Ichida calls for FTA negotiations to be cancelled

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Ichida calls for FTA negotiations to be cancelled

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi at the February 3 House of Councilors plenary session urged Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio to discontinue negotiations with the U.S. and Australia for a conclusion of a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA).

“Both U.S. and Australian government officials have repeatedly stated that there can be no free trade agreement that excludes agricultural products,” said Ichida, pointing out that the government cannot defend what left of Japanese agriculture while promoting FTA negotiations.

The prime minister stated in response, “A conclusion of an FTA with the U.S. and Australia should be promoted based on the premise of liberalizing trade and investment.”

Ichida urged, “The never-ending liberalization of agricultural products, one of the causes that devastated Japan’s agriculture, should be critically assessed. Tariffs should be maintained and strengthened.” He called on the government to fundamentally review the WTO Agricultural Agreement and make an effort to establish trade rules that respect the right to food sovereignty of each nation.

Under the former Liberal Democratic and Komei government, the budget for agriculture, forestry, and fisheries had been cut by one trillion yen in the last 10 years. Its share in the total national budget has dropped almost every year and reached a low of 4.9 percent last year. Ichida criticized the Hatoyama Cabinet for further dropping the rate to 4.6 percent.

“The government should promote agriculture as one of the nation’s key industries and drastically increase the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries-related budgets,” Ichida demanded. He urged the government to purchase rice with the price set based on production costs as well as take measures to stabilize the price of livestock products, vegetables and fruits.

- Akahata, February 4, 2010