Japan's agriculture minister says some details on bidding on government rice reserves will be released on Friday.

Eto Taku says the amount to be sold and the identity of registered bidders will be disclosed then.

The Japanese government said last week it planned to sell stockpiled rice as soon as possible to ease distribution disruptions amid soaring prices.

Eto said: "Prices should be decided by the market under the free economy, and rice is no exception. But recent rice prices are having a huge impact on people's daily lives."

The expected auction would result in the first such sale of stockpiled rice for the purpose of smoothing out distribution.

Eto said the rice crop fully meets demand but distributors are having difficulty buying enough as prices climb.