Tokyo (Jiji Press) — The historic surge in rice prices in Japan has led retailers to ... of lower-priced foreign rice. In March, convenience store chain Lawson Inc. started selling the ...

Seven-Eleven Japan has also developed a range of food products to stock its outlets. It became the first convenience store that sold rice balls in 1978, a hit product. Until then, rice balls were ...

Onigiri are selling well at convenience stores, too. Japan’s biggest convenience store chain, 7-Eleven, sells 2.1 billion rice balls annually. “Specialty onigiri outlets began to grow in ...

Prepared meals from convenience stores are popular lunch items in Japan. Every day, office workers line up during their breaks to buy bento boxes, rice balls, and sandwiches. By the early ...