Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sees participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a way to bolster Japan-U.S. relations but the requirement to scrap tariffs across the board alarms farmers, who want assurances of a safety net to make up for, according to the latest government estimates, a loss in production value of ¥3.2 trillion.
Among the hardest hit will be rice farmers. According to the same government report, the value of rice production will be cut by ¥1.1 trillion, or more than 40 percent of the current output, if the 778 percent tariff is dropped. Wheat production value will be cut by more than 96 percent, if its 252 percent tariff is scrapped.
"The loss for the farming sector will be much more devastating," said Koji Futada, president of the National Chamber of Agriculture. "It will destroy the community around it," said Futada, who argues that farming is vital not only for the harvests but also for maintaining the ecosystem.