Rice prices have risen spectacularly in Japan since 2015. And prices for the staple have more or less doubled in the past year alone; extreme heatwaves made worse by climate change have hammered harvests, while panic-buying last year amid megathrust earthquake fears has also constrained supply.

With the public up in arms, the Japanese government is going all out to bring down rice prices, from releasing emergency supplies to reversing a policy encouraging farmers to grow alternative crops.

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