On June 7th local time, Rep., the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and former Minister of General Affairs Ichihiro Haraguchi said: "Only chickens can eat chen rice, people should not be the same as chickens."
Previously, in order to save Japan's domestic shortage of rice supply, the Japanese government released reserve rice to the market. In order to reassure the people, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Jiro Koizumi held a rice-reserved tasting party. At the same time, TV stations and variety shows also invited celebrities to try chenmi to prove its safety.
On June 5, a Japanese employee showed government reserve rice at the convenience store chain Rosen. Pictures of Visual China
Ichihiro Haraguchi recently defended Yuichiro Tamaki's remarks. He said, "This is the truth. Eating (store rice) like eating new rice is dangerous, and it may contain contaminants."
Japan has the custom of giving gifts in the middle of the year. Recently, a summer promotion for gift shops has been launched. It is reported that in order to cope with the rise in domestic rice prices, some gift stores have also provided new services.
Sogo Seibu Department Store in Japan will give free gifts to all the top 10,000 customers who spend 15,000 yen (about 747 yuan) in the store gift center. The gift is about 300 grams of vacuum-packed Japanese rice, produced by Okihiro rice from Nagano Prefecture.
It is reported that this is the first time that Sogo Seibu Department Store has given rice as a gift. The relevant person in charge of the store said: "We hope that gift givers can feel happy."
According to CCTV News, on June 9 local time, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at a meeting of the Senate Final Accounts Committee that he would conduct a thorough investigation into the reasons for the sudden rise in rice prices in Japan through a cabinet meeting established for the issue of stable supply of rice.
Due to factors such as the extreme high temperatures caused a poor harvest in rice since the summer of 2024, the domestic rice prices in Japan have continued to rise and set new highs this year. On May 23, the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Affairs announced the national consumer price index in April, with rice prices rising 98.4% from the same period last year, the largest increase since 1971. Japanese media commented that in 2025, Japanese rice is comparable to "unaffordable gold".
Source: Red Star News (Reporter Wang Yalin Intern Reporter Zhou Yuexiao) Comprehensive Global Network and CCTV News
