Japan auctions emergency rice reserves as prices soar

The Japanese Government today began a rare auction of its emergency rice stockpiles in a bid to help drive down the surging price of the national staple.

Rice shortages driven by factors from poor harvests caused by hot weather to panic-buying over a “megaquake” warning last summer have caused prices to nearly double over a year.

Exacerbating the problem, some businesses are also thought to be keeping their inventories and waiting for the most opportune time to sell.

Japan stores about a million tons of rice for emergencies.

The country has previously tapped into these reserves during disasters, but this is the first time since the stockpile was built in 1995 that supply chain problems are behind the move.