Storyline: While Japanese consumers are struggling with rising rice prices, farmers say growing rice is no longer profitable due to shrinking farmland and soaring production costs. In Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Jun Miyamoto, who cultivates around 25 hectares of rice paddies and harvests 120 tons of rice annually, is considered a major rice grower. He said business inquiries have increased noticeably this year. Japan's rice production has been declining steadily. In the 1970s, the country had over two million hectares of rice fields and produced about 12 million tons of rice annually. By 2023, the total rice-growing area dropped to 1.344 million hectares, with only 1.244 million hectares used for staple food rice. Combined with extreme heat and drought, total rice output fell to 7.165 million tons, with only 6.61 million tons used as staple food. The Japanese yen's rapid depreciation and global supply disruptions have driven up prices of imported essentials like fuel, fertilizer, and pesticides, pushing rice farming costs ever higher. Miyamoto said he's been operating at a loss for years. Now in his 50s, Miyamoto is the youngest rice farmer in his village. Over 70 percent of local rice farmers are in their 70s or older, with some even in their 90s. With younger generations turning away from farming, labor shortages are worsening. To secure supply, Japan's agricultural cooperatives have been raising purchase prices for rice. Yet even with current high prices, farmers say they are only breaking even. To stabilize prices, the Japanese government has released low-priced reserve rice into the market. But experts say this is unlikely to fix the underlying problems. Tomita warned that the 600,000 tons of reserve rice currently being released are not enough to cover the country's needs. If depleted now, there may be no stock left in case of a future disaster. Shotlist: Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan - June 5, 2025: 1. Rice farmer Jun Miyamoto preparing to plant rice 2. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Jun Miyamoto, rice farmer (partially overlaid with shot 3): "A lot of companies have already contacted me, saying they want to buy rice from us. I'm negotiating prices with different buyers almost every week." [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 3. Miyamoto preparing to plant rice [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 4. Aerial shots of rice paddies, rice transplanter working 5. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Jun Miyamoto, rice farmer (partially overlaid with shot 6): "For years, they (the government) kept saying we had too much rice, so [the government] discouraged us from growing it. They offered subsidies if we converted rice paddies into dry fields and planted crops like wheat or soybeans instead. This policy has been in place for decades, and now Japan's overall rice production capacity has declined." [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 6. Aerial shots of rice paddies [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 7. Various of Miyamoto preparing to plant rice 8. Various of transplanter working 9. Various of Miyamoto preparing to plant rice Tokyo, Japan - June 6, 2025: 10. Various of people at cashier; rice price tags 11. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Professor Motonori Tomita, Faculty of Human Sciences, Kobe Shoin University (starting with shot 10/ending with shot 12): "The rice wholesale industry has a multi-layered structure, where rice is traded multiple times between wholesalers. The more middlemen are involved, the higher the price gets. That cost eventually trickles down to retailers and consumers." 12. Various of rice price tags, rice; people at cashier 13. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Professor Motonori Tomita, Faculty of Human Sciences, Kobe Shoin University (starting with shot 12/ending with shot 14): "About 600,000 tons of reserve rice have already been released. But what happens when they run out? In the event of a real disaster, we'd be at serious risk. Only the reserve rice is cheaper, other rice is tied to contracts signed earlier, often at high procurement prices. That's why prices won't come down easily. Even if cheaper rice appears on the market now, it's only a temporary solution." 14. Various of people buying rice. [Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland]