The economic growth strategy endorsed by the Cabinet on Friday included bold agricultural plans to boost crop exports and raise income among farmers, but fell short of allaying their worries about joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks.
Under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "third arrow" to lift the economy out of long-standing deflation and kick-start growth, his government pledged to double crop exports to ¥1 trillion and agricultural earnings to ¥6 trillion by 2020.
At the same time, however, the government promised to promote trade liberalization and raise the ratio of trade conducted via free trade agreements in value terms to 70 percent from the current 19 percent by 2018.