Category Archives: Trade Talks

【News】 Cabinet approval rating hits all-time low of 36%, reflecting concerns over agricultural reform (July 14, 2015)

  The approval rating for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet was 36 percent, the lowest since he returned to power in December 2012, according to an opinion poll conducted by The Japan Agricultural News. The disapproval rating was 61 percent, higher than the approval rate by more than 20 percentage points. A total of 75 percent of respondents either strongly or somewhat disapprove the Abe administration’s agricultural policies. Opponents to the security bills which the government is aiming to pass in the current Diet session exceeded 60 percent. The poll was conducted on 1,150 monitors of the newspaper, mainly farmers, between the end of June and early July. 826 responded … Continue reading

Posted in Cooperatives, Food & Agriculture, Trade Talks | Tagged | Comments Off on 【News】 Cabinet approval rating hits all-time low of 36%, reflecting concerns over agricultural reform (July 14, 2015)

【News】 Japan mulling maximum of 70,000 tons quota for U.S. rice (July 10, 2015)

  Japanese negotiators are considering proposing a maximum import quota of 70,000 tons for U.S.-made rice in the bilateral negotiations under the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, it was learned Thursday, July 9. Japan is also planning to set an import quota for Australian rice, possibly amounting to roughly 12 percent of that for U.S. rice, or about 8,400 tons at most, negotiation sources said. The government plans to purchase as reserved rice the same amount of domestically-grown rice as the import quota in an effort to prevent imports from having adverse effect on domestic supply-demand balance of table rice. However, the government’s move is likely to face strong opposition from … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture, Trade Talks | Tagged | Comments Off on 【News】 Japan mulling maximum of 70,000 tons quota for U.S. rice (July 10, 2015)

【Opinion】 Yoshio Yaguchi ; Ensuring democracy in rural villages necessary for sustainable society (July 7, 2015)

  As an agricultural economist, I have thought about how to maintain sustainability of a society. Looking back at the history from this viewpoint, I think there were two major turning points in Japan after the end of World War II. The first one came in the early years of the 1970s, when the Japanese economy suffered stagflation (inflation amid economic stagnation) caused by oil shocks. To cope with the situation, the government introduced market fundamentalism and shifted to allow for freer economic activities, prompting agriculture to go through major reform as well. Being born into a farming family and brought up in a rural village, I have witnessed Japan’s … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture, Trade Talks | Tagged | Comments Off on 【Opinion】 Yoshio Yaguchi ; Ensuring democracy in rural villages necessary for sustainable society (July 7, 2015)

【News】 Japan and Vietnam reach basic agreement on TPP (July 6, 2015)

  Japan and Vietnam have reached basic agreement regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, including maintaining Japan’s tariffs on rice, it was learned Saturday, July 4. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung said after meeting in Tokyo that they agreed to declare the fundamental completion of Vietnam-Japan negotiations on the TPP talks. They said the two sides will spare no effort to deal with some remaining technical issues for an early conclusion of the TPP negotiations in the time ahead. According to negotiation sources, as for the controversial issue of rice, the two nations agreed that Japan will assist Vietnam in spreading cultivation techniques which … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture, Trade Talks | Tagged | Comments Off on 【News】 Japan and Vietnam reach basic agreement on TPP (July 6, 2015)

【Editorial】 Trade Promotion Authority bill passed in Congress – Never let the government rush to follow U.S. in free-trade talks (June 26, 2015)

  The Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade negotiations have reached the critical line. U.S. Senate has approved the Trade Promotion Authority bill, legislation that guarantees President Barack Obama to conclude trade agreements by a timely up-or-down vote by Congress. The bill now awaits Obama’s signature. This means ministers of the TPP member nations are more likely to strike a broad agreement when they meet in July. Through TPA, Congress outlines high-standard objectives and priorities for U.S. negotiators to pursue in trade liberalization agreements, which means U.S.’ negotiating stance is highly likely to become harsher. We should never allow the Japanese government to rush to conclusions without disclosing information or keeping the Diet … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture, Trade Talks | Tagged | Comments Off on 【Editorial】 Trade Promotion Authority bill passed in Congress – Never let the government rush to follow U.S. in free-trade talks (June 26, 2015)