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> Without protectionist regulation Japanese farming isn't competitive.

Without protectionist regulation and subsidies European and American farming isn't competitive either.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6256274

Fair enough. I just meant to say that the point of the regulation isn't necessarily just the quality of the produce.

It may have little to do with policy-making and is surely anecdotal, but Japanese produce is far better and cheaper than what I used to get in America. (And the same is true of meat and baked goods.) The difference is plainly obvious. The idea that anything other than junk food would be worthy of importing from elsewhere is almost laughable to me. On the other hand, I don't buy corn or potatoes too often here.

As for better: some of it is and some of it isn't. Lettuce is definitely not better. As for price... not so much. Fruits are much more expensive in Japan.

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