JA ZENCHU (Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives), an apex organization of agricultural cooperatives in Japan, convened an urgent meeting with key lawmakers of ruling parties at Minato ward in Tokyo on November 21.
More than 1500 participants, including presidents of agricultural cooperatives (JAs) and representatives of JAs’ prefectural unions and business federations throughout the country, joined the meeting to confirm the importance of reform to be pursued jointly by the Government, ruling parties and JA group.
The participants harshly criticized that a proposal on agricultural reform, made by an agricultural working group of the Council for Promotion of Regulatory Reform, includes some contents that deny cooperatives, organizations of autonomy and independence.
They urged lawmakers of the ruling bloc to properly respond to the proposal on the basis of views and demands of agricultural cooperatives and their member farmers at the grass-roots level.
At an opening session of the urgent gathering, ZENCHU president, Choe Okuno, stated firmly that working group’s proposal must never be accepted as the Government’s policy, and asked the participants to share with him the importance of making every effort to facilitate practical self-reforms in the agricultural cooperative movement.
The urgent meeting held by JA ZENCHU adopted a resolution saying that it is totally impossible for the JA group to accept the proposal of the working group denying the autonomy and independence of the cooperatives.