An aerial view of farmers working on rice terraces during harvest in Kamimomi village, Okayama prefecture, Japan on Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
An aerial view of rice terraces in Kamimomi village, Okayama prefecture, Japan on Sept. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
A farmer operates harvester machine on a rice terrace during harvest in Kamimomi village, Okayama prefecture, Japan on Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
Rice are hanged to dry in Kamimomi village, Okayama prefecture, Japan on Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
A manager at Saitama's Agricultural Technology Research Centre shows grains of new variety of rice "Emihokoro" in Kumagaya, Japan on Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
Farmer Joji Terasaka inspects rice in Kamimomi village, Okayama prefecture, Japan on Sept. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
A manager at Saitama's Agricultural Technology Research Center pulls out a draw full of bottles of seeds of new rice varieties developed at various centers in Kumagaya, Japan on Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
A manager at Saitama's Agricultural Technology Research Centre holds seeds of "Sai no Kizuna," heat-resistant rice variety developed at the center in Kumagaya, Japan on Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
A farmer operates harvester machine on a rice terrace during harvest in Kamimomi village, Okayama prefecture, Japan on Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
A laptop screen displays comparison photos of rice kernels from different rice varieties at Saitama's Agricultural Technology Research Centre in Kumagaya, Japan on Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
An aerial view of rice terraces in Kitasho village, Okayama prefecture, Japan on Saturday Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
Rice are ready for harvest in Kamimomi village, Okayama prefecture, Japan on Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
Naoto Ohoka, who manages rice breeding at Saitama's Agricultural Technology Research Center, opens a fridge that stores seeds of new rice varieties in Kumagaya, Japan on Thursday Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
An aerial view of rice terraces in Kamimomi village in Okayama prefecture, Japan on Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
Farmers and volunteers hang rice on a rack in a traditional drying method harvest in Kamimomi village, Okayama prefecture, Japan on Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
This photo shows an abandoned paddy field with dried up soil in Kamimomi village, Okayama prefecture, Japan on Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)
Naoto Ohoka, who manages rice breeding at Saitama's Agricultural Technology Research Centre, shows seedlings used to breed new varieties in Kumagaya, Japan on Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ayaka McGill)