Japan’s Rice Crisis Flip: Shoppers Win, Farmers Face Ruin

Japan’s rice market has swung from shortage to surplus in just one year, creating a sharp divide between relieved shoppers and struggling farmers. Last year, the government released emergency rice stockpiles to lower soaring prices and calm angry voters. Now, the country faces the opposite problem: too much rice. For consumers, the drop in prices is good news. For farmers like Hiroshi Asano, 59, it is a disaster. Asano farms 38 hectares (93 acres) of rice fields in Chiba, near Tokyo. He expects to lose money this year. He worries that smaller farms will not survive the downturn.