Rising rice price in Japan to make national beverage unaffordable

While rice for sake production has long been traded at a higher price than table rice, the price of table rice is now higher than that of sake rice — resulting in an increasing number of growers shifting to table rice production.

Since this will cause a sake rice shortage, the price of sake rice harvested this year is expected to increase, The Japan News said.

The registration of traditional sake brewing techniques as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage last December was a tailwind for the sake industry. However, the industry has been shaken by this unexpected turn of events.