In Hungry World, Japan’s Farmers Are Stuck With High-Priced Rice

Japan’s rice market is subjected to intense manipulation. Even as rice consumption is on the decline, farms remain small and protected, the country grows more than it needs and prices are high. Shortages of rice and other foods abound in poor countries, but Japanese rice is unaffordable, with prices more than double those in international markets. Per-capita annual consumption of rice has been reduced by half since 1965. “The Japanese still eat six times as much rice as Americans, but considerably less than Filipinos, Indonesians or the Chinese,” explains Blaine Harden for the Washington Post. Japan diversified its diet after World War II. For Japan, rice remains a traditional symbol of plenty, Harden explains, but a protectionist system that has led to ballooning stockpiles and prices also limits the potential for exports at a time of need. – YaleGlobal