Japan Times
Readers in Council
April 8, 2001
Although the Ministry of Agriculture has decided to ask the finance and trade ministers to impose a temporary curb on Chinese imports of mushrooms, leeks, and tatami straw, the ministry and farmers should realize and admit that the reason why there has been a surge in imports is because Japanese consumers are demanding lower-cost food products.
Imposing a temporary stopgap measure will only hurt consumers. It is also difficult to imagine that a curb on imports will enable Japanese farmers in the meantime to cut costs and consequently deliver products to consumers at a comparable price to Chinese imports. Instead of initiating import curbs that will be to no one's benefit, the government should address the long-term issue of increasing the competitiveness of Japanese agriculture by introducing policies that would encourage competition and rationalization.
In the meantime, the Japanese government could call upon Japanese consumers to do the right thing and not buy food and tatami straw from China. Surely the Japanese consumer who supposedly understands the importance of protecting Japanese agriculture will respond positively to this patriotic call.
KO UNOKI
Fujisawa, Kanagawa
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