> As mentioned, I've done taste tests across various options and I can definitely tell the difference, which is why I pay more.

Can you tell the difference between Japanese brands or only between Japanese and non Japanese origin rice?

Is rice a significant percentage of food cost in Japan? Coming from a culture that uses less rice, the cost of price verses the cost of protein makes it just about a rounding error when cooking.

Now butter on the other hand has just about become a luxury good in New Zealand when it was once cheap, plentiful and extremely high quality.