Tag Archives: Editorial

  The ruling Liberal Democratic Party won a sweeping victory in the Upper House election on Sunday, July 21. But Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should take to heart that this does not indicate voters’ acceptance of his administration’s inclination toward neoliberalism. Rather, for rural communities, the future looks increasingly uncertain and gaps between rural and urban areas are growing. Abe cannot just sit back and enjoy the victory. In implementing agricultural policies in particular, he should listen humbly to the concerns of farmers and rural communities. Although the election put an end to the divided Diet in terms of the number of seats, the division between politics and public opinion … Continue reading →

  With only a few days left before the Upper House election, the focus remains on whether the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner New Komeito, which already control the more powerful Lower House, can finally put an end to the divided Diet by winning a majority in the Upper House. Much less attention is paid on the actual policy debates, and almost no discussion has been made on strategies concerning the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, which is one of the top priority policies. Farmers have virtually no clue who they should trust and to whom they should cast their votes. Candidates should discuss in their own words their … Continue reading →

  A group of anti-TPP professors came up with their own estimates on the economic impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks. They estimated how tariff eliminations under the TPP pact will affect agricultural production and income in each prefecture. They also analyzed in detail the possible effects on rice farmers and related industries. Their estimates revealed that major agricultural producing prefectures will suffer severe damage, and that even large-scale rice farmers will be in the red. With the Upper House election coming up, the issues concerning the TPP talks should be discussed more from the viewpoint of farming business and local economies. The economic effects of the TPP pact … Continue reading →

  Campaigning by leaders of political parties are heating up as the Upper House election nears, but their debate over agricultural policies has not deepened. Who should we choose to entrust the future of agriculture, rural communities and safety and security of food? Political parties and candidates should discuss concrete policies from the viewpoint of farmers so that they will be easier to understand. Needless to say, the biggest point of issue is the policies concerning the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade negotiations. The People’s Life Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Green Wind party clearly expressed opposition to the TPP scheme in their campaign pledges, and the Japanese Communist Party … Continue reading →