Data from the agriculture ministry show rice prices are up again for the week through May 11, reversing a slight decline the week before.



The figures come from about 1,000 supermarkets nationwide.



The average price of a 5-kilogram bag of rice stood at 4,268 yen, or about $29.50. That is up 54 yen, or 40 cents, from the week before. The current price is around double what it was a year ago.



Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Eto Taku tried to explain comments he made over the weekend that he had never purchased rice himself. Eto was speaking at an event on Sunday held by the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party.



He said: "I have never bought rice myself. Frankly, my supporters give me quite a lot of rice. I have so much rice in my pantry at home that I could sell it."



On Monday, Eto told reporters he actually does buy rice on a regular basis. At a Diet committee meeting later on, he said his statement had been "inappropriate," and he wanted to retract it.



Eto said: "I made a comment that was different from the actual situation. I deeply regret causing such confusion."



Eto went on to say he had lacked consideration for consumers struggling with high prices. He also said he wanted to encourage people to buy brown rice instead of white rice to make distribution easier.