Rice Production In Japan

Rice production in Japan is important to the food supply in Japan, with rice being a staple part of the Japanese diet.

The most striking feature of Japanese agriculture however is the shortage of farmland. The 4.63 million hectares under cultivation in 2008 has shrunk, with most farmers over 65.

However, the land is intensively cultivated. Paddy fields occupy much of the countryside, whether on the alluvial plains, the terraced slopes, or the swampland and coastal bays.

The History of rice and rice agriculture in the Japanese archipelago is not a long one. According to the accepted view, rice was introduced into Japan during the period between the Final Jōmon and the Early Yayoi Period. But recent phytolith studies indicate that rice may have been in Japan as early as the Early Jōmon, approximately 6000 years ago(Takamiya, 2001).

Rice occupies an emotional place in Japanese history, society, and political economy (Hsu, 1994).

Japan is the ninth largest producer of rice in the world in rice production.

The most widely planted variety is Koshihikari. Onigiri rice balls are popular [1].