Tocopherols are micronutrients with antioxidant properties. They are synthesized by photosynthetic bacteria and plants, and play important roles in animal and human nutrition. In this study, we isolated a new rice mutant line with elevated tocopherol content (MRXII) from an in vitro mutagenized population induced by gamma irradiation. The mutant exhibited greater seed longevity than the control, indicating a crucial role for tocopherols in maintaining viability during quiescence, and displayed faster seedling growth during the early growth stage. To study the molecular mechanism underlying vitamin E biosynthesis, we examined the expression patterns of seven rice genes encoding vitamin E biosynthetic enzymes. Accumulation levels of the OsVTE2 transcript and OsVTE2 protein in the MRXII mutant were significantly higher than in the control. Sequence analysis revealed that the MRXII mutant harbored a point mutation in the OsVTE2 promoter region, which resulted in the generation of MYB transcription factor-binding cis-element. These results help identify the promoter regions that regulate OsVTE2 transcription, and offer insights into the regulation of tocopherol content.