Japanese government sells cheap rice – level 2

Japanese government sells cheap rice

09-06-2025 07:00

Many people in Japan now wait in long lines to buy cheap rice. The government started selling emergency rice in shops to help with the high prices.

Rice now costs about twice as much as last year, while cheap rice sells for about half the usual price. Shoppers can only buy one bag each, but many still come early and wait. The farm minister says the government can give more rice if needed. He also wants to buy back rice from some sellers to help bring more rice to stores. He is worried that high prices will make stores sell more rice from other countries.

Rice imports are going up. Even with extra taxes, people buy more foreign rice because it is cheaper. Japan hopes to grow more rice this year.

Difficult words: import (things for sale from another country), extra (more than usual), foreign (from or in another country).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.

Why are rice imports rising even though extra taxes have been added?

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