Tag Archives: Series

  Q. How will the party cope with issues related to agricultural reform? A. We have to stop Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration which is going out of control also in terms of agricultural policies. Abe has been ignoring the voices of the people in the agricultural sector and rural communities, and adopting policies which strongly reflect the voices of business circles, such as joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks and revising the rice production adjustment system. Especially concerning the TPP talks, the government is putting top priority on concluding the talks as soon as possible, without disclosing any significant information to the Japanese people. Tariff elimination without exception was … Continue reading →

  Q. How do you evaluate the government’s shift in agricultural policies? A. Since they are too drastic, some farmers are expressing worries about their future. Reform is necessary, but it should be a step-by-step process in order not to leave farmers at a loss. It should be a “bottom-up” reform which reflects the voices of individual farmers rooted in regional communities. Halving the amount of direct payment to rice growers will have a huge impact especially on farmers specializing in rice farming, and it will hinder their efforts to expand their scale of farming. Subsidies for producers of rice for livestock feed are increased, but measures to boost demand … Continue reading →

  Q. How do you evaluate the government’s agricultural reform? A. Japan has been limiting sales of rice to domestic markets and maintained rice prices by adjusting domestic rice production. Such production control policies should be changed. We agree to the government’s policy of revising its rice production adjustment, but it must be coupled with measures to mitigate its negative effects. The key to reform is whether farmers, agricultural organizations, food product firms and consumers can come to consensus on the policies. Q. Can you elaborate on specifics? A. It is good to encourage production of rice for livestock feed, but there are differences in the demand for feed according … Continue reading →

Q. How do you evaluate the government and the ruling party’s revision of individual-household income compensation scheme as a part of agricultural reform? A. Farmers are increasingly worried. People engaged in agricultural business nowadays have to make large amount of investments, and they set up repayment plans taking into account the government’s support measures. In spite of that, the government has decided to revise the so-called “bedrock policy” under the compensation scheme and halve the payment of JPY15,000 per 10 ares offered to rice farmers. The government plans to strengthen measures to facilitate production and sales of rice for livestock feed instead, but we don’t know whether the measures will … Continue reading →