Expiration or Best Before? (Mochi)

Hey all, a friend of mine kindly brought me back these sweets from Japan.

I started eating them already (they taste great), but soon noticed that the date says 09/21/25. Given this is mochi, and old rice can make you pretty sick, I was wondering if this is an “expiration” date or a “best before” date. My friend told me these particular mochis are in between the packaged and fresh spectrum (i.e., not shelf stable forever).