The government decided on Friday to prohibit the reselling of rice purchased at retail shops to ensure that rice reserves recently released at lower prices will stably reach consumers. Under the ban, which will take effect June 23, those who sell rice at a higher price than they paid at…

The government decided on Friday to prohibit the reselling of rice purchased at retail shops to ensure that rice reserves recently released at lower prices will stably reach consumers.

Under the ban, which will take effect June 23, those who sell rice at a higher price than they paid at supermarkets and online shops will face up to one year in prison, a fine of up to 1 million yen, or both. ……

  • talEnglish
    1·
    16 hours ago

    kagis

    Ah. Sounds like they have pretty protectionist rice policy.

    https://time.com/7283809/japan-us-trade-talks-rice-agriculture-protectionism-reform-trump-tariffs/

    “Rice has always been highly protected and shielded from trade negotiations. Its liberalization is a political taboo for the LDP,” says Waseda University Professor Yuka Fukunaga.

    “Look at Japan, tariffing rice 700%,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a press briefing in March. “President Trump believes in reciprocity, and it is about dang time that we have a President who actually looks out for the interest of American business and workers.”

    That 700% figure, which Japan’s farm minister called “incomprehensible,” is not quite true. In 1995, after facing a rice crisis in 1993 and mounting pressure from the world to open up its rice market, Japan entered into a “minimum access” deal with the World Trade Organization. That means that Japan imports 770,000 metric tons of rice each year without any tariffs, around half of which comes from the U.S. most years. Above that quota, Japan imposes a tariff of ¥341 (about $2.30) per kilogram. (In 2005, Japan’s farm ministry showed that was equivalent to a 778% tariff based on international rice prices between 1999 and 2001, but more recent data suggests the tariff is around 227%, according to a calculation by the Japan Times.)

    Yeah, can probably pull it off the world market if they want, then.