Japan's Ishiba seeks probe on high prices at 1st rice meeting
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called for a probe to identify the reasons for soaring rice prices and examine the government's response at the first ministerial meeting on stable rice supply on Thursday.
Urging agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi to launch the probe, Ishiba requested that his government also consider short-term and medium- to long-term measures to tackle the rising prices.
A key issue in future discussions at the ministerial council will be how to optimise rice distribution. Another point is whether members will decide on radical reform to agricultural policies, including a change to the rice production adjustments still in place even after the government scrapped its policy on rice paddy acreage cuts, or "gentan."
Speaking to reporters after Thursday's meeting, Koizumi said, "We'll be able to come up with medium- to long-term policies through the investigation."
He said establishing a safety net so that farmers' businesses are not threatened by rice price fluctuations and creating a way to improve the transparency of rice distribution will be on the agenda of future meetings.
As reasons why rice prices skyrocketed, Koizumi cited an increase in cases in which rice was distributed through new sales channels, not the conventional route where the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations, or Zen-Noh, supplies rice to wholesalers before the staple food reaches retailers.
This has led to an increase in transaction prices among rice-related businesses, boosting retail prices as a result, according to Koizumi.
"It's necessary to comprehensively review all distribution systems used up until now, he added.
Ishiba, who had called for a review of the rice production adjustments when he was agriculture minister under then Prime Minister Taro Aso, said Monday that the current rice policy has been stretched "beyond the limit."
"We need to reach the best conclusion as soon as possible so that producers and consumers will no longer have to worry, while examining the agricultural affairs administration," he also told the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament.
The government plans to review its rice paddy policy from fiscal 2027, based on a basic plan on agricultural policies covering the next five years.
The rice ministerial council is expected to wrap up its discussions by around summer next year.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
