Newly harvested rice has started hitting store shelves in Japan, but prices remain at unusually high levels.
A shop in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward began selling new Koshihikari rice from the southwestern prefecture of Saga last week.
A 5-kilogram bag goes for 5,500 yen including tax, or about 37 dollars. That's roughly 60 percent more expensive than it was at the same period last year.
The shop says agricultural cooperatives are raising advance payments to farmers, which is reflected in the higher wholesale and retail prices.
Shop representative Koike Tadao says Koshihikari and other top varieties are still affected by the higher prices of last year's crops.
He says the outlook is uncertain, because prices will change depending on the distribution of rice stockpiled by the government and this year's total harvest.
by Dapper-Material5930