Today's Rice and Coffee Articles (23/9/2026)
As Japan swelters, farmers turn to new heat-resistant rice varieties to boost staple crop
The 63-year-old is preparing to harvest this year’s crop of hinatamaru, a variety of rice whose plump grains have thrived despite exposure to another hot and dry summer, conditions that typically punish rice yields.
The long process of developing heat-tolerant strains involves cross-breeding existing varieties, cultivation in controlled environments and, finally, real-world trials.
Those conditions create havoc with crops of Japan’s staple cereal, producing chalky, anaemic grains that are susceptible to cracking when polished for commercial sale.
“While farmers are showing incredible ingenuity to adapt, single operations cannot outrun systemic climate disruption. When the people who feed us run out of options, national food security becomes everyone’s crisis.”
Record-breaking heat in 2023 was partly to blame for the “Reiwa rice crisis” the following year, when the government was forced to take the unprecedented step of releasing emergency stockpiles to ease severe shortages and price hikes.
Farmers in Saga raised the alarm a decade ago, when low yields of poor quality rice sent prices plummeting.
The solution came in the form of hinatamaru – the product of 12 years of research that is now spreading quickly after successful trials in 2024 – propelling Saga prefecture to the forefront of agriculture’s rearguard action against climate change.
The climate emergency is also changing the way Japan’s farmers work. Fruit and vegetable farmers in some regions have taken to inspecting their crops at night, to avoid higher temperatures, while others are switching to heat-loving crops such as avocado, bitter melon and okra.
The great iced coffee debate: is it wrong to take a beverage into a job interview
Back to Caitlin’s TikTok, she says bringing a coffee to an interview makes it look like “a stop on your list of errands for the day. It looks like you went to Target, then you went to Starbucks, now you’re stopping by your interview, then you’re onto the next thing.”
And some examples from the other (possibly younger) side? “But an interview IS just a stop on my day. It’s not my whole day.” (13k likes) And: “Do you guys need employees or not.” (19.7k likes).