05-09-2024, 10:02 AM
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-a...tages-bite
Japanese scramble to buy beloved staple as rice shortages bite
TOKYO - The threat of a “mega quake”, a series of typhoons and a week-long national holiday have resulted in some Japanese scrambling to buy rice – the nation’s cherished staple food – with the government warning on Aug 27 against panic buying.
“We could only procure half the usual amount of rice this summer, and bags of rice get quickly sold out,” a clerk at a branch of the popular Fresco supermarket chain told AFP in the Japanese capital.
Rice shelves in some stores emptied or stocks were rationed after a government warning in August – since lifted – of a possible “mega quake”, as well as several typhoons and the annual Obon holiday.
Japanese scramble to buy beloved staple as rice shortages bite
TOKYO - The threat of a “mega quake”, a series of typhoons and a week-long national holiday have resulted in some Japanese scrambling to buy rice – the nation’s cherished staple food – with the government warning on Aug 27 against panic buying.
“We could only procure half the usual amount of rice this summer, and bags of rice get quickly sold out,” a clerk at a branch of the popular Fresco supermarket chain told AFP in the Japanese capital.
Rice shelves in some stores emptied or stocks were rationed after a government warning in August – since lifted – of a possible “mega quake”, as well as several typhoons and the annual Obon holiday.