ID :
164787
Mon, 02/28/2011 - 17:40
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/164787
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Maehara vows direct payment for farm reform to open up Japan
TOKYO, Feb. 28 Kyodo - Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara vowed Monday that Japan will carry out fundamental agricultural reforms modeled after the European system of direct payments to farmers to help strengthen the local farm sector's competitiveness and promote trade liberalization.
Speaking at a forum for institutional investors, the minister said Japan will pursue high-level free trade agreements with its economic partners and at the same time encourage ''a flourishing agricultural sector and prosperous rural districts at home.''
Maehara said both the European Union and South Korea have implemented drastic reforms to brace for the impact that regional market integration and liberalization will have on the farm sector.
He pointed out that the direct payment system in the 27-nation regional bloc has ''succeeded in achieving two goals at once: bringing benefits to the consumer by reducing high tariffs and making producers more competitive.''
Through the system, farmers can better prepare for cheaper agricultural imports flowing into the domestic market due to trade liberalization and causing the prices of domestic farm products to fall.
Japan heavily protects its politically sensitive farm products such as rice, sugar, wheat and dairy products with high tariffs. For example, a 778 percent tariff is imposed on milled rice imports.
The Japanese government is set to work out a basic farm reform policy in June, around the same time as it plans to decide on whether to join negotiations for a U.S.-backed trans-Pacific free trade agreement being negotiated by nine countries in the region.
Maehara also said Japan ''can look to increase both public and private-sector investment in agriculture overseas'' to help secure a reliable and stable supply of food for the country.
''The introduction of safe, dependable and high-quality food production technology would help to increase production'' abroad, he said. ''At the same time, a part of the resulting harvest could be exported to Japan, leading to a win-win situation.''
As an example, Maehara said Japan can export its solar-powered ''vegetable factory'' technology to regions with scarce water resources such as the Middle East and Africa. The plant, which allows for the cultivation of produce such as leaf greens using only artificial lighting, would solve water and food shortages as well as environmental problems, he said.
The minister also said Tokyo will ''actively accept knowledge workers and other highly skilled laborers as well as students from other Asian countries and elsewhere'' to cope with a severe labor shortage anticipated in its rapidly aging society.
Maehara said Japan needs to study accepting more foreign nurses and caregivers under free trade agreements.
More than a thousand Indonesian and Filipino nurses and caregivers have come to Japan since 2008 under bilateral FTAs, but only a few of them have passed the Japanese national qualification examinations to continue working beyond the initially set length of stay.
Speaking at a forum for institutional investors, the minister said Japan will pursue high-level free trade agreements with its economic partners and at the same time encourage ''a flourishing agricultural sector and prosperous rural districts at home.''
Maehara said both the European Union and South Korea have implemented drastic reforms to brace for the impact that regional market integration and liberalization will have on the farm sector.
He pointed out that the direct payment system in the 27-nation regional bloc has ''succeeded in achieving two goals at once: bringing benefits to the consumer by reducing high tariffs and making producers more competitive.''
Through the system, farmers can better prepare for cheaper agricultural imports flowing into the domestic market due to trade liberalization and causing the prices of domestic farm products to fall.
Japan heavily protects its politically sensitive farm products such as rice, sugar, wheat and dairy products with high tariffs. For example, a 778 percent tariff is imposed on milled rice imports.
The Japanese government is set to work out a basic farm reform policy in June, around the same time as it plans to decide on whether to join negotiations for a U.S.-backed trans-Pacific free trade agreement being negotiated by nine countries in the region.
Maehara also said Japan ''can look to increase both public and private-sector investment in agriculture overseas'' to help secure a reliable and stable supply of food for the country.
''The introduction of safe, dependable and high-quality food production technology would help to increase production'' abroad, he said. ''At the same time, a part of the resulting harvest could be exported to Japan, leading to a win-win situation.''
As an example, Maehara said Japan can export its solar-powered ''vegetable factory'' technology to regions with scarce water resources such as the Middle East and Africa. The plant, which allows for the cultivation of produce such as leaf greens using only artificial lighting, would solve water and food shortages as well as environmental problems, he said.
The minister also said Tokyo will ''actively accept knowledge workers and other highly skilled laborers as well as students from other Asian countries and elsewhere'' to cope with a severe labor shortage anticipated in its rapidly aging society.
Maehara said Japan needs to study accepting more foreign nurses and caregivers under free trade agreements.
More than a thousand Indonesian and Filipino nurses and caregivers have come to Japan since 2008 under bilateral FTAs, but only a few of them have passed the Japanese national qualification examinations to continue working beyond the initially set length of stay.
