its profit margin, because it did not want to lose customers.

According to “Mochi no Tanaka-ya,” a mochi shop in Fukui City, this year’s purchase price of glutinous rice is about ¥1,000 per kilogram, about 2.5 times more expensive than three years ago. This year, the shop sells 1 “sho” (about 1.8 kilograms) of kagamimochi ceremonial rice cakes for ¥3,750, up from ¥3,000 last year.

“We’re in a difficult situation, but we’ll maintain affordable prices in order to protect the mochi food culture,” said Hidenobu Tanaka, 39, who runs the store.

The price of packed mochi also increased. According to a survey by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, the national average retail price in previous years was around ¥700 per kilogram. In November, the price was ¥948, an increase of ¥229 compared to the same period last year.

Demand surges in Dec.

The demand for mochi surges in December, when people prepare for New Year’s celebrations.

According to the ministry, the monthly purchase volume of mochi per household of two or more people was 939 grams in December 2024. The amount is 4 to 22 times more than the volume purchased in other months, ranging from 42 grams to 221 grams.

The main production areas for glutinous rice include Hokkaido, Niigata Prefecture and Saga Prefecture. In recent years, the annual production of glutinous rice in Japan has been about 300,000 tons, or about 4% of the total rice grown in paddies in the country.

Unlike non-glutinous rice, which is eaten as a staple food, such as Koshihikari and Akita Komachi rice brands, glutinous rice is stickier and more difficult to control in terms of temperature and humidity after milling.

According to Shunsuke Orikasa, chief researcher at the Tokyo-based Distribution Economics Institute of Japan who is familiar with issues of rice distribution, the surge in rice prices that began in summer 2024 has caused glutinous rice farmers to switch to growing staple rice since spring. As a result, there is now a shortage of glutinous rice, leading to price increases.

“The price increase is expected to slow down in January or later, but there won’t be a large drop in price,” Orikasa said.

Sato Foods Co., a major mochi manufacturer based in Niigata City, has raised the price of its packed mochi two times this year and plans to raise the price again of the products to be shipped in March and later.

The company said it is due to the rising price of glutinous rice.

Kagamimochi sales slow

The price of mirin, often used in New Year’s dishes, is also rising.

“Some [mirin] manufacturers have already raised the prices of their products, but others have not been able to do so,” said a representative of the national mirin association located in Aichi Prefecture that comprises mirin manufacturers. “We would like to share information with each other while carefully watching the situation in January and later.”

At an Echizen-ya supermarket in Nishinari Ward, Osaka, the retail price of mirin is 10% higher than last year and packed mochi rice cakes are 20% higher.

According to Kazuhiko Horiuchi, the head of the supermarket’s business department, sales of packed kagamimochi are slower compared to previous years, apparently due to the price increase.

“Mochi and mirin are essential for New Year season,” said a 64-year-old woman living nearby. “I’ll reduce the amount of kagamimochi [I buy] to cope with the price increase.”