By Kaori Kaneko JOETSU, Japan (Reuters) -For more than half a century, the Japanese government has encouraged its rice ...

Rice prices in Japan have started to ease, falling below Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s target of below 4,000 yen for a five ...

The latest average retail price of an 11-pound bag of rice in Japan was 3,688 Japanese yen, about $24, The Guardian reported, citing a government survey, up from about $13 last year.

Last year, less than 5 percent of the prefecture’s rice was given the top quality grade that allows it to be sold for a higher price — about $6 or $7 more for each 130-pound bag.