Rice Sold under Discretionary Contracts Hits Supermarket Shelves; 5-Kilogram Bags Priced at around ¥2,000

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:27 JST, May 31, 2025

Government-stockpiled rice sold under discretionary contracts hit store shelves in some supermarkets in the Tokyo metropolitan area on Saturday.

A total of 500 bags of polished rice was delivered to Ito-Yokado Co.’s Omori outlet in Tokyo’s Ota Ward at around 8:30 a.m. A 5-kilogram bag of rice harvested in 2022 was priced at ¥2,160.

Customers began lining up outside the store early in the morning, and all of the purchase tickets were distributed before it opened at 10 a.m. Shelves carrying the rice were emptied in about 30 minutes.

Ito-Yokado has procured a total of 5,000 tons of rice through discretionary contracts and plans to expand sales of the rice to at all of its outlets from Sunday, except those in the Chukyo and Kansai regions.

“The rise in rice prices has a significant impact on daily life. We have taken action with the aim of responding as quickly and stably to the situation,” said Ito-Yokado President Tetsuya Yamamoto.

Household goods retailer Iris Ohyama Inc. on Saturday also began selling stockpiled rice at its outlets in Sendai and Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture.