Eye on the prize: bags of rice, daily essentials up for grabs at Japanese arcade

The arcade’s manager says the goal is for residents in Kawagoe to have some fun even with the soaring rice prices

An amusement centre in Japan is drawing crowds by offering bags of rice as claw machine prizes – a quirky marketing move that has struck a chord with consumers grappling with rising food costs.

Since late May, the arcade in Kawagoe city, Saitama prefecture, has stocked its machines with 900-gram bags of rice to entice players with a shot at winning an increasingly expensive daily staple.

The rice bags are the latest additions to the prizes customers can win at the machines. Over the past six months, the arcade has stocked its claw machines with daily essentials, offering a range of items from fresh produce like melons and strawberries to household staples such as bread and toilet paper.

The rice initiative was a hit with residents. The initial batch of 90 packs sold out within days and prompted the store to reorder from the supplier.

Hiroshi Fukasawa, the 43-year-old store manager, told The Mainichi newspaper that the goal was for locals to have some fun even with the skyrocketing price of rice.

“By making daily necessities into prizes, I hope people will think, ‘Maybe I can get these for less than buying them,’ and come play casually,” he said.

For 40-year-old Yotaro Sakamoto, who won a bag of rice with his family on the third attempt, the prize felt especially lucky – a small but welcome victory amid soaring rice prices.

“Lately, rice has been so expensive that there have been times I could not buy any. Now I can enjoy Koshihikari rice, if only a little,” he said.

Each person is limited to winning one bag of rice.

The average price of rice at Japanese supermarkets has risen steadily in recent months – hitting a record 4,285 yen (US$30) per 5kg (11lbs) in mid-May, roughly double last year’s level.

A multitude of factors has fuelled the persistent price surge that began last summer, including long-standing agricultural policies, record inbound tourism, crop damage and heightened hoarding.

Severe rice shortages are also driving food banks towards closure, jeopardising support for the most needy in society.

Food bank operators are seeing rice inventories dwindle at an alarming speed, even with the government’s release of emergency reserves.

In late March, Tokyo-based incorporated association Asile found that one of its refrigerators contained only about 100kg of rice, despite a capacity of storing up to four tons.

Previously, the association had distributed about 1 ton of rice each month to restaurant operators providing meals to children from low-income families and those supporting homeless people and refugees.

However, by late March, the food bank was compelled to suspend operations – an unprecedented crisis in its 25-year history – as its rice stocks had been depleted. The recent price surge had also affected the amount of rice donations.

“If this continues, we would be robbed of opportunities to connect needy people with society,” Mitsuo Nakamura, a member of Asile, told the Asahi newspaper.

Second Harvest Japan, another major food bank in the country, received only 8.5 tons of rice from the agriculture ministry, far short of the expected 50 tons.

According to Hiroaki Yoneyama, 41, who heads the National Association for the Promotion of Food Bank, the rice shortages have seriously strained food banks nationwide, with some forced to reduce the amount and frequency with which they send rice to struggling households.

“Groups that received [stockpiled rice] have secured enough for the time being, but others continue to be short of rice,” Yoneyama said.