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June 30, 2026
 

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FOOD

Tokyo Central staff offer handroll sushi at its Emeryville outlet in California.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
May 25, 2026
Even at home, American shoppers are flocking to Japanese supermarkets
Aisles lined with signs written in kanji and hiragana transport shoppers doing their regular grocery shopping to Japan.
A box of two Yubari melons sold for a record-high ¥5.8 million at the season’s first auction in Sapporo on Friday.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2026
Yubari melons fetch record ¥5.8 million at first auction of season
The melons will go on display at Keio Store’s Sakuragaoka supermarket in western Tokyo before tasting events begin next week.
Japan’s core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food, rose 1.4% in April from a year earlier, according to the internal affairs ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 22, 2026
Japan’s inflation eases to four-year low, complicating BOJ hike
Japan’s core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food, rose 1.4% in April from a year earlier, the internal affairs ministry said Friday.
A mixture of urea and ammonium sulfate fertilizer on a corn field in Glendora, Mississippi.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2026
Human urine becomes option for farmers in fertilizer supply crunch
From Yorkshire chicken muck to human urine-based products, a fertilizer crunch tied to the Iran war is accelerating demand for alternatives to conventional nitrogen inputs.
Cindy McCain, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, is interviewed in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 22, 2026
U.N. World Food Programme chief thanks Japan amid funding shortfall
The organization has seen transportation cost increases affecting things such as food and other relief supplies, since the Strait of Hormuz has effectively been closed.
Grilled <i>kabayaki</i> using fully farmed eel shown at the agriculture ministry on Tuesday
JAPAN
May 20, 2026
Japan to sell eels bred in captivity in ‘world first’
The move could ease eventually pressure on the endangered fish
Alexander De Croo, head of the U.N. Development Program, is interviewed in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 19, 2026
UNDP head warns of food shortages amid surging fertilizer prices
High energy prices, inflation and the resulting instability will persist “at least until the end of the year,” UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo also said in an interview in Tokyo.
U.S. President Donald Trump bought shares of Kura Sushi USA in February.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 18, 2026
Trump filing reveals stake in sushi chain alongside Big Tech
Trump bought shares of Kura Sushi USA on Feb. 2 with the transaction size in a range of around $1 million to $5 million, according to his latest financial disclosure.
A customer at a supermarket in Yokohama. Under a planned food-labeling revision, consumers will be able to scan QR codes on processed food packages to access detailed product information.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 17, 2026
Japan to introduce QR code food labels to improve readability
The adoption of digital technology for food labeling is part of a broader international trend.
Calbee will start selling potato chips in black and white packages due to a naphtha-derived ink shortage amid the war in Iran.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2026
Calbee’s switch to black-and-white packaging brings home impact of Iran war
The government maintains that there is enough naphtha for local industries, though bottlenecks have been identified.
Meiji&#039;s Hello Panda chocolate cookies are displayed for sale at a store in Manhattan in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 12, 2026
Hello Panda: A globally loved snack Japan said goodbye to in 1989
While Meiji struggled in Japan to sell its crunchy, chocolate-filled biscuit snacks first introduced in 1987, Hello Panda had a completely different trajectory overseas.
A line of natto products shown on the website of Mizkan
BUSINESS / Companies
May 4, 2026
Mizkan suspends sales for four natto products amid supply strain
The war in the Middle East has driven up procurement costs, the company said, putting pressure on packed natto production.
A vendor sells durian from a cart on a street in Bangkok&#039;s Chinatown on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 3, 2026
Bangkok food vendor curbs push city staple from the streets
Convenient, full of flavor and popular among residents and tourists alike, Bangkok’s street food is one of the city’s signatures.
A worker cultivates rice plants at a farm in Bangkok. Rice supply is expected to fall this year due to impacts of the Iran war and an emerging El Nino weather phenomenon that is set to usher in hotter, drier conditions.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2026
From surplus to strain: Iran war and El Nino threaten global rice supply
Rice is central to global food security, and even small supply disruptions can ripple through countries, raising prices and straining household budgets.
Japan may see food and drink prices rise as early as this summer, as war-related disruptions to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz squeeze naphtha supply, driving up plastic packaging costs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 30, 2026
Food prices in Japan set to rise as war drives up cost of plastic packaging
Prolonged disruption to energy flows via the Strait of Hormuz has cut the availability of naphtha, a critical ingredient used in the production of plastic packaging.
Some are calling for the food tax rate to be set at 1% instead of fully shelving the tax, so that changes needed for cash register systems becomes easier and require less time.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 29, 2026
Food tax rate of 1% pitched as industries push back on PM’s campaign promise
Although the government aims to implement the two-year tax cut to 0% within fiscal 2026, it would take a year to make cash register systems compatible with such a rate.
A woman feeds her malnourished child at a hospital in Somalia on April 20 amid a shortage of lifesaving therapeutic foods caused by shipping disruptions due to the Iran war.
WORLD / Society
Apr 28, 2026
Iran war is latest blow to Somalia’s malnourished children
Shortages of lifesaving therapeutic foods are forcing clinics to turn away severely malnourished children and ration supplies.
Companies in Japan are working to meet rising demand for quick meal solutions driven by the increase in dual-income households.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 21, 2026
Companies in Japan offer kids’ meals to help ease burden of working households
Working parents are ready to spend more money on food that’s easy to prepare so they can spend more time with their children, a developer at one food company said.
Male participants line up to get weighed and have their waist measured at a local community center in Wuxi, in eastern China&#039;s Jiangsu province.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Apr 17, 2026
Chinese slimmers trade lost fat for beef
Rising obesity rates have led to unusual weight-loss programs springing up across China.
Farmers separate wheat grains from husks at a farm on the outskirts of Varanasi, India, on Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Apr 15, 2026
India’s green fuel plans collide with farmers’ water fears
India, which imports 80% of its oil and gas, has made ethanol central to its clean energy plans and, as war in the Mideast impacts the price and supply of oil, its energy security.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay&#039;s Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team&#039;s loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia&#039;s Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
LGBTQ+ families are building lives Japanese lawmakers still struggle to see
Haru Ono founded Nijiiro Kazoku in 2010 after forming a same-sex stepfamily. She said the impetus for founding the organization was that she couldn’t find much reliable information out there for families such as hers in Japan.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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