International News
Why Rice Prices Are Soaring In Japan
Japanese inflation data released Friday showed that rice prices last month were a whopping 98 percent higher than a year earlier.
AFP looks at the factors behind the sharp increase, which started several months ago, and how it has become a major headache for the government of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Shortages
Experts say that the main reason for the spike in rice prices is simply because of a shortage of the food staple, which for centuries has been deeply ingrained in Japanese culture.
Factors behind that include a record hot summer in 2023 that hit harvests, followed by a surge in demand in 2024, in part fuelled by panic-buying following a warning of a massive earthquake, which did not materialise.
Unprecedented numbers of tourists hungry for sushi and other foods using rice have also been blamed, as have alleged hoarding by some distributors.
Falling acreage
For years, with rice consumption falling, government policy has been to reduce the amount of land used to grow the grain in favour of other crops.
At the same time, in line with Japan’s ageing population, many rice farmers are old and their children don’t want to take over.
Nearly 90 percent of individual farms are run by farmers over 60, and 70 percent have no successor secured, according to the agricultural ministry.
The amount of land used for rice paddies shrank to 2.3 million hectares (5.7 million acres) in 2024, down from a peak of 3.4 million hectares in 1961.
“The Japanese authorities have long focused on how to reduce the scale of rice production in the name of market control, and they haven’t focused on how to increase rice consumption,” said Tadao Koike, the third-generation master of a Tokyo rice retailer dating back over 90 years.
“Now we are all dealing with the payback,” Koike told AFP.
Stockpile
The government started to auction some of its emergency reserves in February, having previously tapped into them during disasters. This is first time since the stores were built in 1995 that supply chain problems are behind the move.
However, as the latest data show, the move has had little impact so far.
Masayuki Ogawa, assistant professor at Utsunomiya University, said this was because the reserve feeds into “blended rice” and not into the more popular branded grains from a particular region or variety.
“In terms of average prices, the price of brand-name rice has risen enough to offset the effect of stockpiled rice pushing down the average price, making it difficult for retail prices in supermarkets to fall even when stockpiled rice is released,” Ogawa told AFP.
Political backlash
After years of stagnant or falling prices, inflation is now squeezing Japanese consumers and by extension hitting support for the government.
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed almost non-stop for decades, lost its majority last year and had to cobble together a coalition.
And last weekend the farm minister sparked public anger with controversial comments about accessing supplies.
Taku Eto told an event that he “never bought rice myself because my supporters donate so much to me”.
Eto resigned but the episode will likely have added to a sense among voters that the LDP — which faces upper house elections in July — is out of touch.
Still, Marcel Thieliant, at Capital Economics, said “weekly rice prices are showing signs of stabilisation so rice inflation should start to soften again before long”.
German authorities deported at least 137 Nigerian citizens across five chartered flights between February and June 2026, according to migration monitoring reports.
Data from the DERS Team and Refugees4refugees.org shows the deportations occurred in phases, with 27 Nigerians returned in February, 37 in March through a joint European Union operation, 24 in April, 23 in May, and 26 in June.
The February operation departed from Stuttgart and landed at Lagos Cargo Airport, with Baden-Württemberg listed as a primary participant. The March operation represented the largest single return of Nigerians recorded over three years and was executed in collaboration with Spain, Austria, and Belgium.
The reports indicate a growing reliance on multi-national chartered flights by European states to repatriate undocumented or non-resident individuals to Nigeria.
The United States has condemned the killing of members of the family of Plateau-based cleric, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, describing the attack as horrific and urging Nigerian authorities to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
In a statement shared on X on Thursday, the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called for stronger measures to prevent further attacks on vulnerable communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
“The United States strongly condemns the horrific killing of members of Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo’s family in Plateau State, Nigeria. The continued violence targeting Christian communities and other vulnerable populations in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is deeply alarming,” the bureau said
The US said it had already engaged Nigerian officials on the worsening security situation, stressing that urgent action was needed to curb recurring attacks and hold perpetrators accountable.
“As I discussed last week with Nigerian officials, we must do more to prevent violent acts. The perpetrators must be held accountable, and urgent action is needed to strengthen security and protect Christians and other vulnerable communities,” the statement added.
The bureau reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government to combat terrorism and violent extremism, stressing that Christians and other Nigerians should be able to practise their faith without fear of violence.
The statement followed the July 12 attack on Kum community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, where nine members of Rev. Dachomo’s extended family, including a two-month-old baby, were killed.
According to the cleric, the attackers, believed to be armed Fulani militias, asked for him by name before opening fire on his relatives.
Dachomo, who serves as Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, said his family had repeatedly been targeted because of his outspoken criticism of the violence in Plateau State.
He recalled that his grandmother and an uncle were also killed in previous attacks, adding that days after burying his relatives, he received a written death threat from the same group, warning that he would be their next target.
Saudi Arabia has updated its tourist eVisa programme for 2026, limiting eligibility in Africa to only three countries as part of its list of 66 nations whose citizens can apply through the Kingdom’s online visa platform.
The move leaves most African countries, including Nigeria, outside the simplified entry scheme.
The electronic visa allows eligible travellers to visit Saudi Arabia for tourism, leisure activities, family visits and Umrah, excluding the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Applications are completed online, eliminating the need for embassy visits and lengthy visa processing.
Saudi authorities said the eVisa forms part of ongoing efforts to expand tourism, attract international visitors and simplify travel procedures through a fully digital application system. The visa is available only to citizens of approved countries and territories listed on the Kingdom’s official tourism portal.
Below is the list of African countries eligible for Saudi Arabia’s eVisa.
1. Mauritius
2. Seychelles
3. South Africa
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