PARIS – Agriculture minister Norikazu Suzuki has inspected onigiri rice ball and Japanese food shops, as well as local supermarkets, in Paris as he hopes to expand Japanese rice exports.

During his inspection Thursday, Suzuki said that many stores in the French capital “sell sushi and onigiri just as a matter of course.”

“We’ll make strong sales efforts and work hard so that rice produced in Japan will be used as much as possible,” he said.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration revised her predecessor’s policy of expanding rice production. It aims to secure domestic and foreign demand before achieving medium- to long-term expansion of rice production.

During the inspection, Suzuki exchanged opinions with a leader of French retail giant Carrefour’s foreign food department and other people.

Suzuki laid out his expectations, saying that “a large market lies ahead of us if we can overcome problems” such as sales promotion and pricing for Japanese rice.

He emphasized that securing sales channels overseas will make it easier for Japanese farmers to produce rice stably, adding that a rice export increase will also lead to a stable domestic supply.

Published Date: January 16, 2026