Calls to Distribute Wagyu Beef Coupons in Japan

The highly prized meat which usually commands as much as $550 per kg is also being sold for 20 to 40 per cent lower than normal prices in leading supermarkets.

While Japan is not on a formal lockdown, fewer people are dining out, particularly in Tokyo, where 80,0000 eating establishments are feeling the coronavirus crisis effects among the hardest. Prices on luxury foods like Murasaki sea urchin, Amadai tilefish are also falling dramatically.

The current wagyu beef problem is also exaggerated following a decision made last summer by Japan's agriculture ministry to double its wagyu beef output over the next 15 years, and before the Tokyo Olympics were postponed.