Japan enforces emergency food law

In Japan, food prices continue to rise. Government data shows that rice prices jumped 80.9% in February from a year earlier, marking the biggest increase since 1971.

Japan's emergency food law takes effect from April 1. Photo: Kyodo

Under the law, which will be enacted in June 2024, 12 items, including rice, meat, soybeans, wheat, sugar, eggs and dairy products, will be classified as essential foods. The Japanese government will also work to secure supplies of fertilizers and pesticides needed for production.

If the supply of a designated food item falls by 20% or less from the average and prices spike, the Japanese government may require farmers and food-related businesses to draw up and submit plans to boost production, increase imports, or increase market output.

However, the Japanese government will not issue the above request if the declining domestic supply can be supplemented by imports.

For rice, the Japanese government has not considered asking farmers and businesses involved in distribution to plan for production expansion as supply has recently increased.

According to a draft released the same day, Japan also plans to invest more than 20 trillion yen ($134 billion) over five years from fiscal 2026 to strengthen the country's resilience to the impact of natural disasters.

Government and corporate spending plans aim to speed up improvements to crumbling infrastructure and boost response to disasters such as floods and earthquakes.

The budget for the plan represents a sharp increase from around 15 trillion yen in the 2021-2025 period, reflecting rising prices and construction costs in Japan. The government is expected to approve the plan in June this year.

According to Kyodo

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