Lawson to cut rice ball prices in Japan as costs ease

Japanese convenience store chain Lawson plans to cut prices on its hand-wrapped onigiri rice balls next month on the expectation that the staple crop will become cheaper to procure.

Starting Sept. 29, the company will lower prices on most of the on-the-go meals by ¥10 ($0.06), a company spokesperson said by phone.

Rice prices in Japan surged last year due to a shortage, prompting shops and restaurants to hike prices and forcing the government to release its stockpiles.

Prices have since shown signs of easing as supply improves.

Private-sector inventories of brown rice reached 2.43 million metric tons in end-June, the highest midyear level since 2009, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The average price of a 5-kilogram bag at supermarkets has fallen about 28% from the January peak.

“With the market price falling, we expect the price of rice we procure to also decline,” said the spokesperson for Lawson, which was taken private by Mitsubishi Corp. and KDDI in 2024.