On the morning of May 27, Japan's Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Koizumi Shinjiro announced that the government reserve rice purchase had reached 98,000 tons. In response to the crisis of rice shortage and soaring prices, Koizumi, who took office on the 21st, swiftly announced that the reserve rice released through 'free contracts' had met the sales limit and would temporarily suspend new purchase applications.

According to NHK, as of the morning of the 27th, 19 companies had applied to the government for reserve rice, totaling 98,000 tons. By 2 PM the same day, the purchasing volume surged to 157,073 tons, with 33 companies participating, including famous retailers such as Rakuten, Don Quijote, OK Supermarket, Sundrug, and Aeon.

Koizumi stated on social media, 'Today, a large influx of orders came in, and it seems the total amount of 20 tons from 2022 has already sold out. The next orders will be for rice produced in 2021, with a limit of 100,000 tons. Therefore, we will suspend new applications and will reopen ordering after confirming the buyer's intent.'

This ongoing 'Reiwa Rice Chaos' that started last year has intensified this year, with retail prices for white rice soaring to over double that of the same period last year. Former Minister of Agriculture Eto Taku had caused controversy when he stated at a ruling party event in Saga Prefecture, 'I've never bought rice, it has always been given to me,' leading to his resignation on the 21st. Koizumi, taking over amid the crisis, claims to be the 'Minister of White Rice' and prioritized stabilizing rice prices, vowing to release government reserve rice at a base price of 2,000 yen for 5 kg (approximately 416 TWD) to suppress prices.

Over the past week, Koizumi has been working tirelessly, first proposing the 'free contracts' policy to abandon government bidding, allowing the Ministry of Agriculture to freely select buyers under the current emergency situation. He also explained the government's progress on NHK news programs, visited various locations to discuss the possibility of online rice sales with Rakuten, and consulted the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism on logistical measures for transporting reserve rice. These efforts appear to be well received.