Japan Press Weekly

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2011 April 13 - 19 [GREAT EAST JAPAN DISASTER]

LDP executive regards 3.11 Disaster as golden chance to push pro-business policies

Deputy Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party Policy Research Council Nishimura Yasutoshi on April 16 said, “The Great East Japan Disaster has created a golden opportunity to implement policies favorable to large corporations.”

This remark was made at a meeting held by a private organization to discuss self-reliance and revitalization of the agriculture industry in disaster-hit areas.

Nishimura is a member of the LDP’s project team to draw up the party’s reconstruction plan. It is reported that the government and the Democratic Party of Japan intend to incorporate much of the LDP’s reconstruction plan into their own restoration plan.

Regarding the basic direction in reconstruction from the disaster, Nishimura stressed the need to arrange a top-down restoration plan with an eye to the introduction of a “doshu-sei” regional system.

Nishimura said that when talking about post-disaster recovery of the agricultural sector, the government should consider consolidating the farm land of less than two hectares on average possessed by family farmers in disaster-stricken regions with a view to Japan’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade pact.

Referring to the fact that in Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture, a total of 300 hectares of agricultural land was covered with seawater due to the tsunami, Nishimura said, “I suggest that as a model for a large-scale farming industry, family farmers with a combined total of 300 hectares farm land should be integrated into one agricultural corporation.”

In order to restore the fishing industry in the disaster-affected areas, it is necessary to rebuild the fisheries industry by offering incentives to corporations to invest, including foreign-affiliated companies, with a preferential tax system, Nishimura said.

Nishimura’s remarks reflect the same position as the business community which calls on the government to design a top-down reconstruction plan that will benefit large corporations.