Japan will hold a ministerial meeting this week to discuss rice supply.

Jin10 data, June 2 - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stated in the Diet on Monday that Japan will hold a ministerial meeting as early as this week to discuss rice supply issues. The current Japanese government is seeking to stabilize rice prices and quell public anger ahead of the summer elections. Last week, the Japanese government released another 300,000 tons of rice from its reserves to drop rice prices, which have doubled over the past year. With less than two months until the Japanese House of Councillors elections, Japanese households are struggling with inflation. Due to poor performance in last year’s elections, the minority government is already at a disadvantage. Japan’s Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Yoshimasa Hayashi, said in the same Diet meeting on Monday: “Rice prices are twice what they were last year, and in some areas even 2.5 times; stabilizing prices and the market is very important.”