April Fools’ Prank Goes Wrong as Japan Frets Over Rice Shortage
This article is for subscribers only.
Rice prices in Japan are no laughing matter, as food vendor Hokka Hokka Tei found on Tuesday when an April Fools’ prank went awry.
On April 1, the company announced via its official X.com account that, due to soaring prices, it would no longer be able to serve rice with its popular bento meal sets. Despite the post being tagged with #AprilFool in Japanese, customers were outraged and complaints flooded in.