Rice prices at supermarkets in Japan have almost doubled from a year earlier amid supply uncertainty.
The agriculture ministry says the cost of a 5-kilogram bag jumped 90 percent to 3,892 yen, or 26 dollars, for the week through February 16th.
That's based on the average from approximately 1,000 supermarkets nationwide.
The price is up 1.6-percent from the previous period, and is the seventh consecutive weekly increase.
Prices have been rising since last summer amid a shortage before the fall harvest was brought in.
But the continued increases have defied expectations and baffled officials.
The government has been taking steps to release 210,000 tons of rice from its stockpiles to stabilize distribution.
The ministry says some consumers are responding by buying less.
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