【环球财经】为平抑米价 日本拟再投放20万吨储备米

Group 1 - The Japanese government plans to release an additional 200,000 tons of reserve rice to stabilize rice prices, as stated by the new Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Koizumi Shinjiro [1] - Of the 200,000 tons of reserve rice, 100,000 tons are from 2020 and the other 100,000 tons are from 2021, which will reduce the reserve rice stock to approximately 100,000 tons after the release [1] - The average price of 5 kg of rice in Japanese supermarkets was 4,223 yen (approximately 209 RMB) during the week of May 26 to June 1, marking a decrease of 37 yen from the previous week, the first consecutive decline since November of the previous year [1] Group 2 - Despite the recent price drop, the current rice price remains above 4,000 yen for 5 kg, which is double the price from the same period last year, raising concerns about whether the government can achieve its target of bringing prices down to the "3,000 yen range" [1] - The rise in rice prices since last summer has been attributed to extreme heat causing poor rice harvests, and a previous earthquake risk warning led to panic buying, resulting in a temporary "rice shortage" [1] - The Japanese government established a reserve rice system in 1995 to release rice in cases of disasters or large-scale crop failures, but previous releases since March have had limited effectiveness in stabilizing prices [2]