Rice crisis: Japan imports grain from South Korea for first time in more than 25 years

Arata Hirano, owner of the Shokudou Arata restaurant in Tokyo, pours California-grown rice into a cooker as Japan faces shortages of the grain. Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

Japan has imported rice from South Korea for the first time in a quarter of a century in an attempt to address soaring prices and growing consumer anger.

South Korean rice arrived in Japan last month for the first time since 1999, according to media reports, as the price of domestically produced grain continued to rise, despite government attempts to relieve the pressure on shoppers.