＜ 早川の夕桜 油彩 F6 2025-04-07 ＞
以前は田んぼだったところが、いつごろからか草やススキが生える原っぱになって、田植え前の田起こしや代搔きの光景が見れなくなりました。農家の高齢化や後継ぎ不足の影響なのかもしれません。季節の風情が少しづつ減っていますが、ついこの前まで近くの川沿いの桜が綺麗に咲いて、いつもより1週間も長く楽しめました。
前年が不作だったわけではないのに、この1年で日本人の主食、コメの値段は倍以上になってしまいました。初め、新米が出回るようになれば価格は落ち着くと国は説明していましたが、 実際には反対でした。続いて、備蓄米を放出して流通量を増やしましたがやはり値段の上昇は続きました。最近になって、備蓄米を毎月放出することと卸売業者に行き届きやすくするよう策を変更しました。
放出米の入札価格は公表されていないし、円滑に流通するかどうかまだ分かりません。そのため値下がりを期待しようがなく、ただ「下がるまでじっと待て」と言われているみたいです。効果が出るのかそれとも茶番劇で終わるのか、結果はまだ先になりそうです。
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Can I expect a price down?
The area that used to be a rice field has, at some point, turned into a meadow where grass and pampas grass grow. The once-familiar sights of plowing and puddling the fields before rice planting are no longer seen. This may be due to the aging population of farmers and the lack of successors. The seasonal atmosphere is gradually fading, but just recently, the cherry blossoms along the nearby river bloomed beautifully, and I was able to enjoy them for about a week longer than usual.
Even though last year's harvest wasn't a poor one, the price of rice—Japan's staple food—has more than doubled over the past year. At first, the government explained that prices would stabilize once the new rice entered the market, but the opposite happened. They then released stockpiled rice to increase supply, but prices continued to rise. More recently, the government changed its policy to release stockpiled rice on a monthly basis and to improve accessibility for wholesalers.
However, since the bid prices for the released rice haven't been disclosed, it's still unclear whether distribution will go smoothly. As a result, there's no solid reason to expect a price drop, and it feels as though we’re simply being told to “wait patiently until prices go down.” Whether this approach will prove effective or turn out to be just an empty gesture remains to be seen.
