April 23, 2025

Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Yamazoe Taku at a meeting of the Upper House Committee on Foreign Affairs on April 22 criticized the government for reportedly considering proposing the expansion of U.S. rice imports in bilateral negotiations over U.S. tariff measures on Japan, saying that that would be “outrageous.”

According to news reports, the government is considering increasing imports of tariff-free rice, the so-called “minimum access” rice, about half of which comes from the United States.

Yamazoe asked if the Cabinet discussed an increase in the quota of MA rice. Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi replied, “There was no discussion about that, but we will make a decision after obtaining the opinion of the Ministry of Agriculture.”

The JCP Dietmember pointed out that the government has forced Japanese farmers to reduce their rice acreage while continuing to import MA rice, and that as a result, the number of farmers has decreased and Japan is now facing a rice shortage.

He said, “The government must not impose further hardship on farmers,” and demanded that the proposal to increase imports of U.S. rice be withdrawn.