Japan rice farmers slam ‘misguided’ rules

Government policies blamed for shortage

- RIVER AKIRA DAVIS HISAKO UENO

TOKYO: In the United States, the affordability of eggs has prompted a national discussion-underscoring anxieties about the economy and the government's role in addressing them. In Japan, there's an equivalent: rice.

Over the past year, Japan has grappled with a more than 30-year-long shortage of its staple grain. Rice prices have skyrocketed, and supermarkets have been forced to restrict amounts that shoppers can buy. The situation became so dire that the government had to tap emergency rice reserves.

The twist is that even as Japan deals with shortages, the government is paying farmers to limit how much they grow. The policy, in place for more than half a century, consumes billions of dollars a year in public spending.

Farmers exasperated with the government regulations protested Sunday under cherry blossoms in a park in central Tokyo, more than 600 farmers, wearing straw hats and sun caps, gathered with signs declaring “Rice is life” and “We make rice but can’t make a living.” Thirty of them drove tractors through the skyscraper-lined streets of the capital city.

The ability of Japan to manage its rice problem may have significant implications for the country’s political and economic landscape in the months ahead. Last month, fresh food inflation surged 1.9%. Driven by a 81% rise in the price of rice. Anxieties over the cost of food and other staples have weighed on Japanese consumers, and the economy, as households slash back on spending.