Japan's food self-sufficiency rate has fallen to a historic low.

On August 7, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced that the self-sufficiency rate of food in Japan, calculated on a caloric basis, is expected to decline by 1 percentage point to 37% in fiscal year 2025, from April 2025 to March 2026, marking the lowest level in history. The food self-sufficiency rate in Japan refers to the proportion of domestically produced food in the total domestic food supply. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries stated that the decrease in rice consumption is a significant reason for the decline in the food self-sufficiency rate. Japan has long relied on domestic supply for rice consumption, which is a crucial support for the country's food self-sufficiency rate. The rise in rice prices has led to a decrease in households' rice consumption, which in turn has reduced the caloric contribution of domestically produced rice, significantly lowering Japan's overall food self-sufficiency rate.