I know it’s basically trite to say on this forum, but I feel like “oversupply” of food being a problem should immediately read to anyone aware of it as one of the most searing indictments possible for the existing system. Something something Steinbeck quote.
Easy solution, South Korean Gov buys up excess rice, gives it for free (or for Japanese Yen) to Japan. Ignore the markets. Unfortunately, WTO and others call such actions “market distortions”.
the biggest wall thats blocking it is japanese rice making unions. so its a fine line to run if one is on the pro union stance, and wants to ignore the market.
aren’t Japanese farmers heavily subsidized already and protected by tariffs?
Union or cooperative?
officially its a cooperative but given the businesses are ran by like i think 70 year old farmers themselves, japan has a hill to climb to fix the issue on multiple fronts.
the country itself wants to protect its rice industry, doesnt incentivize starting up a new rice farm (one of the hurdles, as well as the fact that young people dont really want to become farmers) and the populaces preference to japanese specific grain of rice. Japan actovely imports the strain from the US, China and Australia.
the industry output basically hasnt recovered fast enough from the sharp decrease of demand during covid, to the sharp increase of demand after traveling restrictions went back to normal. Ultimately the solution is going to end up allowing more international japanese grain to come in, but the government is resistant, and now has been a major talking point of the further nationalist groups in japans election cycle.
If only there were a way to plan economies
this sounds like a job for free market man
Kim now sets aside half his farmland for beans. His income has almost doubled, propelled by the incentives.
Folks, they’re calling it the most efficient system we’ve ever seen!
The Japanese used to steal our rice, now who’s laughing
Japanese people also just refuse to eat non-Japanese rice as an “inferior” product.
Have they never tried jasmine rice? It arguably better and I say that as someone who likes Japanese rice
It’s just different tbh. Short grain Japanese style rice is great with certain meals. Using jasmine rice to make like sushi, for example, would be very weird. Jasmine rice has a different texture/feel than short grain Japanese/Korean rice.
