Rice stockpile eyed as Japan PM orders swift relief from rising prices

FILE - Shigeru Ishiba, Japan's prime minister, speaks during a news conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, on Nov. 11, 2024.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has ordered the swift implementation of measures to give consumers relief from inflated food prices, including an unprecedented release of stockpiled rice to bring down costs, a minister said on Tuesday.