BBCCNN reported last night (on May 22nd) that when Japanese Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Taku Eto said he has never needed to buy rice because his supporters "have given him a lot," he thought it would provoke laughter — but instead it caused public outrage, ultimately forcing him to resign. Japan is currently facing its first cost-of-living crisis in decades, and the supply of white rice, the staple food most cherished by locals, has been impacted.
[Witty] Comment: Apart from the reduced rice production due to weather conditions in Japan, the "rice crisis" in Japan mainly stems from excessive protection of agricultural products. If Japan could import rice from abroad, the problem would have been resolved long ago, but the agricultural cooperatives have been obstructing it. Japan's tariff policy on rice imports is relatively complex, mainly divided into two situations: within quota: Japan allows approximately 770,000 tons of rice to be imported tax-free annually through government channels. outside quota: For rice exceeding the above quota, Japan used to impose a tariff rate of 778%, but with changes in international market rice prices, this tariff rate has now been adjusted to 280%, which remains an extremely high tariff.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1832867093489667/
Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's personal views.