Japan is selling off its national emergency rice reserve for the first time since 1995 because prices have doubled, and they are blaming tourist visitors for eating too much rice.

France 24 reports that record numbers of visitors are partly to blame for Japan’s current rice shortage, along with a brutal heat wave in 2023 that damaged crops and some panic buying after earthquake warnings. The situation is so dire that a humble 5-kilogram bag of rice now costs 4,206 yen ($29) — double what it cost last year, as reported by AFP. Some shifty merchants are apparently sitting on their rice supplies too, waiting to cash in when prices climb even higher.

I promise to avoid onigiri from konbinis while I’m in Japan to save the rice.