Prices for domestic rice are rising in Japan, driving consumers to cheaper foreign-grown varieties, the imports of which are still strictly regulated. But as more supermarkets and restaurants offer low-cost foreign rice, straining import caps, foreign rice producers are expected to call on the country to open its rice market wider. In late March, supermarket operator Seiyu began selling Australian rice for the first time in five years, touting its low price. A 4kg-bag goes for 1,180 yen ($10.79), 20% cheaper than Japan’s popular Nanatsuboshi variety. Seiyu is offering the Australian grain at all of its 144 stores in the Kanto region and other parts of the country. Japan has long protected its rice farmers by restricting imports. But after policies that reduced rice acreage for nearly 50 years through 2017 and encouraged the growing of feed rice, annual production of domestic rice for direct consumption has dropped 11% over the past five years to 7.3 million tons. This has pushed up prices for the third straight year, with retail prices about 10% higher than last year.