Price of rice in Japan falls below ¥4k per 5kg

I can buy rice at Costco in the US for $25 for 50lbs, which is equivalent to 854 yen for 5KG. A bit less than 1/4 the cost of Japanese grown rice.

Cheapest rice I can easily get here in the UK, equivalent to ~1600JPY/5kg: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/314300009

Cheapest rice I am actually willing to eat, ~3000JPY/5kg: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/293247162

Shortgrain rice, such as Japanese rice, tends to be even more expensive than that.

That said, no idea where whatever it is the article is quoting the price of falls on that scale.