Japan Govt to Buy Back More Rice to Replenish Stockpiles

Tokyo, Oct. 28 (Jiji Press)--Japan’s agriculture ministry plans to buy back an additional 100,000 tons of rice from the private sector to replenish the government’s stockpiles after some of the state rice reserves was released in and after March last year, it has been learned.

The move comes as the government stockpiles remain far below 1 million tons, a level deemed appropriate, raising concerns in light of food security.

The ministry will also consider shortening the stockpiling period from the current five years to three or four years, which may increase the government’s annual rice purchases, sources said Tuesday.

The government, which released a total of 590,000 tons since March 2025, decided in September this year to buy back 210,000 tons. Even so, private-sector rice inventories would remain high, leading the ministry to conclude that supply-demand conditions are becoming favorable for buybacks.

The timing of the buybacks will likely be decided based on data such as the 2026 harvest outlook as of last Sunday, which is expected to reflect the impact of prolonged rain earlier this year.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]