Japan: Japan Announces Relief Package to Alleviate Rising Wheat and Agricultural Input Prices

On September 9, the Government of Japan (GOJ) announced a 3.5 billion yen ($24.3 million) relief package to alleviate rising food and energy costs, funded through the Japanese Fiscal Year (JFY) 2022 reserve fund. The package includes a sales price freeze for imported wheat from October 2022 to March 2023, payments for livestock farmers to alleviate the increased cost of compound feed, support to mitigate rising fertilizers costs, and grants to localities to support local inflation countermeasures. The Japanese Cabinet is expected to approve the 3.5 billion yen package by the end of September.