[Exploring Staple Food Self-Sufficiency and Food Security] The first book by Mitsubishi Research Institute food and agriculture specialist Kimio Inagaki and his team of experts, “Can the Japanese Continue to Eat Japanese Rice?”, goes on sale September 24th! It sounds a warning about the major tectonic shift creeping up in rice farming.
Kawade Shobo Shinsha Press release: September 24, 2025 To Members of the Press [Exploring Staple Food Self-Sufficiency and Food Security] The first book by Mitsubishi Research Institute food and agriculture specialist Kimio Inagaki and his team of experts, “Can the Japanese Continue to Eat Japanese Rice?”, will be released on September 24th! A warning about the major tectonic shift creeping up on rice farming. The Reiwa rice turmoil and the future of rice farming — Was production insufficient to begin with? When will prices stabilize? Are production prospects for 2050 becoming increasingly bleak? A hotly anticipated new book sheds light on the “real problems” with Japanese rice!
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Kawade Shobo Shinsha Co., Ltd. (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo / Representative Director: Masaru Onodera) will release the KAWADE Yume Shinsho book “Can the Japanese Continue to Eat Japanese Rice?” (List price: 1,045 yen including tax) on September 24, 2025. The “Reiwa rice turmoil” suddenly appeared. Until now, we’ve taken rice for granted, without even thinking about how “cheap” or “delicious” it is. That unconscious assumption is now beginning to crumble. What on earth is going on? It seems the issue isn’t just a matter of whether the recent rise in rice prices will subside or how far they will fall. The current price hike seems to be warning of a major upheaval in Japan’s rice farming industry. We may no longer be able to produce rice, our staple food, domestically. If that were to happen, what kind of situation would we face? What measures can be taken to prevent this? Have we really not known enough about rice and the farmers who grow it? Now is the time to stop and think carefully about the current state and future of rice, the staple food of the Japanese people. This book is an ideal textbook, a collection of data, and a book of predictions and recommendations for that purpose. *What are the fallacies of the “various culprit theories” surrounding the rice riots? *What is the “true cause” of the price hike? *What is the unexpected “supply-demand gap” from 2022 to 2024? *What are the “changes in rice policy” from the post-war period to recent years? *What is the evaluation of the current “production adjustment and subsidy” policy? *What is the estimate that the number of farmers will “drastically decrease” by 2050? *Why should we be “100% self-sufficient” in rice alone? *What is the “rice price” that allows farmers to continue operating? *What kind of “future rice policy” should Japan undertake? ➜The “truth about rice” that you won’t see in the news will be revealed! This book is the first work by Kimio Inagaki, a fellow in the food and agriculture field at Mitsubishi Research Institute, and the Mitsubishi Research Institute’s “Future of Food and Agriculture” research team. Be sure to keep an eye out for the release of KAWADE Yume Shinsho, “Can the Japanese Continue to Eat Japanese Rice?” (List price: 1,045 yen including tax)! Table of Contents for “Can the Japanese Continue to Eat Japanese Rice?” Prologue: Document “The Reiwa Rice Turmoil” Rice Disappeared from Storefronts…August 2024 What’s Behind the Rising Prices? What Are the Essential Issues? …and more Part I: How the “Reiwa Rice Riots” Started Chapter 1 How big a problem is the “Reiwa rice turmoil”? A bowl of rice is now more expensive than a slice of bread. Price increases have cost consumers 1.4 trillion yen in six months… and more. Chapter 2: The True Cause of the “Reiwa Rice Riots” The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries attributed the problem to “distribution congestion,” but The direct cause of the price hike is a disruption in the “supply and demand balance”…and more Chapter 3: Is the “Reiwa Rice Turmoil” Perpetrator Theory Correct? “The Complex Rice Distribution Structure is the Cause of the Price Rise” Theory Not all of the increased profits from distributors went to rice wholesalers…and more Chapter 4: Outlook for the 2025 Harvest / Causes of the Supply-Demand Imbalance in the 2022-2024 Harvests The Root Cause of the “Decrease in Production Volume” in the 2022-2023 Harvests The supply-demand gap for the 2024 crop is primarily due to “increased demand”… and more Part II: Rice production and consumption to date, and the progress of rice policy Chapter 5: Decreasing Paddy Field Area and Rice Demand The area of paddy fields continues to decrease The decline in rice demand and future outlook…and more Chapter 6: Rice Policy from the Postwar Period to Around 1990 From Postwar Rice Shortages to Self-Sufficiency in the 1960s In the 1970s, rice policy shifted from increased production to reduced rice production…and more Chapter 7: Japanese Agriculture Since the GATT Uruguay Round The 2004 revision of the Food Law completed the liberalization of rice distribution. Did the Abe Administration’s Agricultural Policies Contribute to Improving Productivity? …and More Chapter 8: Current Rice Policy and Its Evaluation Various Subsidies for Paddy Field Agriculture Rice Policy in Need of Change…and More Part III: Envisioning a “Promising Future” for Japanese Rice Chapter 9: A Gloomy Outlook for Japanese Agriculture and Rice Production The number of agricultural businesses in Japan will decrease dramatically toward 2050. Farmland utilization status, rice production outlook, and more. Chapter 10: Food Security and the Need to Maintain Rice Self-Sufficiency Why rice should be “100% self-sufficient” Farmland that needs to be protected throughout Japan, farmland that needs to be protected in paddy fields, and more Chapter 11: The Costs Necessary to Protect Rice Agriculture What is the total burden on the people due to paddy field protection policies? What is the rice price level that allows rice farmers to continue operating? …and more Chapter 12: Ensuring that Japanese People Can Continue Eating Japanese Rice What’s happening in rural Japan right now? “Rural issues” and “barriers to entry into rice farming” lurking in rice farming…and more ■Author Information Inagaki Kimio Born in Shiga Prefecture. Graduated from the Department of Business
Administration, Faculty of Economics, Kyoto University. Joined Mitsubishi Research Institute in 1990. He has served as Director of the Kansai Center, Director of the Manufacturing Business Innovation Center, and Deputy General Manager of the Management Innovation Headquarters, where he has been engaged in consulting for business corporations and financial institutions. In 2021, he became General Manager of the Food and Agriculture Sector, and in October 2012, he became Research Director (Fellow). He currently provides research recommendations on corporate management strategies and agricultural policies, and works on business reform and business creation for companies, management entities, and government organizations that solve social issues, mainly in the agricultural sector. Mitsubishi Research Institute “Future of Food and Agriculture” Research Team Mitsubishi Research Institute (MRI) is a think tank established in 1970 as part of the Mitsubishi Group’s 100th anniversary project. In the field of food and agriculture, the “Future of Food and
Agriculture” research team is at the forefront of research proposals and business implementation aimed at achieving food security through the sustainable development of Japanese agriculture and resolving social issues such as environmental responses to food and agriculture. ■New publication information
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/12754/1044/12754-1044-8e194ba108106d6a1eaaa893cebbd9a2-626×1016.jpg Title: Can Japanese People Continue to Eat Japanese Rice? Author: Kimio Inagaki Mitsubishi Research Institute “Future of Food and Agriculture” Research Team Specifications: Paperback / 230 pages Release date: September 24, 2025 Price including tax: ¥1,045 (¥950 excluding tax) ISBN: 978-4-309-50460-5 Book Design: Takako Koyama URL:
https://www.kawade.co.jp/np/isbn/9784309504605/ For more information about this release
