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J@pan Inc Newsletter<br>
The 'JIN' J@pan Inc Newsletter<br>
A weekly opinion piece on social, economic and political trends<br>
in Japan.<br>
Issue No. 498 Wednesday January 28, 2009, Tokyo<br>
<br>
On Tuesday the government made an important step towards improving the<br>
self-sustainability of the nation when Agriculture, Forestry and<br>
Fisheries Minister Shigeru Ishiba requested the drafting of a new farm<br>
policy. The policy may see an end to the practice of curtailing the<br>
nation's rice production, a long-standing practice that was put in<br>
place to ensure prices remained high.<br>
<br>
>From a purely selfish point-of-view I'm sure all of us would be happy<br>
to see the price of rice drop. While I myself am not too fussy (I tend<br>
to gravitate towards the more generic packaging), for those who are<br>
more discerning, rice always seems like a ridiculously over-priced<br>
necessity.<br>
<br>
At the heart of the policy, of course are votes - the main concern.<br>
The government, ever wary of the power of the rural vote, has<br>
consistently kept the prices high and meanwhile subsidized the<br>
farmers. Also the less land used for farming, the more land used for<br>
other businesses such as manufacturing. Some farmers, however, have<br>
remained critical of the policy and according to reports, the minority<br>
who have defied the policy, have still managed to get their rice to<br>
markets in urban areas.<br>
<br>
But as self-sustainability becomes an increasingly dangerous concern,<br>
it seems the government has finally decided it is time to change the<br>
policy. Japan, the tiny island nation with the giant-sized output<br>
(cars, technology etc) needs to feed the fire. Minerals from places<br>
such as Australia and Brazil keep the manufacturers fed while rice<br>
from countries like Thailand plug the gap in the nation's dietary<br>
needs.<br>
<br>
Forty years ago Japan's self-sufficiency rate was 70 percent. At<br>
present it is only 40 percent. By 2017, the government plans to have<br>
increased the rate to 50 percent. The new farm policy, which, after a<br>
year of discussions, will be handed to the government, will form a big<br>
part of this new drive for reduced reliance on imports.<br>
<br>
Darrell Nelson from the Anaheim University Kisho Kurokawa Green<br>
Institute, covered the issue in the Winter issue of J@pan Inc<br>
magazine. Nelson quoted research by Dr Kouyu Furasawa, a professor of<br>
ecological economics at Kokugakuin University. He said that 700 to<br>
800 million tons of goods, food included, are imported into Japan<br>
annually. Japan accepts about 20 percent of the total amount of goods<br>
that are shipped by sea globally each year. This is considerable when<br>
it is taken into account that the nation only takes up about 0.2<br>
percent of the world's land and around 2 percent of the world's<br>
population.<br>
<br>
Much has been made by companies on their progress in becoming<br>
eco-friendly, but there is a long, long way to go - if the nation's<br>
food self-suffiency seems bad, think about its energy<br>
self-sufficiency. In the 1960s it was about 56 percent, the last<br>
statistics, compiled in 2000, put it at about 4 percent.<br>
<br>
The government's move on Tuesday needs to be recognized as a step in<br>
the right direction. An increase in food self-sufficiency by 10<br>
percent in 10 years seems ambitious, but it is necessary. It will be<br>
another year until we see what concrete initiatives the advisory board<br>
hands down. And the reforms won't be in place until 2010. I'll be<br>
sticking to the imported Thai rice until then, I think.<br>
<br>
Michael Condon<br>
Editor-in-chief<br>
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