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Domestic food production is a national security concern, especially for a country like Japan which already has abysmal food self-reliance as-is. Not to mention rice is a matter of cultural identity.

Artificially keeping market prices high so rice farmers can make a living is a justifiable thing. There is no free market if the free market is dead.

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It sounds like they should have more import duty on foreign foods if anything in this case.

> Artificially keeping market prices high so rice farmers can make a living is a justifiable thing.

This doesn't make sense to me, if the prices need to be high for farmers to survive, how is it artificial? You're just paying twice, once in tax and once for the product.

>It sounds like they should have more import duty on foreign foods if anything in this case.

Rice imports are also heavily taxed and tightly regulated to maintain high market prices.

>if the prices need to be high for farmers to survive, how is it artificial?

It's artificial because market prices don't actually care if the supplier can survive. The Japanese government cares about the rice farmers' continued existence.

Yup. If all Japanese rice came from, say, Thailand (less expensive and major regional rice producer), Thailand would have them by the balls if it came down to it.

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