More than four centuries of agricultural tradition are at risk of coming to an end in Niigata prefecture in Japan. The region is the famed origin of koshihikari rice — one of the most prized ...

For Koshihikari, a popular rice variety grown ... of first-grade rice fall by 10 percentage points or more. In Japan, rice is ranked based on the proportion of high-quality grains, which are ...

In top-ranked Niigata Prefecture, the price for Koshihikari rice increased 22 percent to 17,000 yen. The “Nanatsuboshi” variety in Hokkaido, Japan's second-largest producer, rose 32 percent ...

Niigata’s Koshihikari rice is the most widely cultivated variety across Japan, prized for its sweet flavour that’s balanced in just the right proportions. “It’s very delicious rice ...