Japan's Rice Problem

Masayuki Ogawa

• Publisher: CAB International
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781800627093
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Agronomy
• Index: Technology & Engineering

In recent years there has been much debate in Japan over rice, which is considered the "staple food" of the Japanese people. Certain agricultural policies and traditional attitudes, the aging of farming communities and the lack of successors have become major problems, leading to the overproduction of rice and falling prices. Agricultural policy has been forced to respond to these problems. This book summarizes the changing relationship between the Japanese people and rice over the past half century, pointing out four turning points. The book then discusses in detail the "rice paddy glut" as the most recent rice problem in Japan. The book also points out that a "fifth tipping point " will come in the near future, when there will be an excess of farmland, and suggests ways to deal with this problem. Similar problems could be on the horizon in the future for developing countries that have invested heavily in increasing rice production.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface for the English version of Japan’s Rice Problem
• Introduction
• 1 Separating the Rice Issue and the Rice Paddy Issue for Better Understanding
• 2 Self-Sufficiency in Rice Attained: The First Turning Point in 1967
• 3 From Rice Surplus to Paddy Surplus: The Second Turning Point in 1978
• 4 Internationalization of the Rice Problem: The Third Turning Point in 1993
• 5 Emergence of the Concept of Full Utilization of Rice Paddies: The Fourth Turning Point in 2008
• 6 At the Root of Today’s Rice Problem
• 7 The Arrival of an Age of Farmland Surplus: The Fifth Turning Point in 2052
• Epilogue
• Bibliography
• Index
• Backmatter
• Back Cover