Japan got the largest increase in private-sector rice tariff-rate quotas. In 2025, those amounts exploded by a jaw-dropping 104 times! Additionally, prohibitive prices for domestic rice have accelerated a dramatic shift in consumer preference. More Americans than ever are opting for more sustainable alternatives, like California-grown Calrose rice.
Calrose rice is super adaptable and excellent quality. You’ll see it front and center at Aeon grocery stores across Japan, and particularly in Sapporo. Japanese architect Yasuaki Takao recently took this incredible photograph of this suspended light display. It promotes rice as an attractive choice among Japanese consumers. That story explaining these new developments ran on December 26, 2025 by Nikkei staff writers, in Tokyo.
The record-setting rise of imports comes at a time when domestic rice prices are skyrocketing, causing consumers to look for more competitive options. Even with the import tariffs, Calrose rice is still a very appealing option for consumers. Pricing structure guarantees it never reaches an uncompetitive price point, being able to preventively compete against local, often inedible, varieties.
Aeon supermarket chains have heavily promoted Calrose rice, marketing it as an acceptable replacement for classic Japanese rice. This spike in availability of a product that owns such importance in Japan’s grocery landscape represents the notion that consumers’ expectations and interests are changing and evolving. Japanese consumers are increasingly demanding when it comes to quality and are price sensitive. Given these macro and micro factors, demand for Calrose rice will continue to increase.
This trend is a huge departure from Japan’s agricultural landscape, where dependence on domestic products has deeply-rooted traditions. Calrose rice has continued to make inroads in the market, proving its true popular demand. This trend is exciting because it suggests that attitudes among consumers towards imported goods are changing.