Government must put a stop to falling rice price: JCP Kami

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Government must put a stop to falling rice price: JCP Kami

Japanese Communist Party representative Kami Tomoko at an Upper House agriculture committee meeting on September 7 demanded that the government purchase the surplus rice immediately as a means to put a stop to the declining price of rice.

Rice growers need an average of 16,500 yen to produce 60 kilograms of rice. However, JCP Kami pointed out that their actual earnings are only 10,000 yen per 60 kilos due to the severe market situation affecting the price of this year's newly-harvested rice.

"With such an unbalanced system, farmers cannot continue to farm. Farmers' cooperatives also want the government to urgently conduct an appropriate supply-demand adjustment," Kami conveying farmers' concerns stated, "We lawmakers should immediately do something to address this problem."

Agricultural Minister Yamada Masahiko admitted to the fact that the rice price has been in decline for several years, but showed no intention to introduce any solution to the problem other than the present plan to offer farmers some income compensation.

On the previous day, Kami had received a petition from representatives of the Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives (JA-Zenchu) asking Kami to increase JCP efforts to urge the government to do something about the sharp drop in the price of rice.

- Akahata, September 8, 2010