When one of the delegates asked the deputy director of agricultural policy in the international economic affairs division Japan, whether the heavy subsidies given to the farmers stopped them from driving productivity and profitability – the differences in agri-culture became strikingly apparent.
We were told rice paddy field had multiple functions, one of the primary ones being: “They give a good feeling of rest and relaxation for the people.”
The Japanese don’t do business or agriculture like us. It was argued the question could have been slightly misunderstood, or the more cynical among the group wondered if the language barrier was used to evade difficult questions.
For rice to have a role of cultural and spiritual significance, and for the government to pay for this seemed a bit far-fetched for many in the New Zealand rural community.
Two days later, the group was given a tour to the paddy fields of Minnami-no-sato Urban and Rural Community Exchange Centre and a historic rice paddy field Oyama Senmaida, classified as one of the most beautiful in Japan.
Standing on the top of the spectacular Oyama terraced paddy field, which has records going back 660 years and small time worn graveyards scattered on the outside.
We were informed of the difficulty of growing rice in Japan.
One of the major difficulties is the aging population in Japan and the inability to entice the ever shrinking young population out of the progressive cities and back to the small towns to work the land.
It is predicted by 2030, 31.8 per cent of the population will be aged over 65 and only 9.7 per cent of the population will be between 0-14 years.
One of the main factors of this is that there is a woman shortage in Japan, and due to limited childcare and culture, women find it hard to have a child and work. They are choosing careers over love.
One statistic the group was given was that 36 per cent of Japanese men would never marry. The lack of women here is a desert in comparison to New Zealand’s supposed man drought.
It is nearly impossible to become a Japanese citizen if you are not Japanese (even third generation Koreans can’t get citizenship) and only Japanese people can buy land. Farm land is nearly impossible to sell because of successionship. Due to this entrapment, people are walking off the paddy fields and leaving them to waste away.
The situation is dire. The differences between the technology in Tokyo (where you can scan a barcode with your cellphone and find out where your produce is from) and Auckland is reversed in the Japanese countryside, where hunched over 60-year-olds hand prune the rice fields.
A Fair Trade Agreement with New Zealand would make it hard for the government not to follow suit with Australia, America, and with China, where cheap labour and abundant rice supplies would further cripple the 360 per cent subsidised rice growers.
It was disturbing. After the hustle and bustle and claustrophobia of Tokyo city, the green beauty and antiquity of the fields were calming and uplifting.
The view from the terrace and the history of the land is something I will never forget.
I, personally, would be incredibly sad if the fields no longer existed because rice is not profitable and young people continue to choose to play video games in box-sized apartments in the cities.
* Rachael's next blog will be on farming in Hokkaido, the Japanese agricultural centre.
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