Japan's largest rice shortage in years is exacerbated by sushi-hungry tourists, weather

Sushi, onigiri and yakitori don — Japanese rice is a key staple in many of its iconic dishes, but the country is facing its biggest shortfall in decades. 

Japan has been contending with a rice shortage in recent months due to a mix of bad weather and an increase in tourists, undergirded by the country's restrictive rice policies.

"Throughout summer 2024, Japan has been grappling with a table rice shortage resulting in empty supermarket as demand outpaced production for the last three years causing stocks to deplete to their lowest levels in over 20 years," the U.S. Department of Agriculture wrote in a report published last week. Consumers also stockpiled more rice in preparation for Japan's typhoon season and a major earthquake warning, the USDA added. 

In August, supermarkets reportedly often ran out of white rice and stores limited purchases to one bag per person. Local media NHK partly attributed the shortage to an influx in tourists pushing up demand for sushi and other rice-based dishes. Prices of rice hit 16,133 yen ($112.67) per 60kg in August, rising 3% from the previous month and 5% higher since the start of the year.

Japan's private inventories of rice stood at 1.56 million tons for June, marking the lowest in years, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. On top of Japanese preparing for potential natural disasters, the MFAA also attributed the increase in table rice demand to an influx of tourists driving up food service demand.

It is estimated that rice consumption by tourists increased from 19,000 tons between July 2022 and June 2023, to 51,000 tons from July 2023 through June 2024, said Oscar Tjakra, senior analyst at global food and agriculture bank Rabobank.

While tourist