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According to Shigeru Kondo, a Foreign Ministry aid official, Japan has a surplus of 2.23 million tons of rice, and the aid it is going to provide to African countries represents less than 1 percent of the total surplus. Shigeru Kondo also mentioned that the rice represents a part of a $50M emergency food aid plan that is going to be supported by the Cabinet on May 23, 2008.

It is worth mentioning that the total amount of aid, which includes grains, beans along with other foods besides rice, will be provided to 12 countries, among them there is Afghanistan. The aid package is to be disbursed by several international relief agencies, including the World Food Program.

The decision to disburse the rice warehouses in Japan came after the prices for grains as well as other staples rose to unprecedented heights worldwide, leading to numerous protests in a number of countries.

The prices for rice in Asian countries remained high, despite the fact that in April in the United States the prices have fallen back about 20%.

"Rice prices are skyrocketing, even though prices of wheat and other crops have somewhat subsided. Our aim is to make effective use of our resources for those who are in dire need of food relief," stated Kondo. In April Tokyo announced a $100 million relief plan, and currently it released half of its aid package.

Besides Japan's aid package, the government is also taking into consideration the request of the Philippines to purchase 200,000 tons of imported rice in order to ease the continuously rising global prices.

Citing protocol, the second Foreign Ministry official stated that Tokyo would have to figure out details with Washington, due to the fact that the stocks will mainly come from rice imported from the United States in accordance with the international trade rules. Philippines is currently the biggest importer of rice. The country seeks an agreement with Thailand to provide more rice as Manila improves its inventories, at the same time raising concerns regarding the fact that the country's aggressive buying was the reason for the increase of prices.

"The United States welcomes the news that Japan is considering extraordinary measures to respond to this uniquely critical situation," stated U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer. A meeting has been arranged later this week between Japan and the United States. According to Mr. Schieffer, the goal of the meeting is to "address the impact of high rice prices on the global market".

Having the goal of protecting the rice growers, the Japanese government developed a program to keep the rice in warehouses in order to keep high domestic prices.