The rice that the Japanese like the most is called ‘Sticky’. This means that the grains of rice stick to one another.
My idea was that the Japanese like it so much that sticky rice can be easily eaten with a stick. I did not like to eat this rice at all. Interestingly, the price of this special rice rice produced by Japanese farmers is the highest in the Japanese market.
After buying different types of rice from the market a few times, I realized that if the Japanese had imported this rice from a neighboring country without producing it themselves, the price would have been much lower.
“Well, Professor, why don’t you import this rice from abroad? If you had imported it, the price would have been much lower!”
Kamijima: “I might have read that …”
I: “Then?”
Kamijima: “The government deliberately buys this rice from farmers at a much higher price than the cost of production.”
“Why?”
“To keep farmers alive.”
“You mean?”
“If farmers don’t get good prices, will they do farming again? They won’t change jobs!”
“So the government will buy rice from farmers at such a high price?”
“Listen, we haven’t really forgotten about World War II. Japan is an island nation. What would happen if such a war ever happened again and the enemies surrounded us!”
“I don’t understand!”
“Can any food from outside come to Japan? Shall we eat this Toyota car then? If the farmer doesn’t survive then we will survive ?!”
I was stunned for a long time listening to Kamizima. I thought, aren’t we trying our best to kill the farmers of our country year after year without giving a fair price for the produce!
Note that the Japanese government destroyed their stocks of rice at the end of the year. To buy rice again. To keep farmers alive …
Rush Naf 