The Japanese Government should remove the tariff on rice imports.
日本政府は輸入米の関税を撤廃すべきである。是か、非か。
（第８回埼玉いなほカップ・第８回全国高校生英語ディベート大会論題）(2013)
We, on the affirmative side, strongly believe that Japan should remove the tariff on rice imports.
Advantage1
People will be able to choose any type of rice in the market.
Present Situation
It is believed that rice is a main product in Japanese agriculture, but rice accounts for as little as 19% of all the agricultural products in Japan. The rice consumption has been on the decline. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan’s average per capita rice consumption stood at 58.5 kg in fiscal 2009, less than half the 118.3 kg in fiscal 1962. Now rice farmers account for 70% of all farmers, but the total amount of gross production accounts for 23%. Rice is protected by rates as large as 778%, a acreage reduction policy which prevents a fall in prices and subsidiaries are attached. Under the present situation, the general public are suffering from the wrong use of taxes and the higher prices of rice. Because of the tariff on rice imports for the protection of rice farming in Japan, the general public are losing a good chance to choose whatever rice they want to
eat from abroad.
Link
If the plan is adopted, thetariff will be removed and rice produced in foreign countries will be circulated in Japanese Market.
Impact
Cheap rice of lower price will be imported to Japan, and people will be able to buy any kind of rice they want.
Advantage2
Japanese rice farming will be more independent and productive.
Present Situation
Farmers in Japan have very small paddy fields in size from one to two acres. They are subsidized by the government and have failed to become cost-efficient in production, large-scale agribusiness like in the U.S., New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. The small rice fields a lot of farmers own are a big obstacles for the agribusiness to start large-scale agriculture. It needs large rice fields to make production more cost-efficient. Now the number of farmers in Japan, either full-time or part-time, is 2.5 million. Their economic contributions to Japan ‘s GDP is $5.9 trillion and this is a small portion of GDP of Japan. Another point is rice farmers account for 70% of all the farmers in Japan, but the amount of production they yield is 22% of all the production. And also the government increased subsidies to reduce food rice sowing to balance supply with declining consumption, which means farmers’ life are supported well enough without the efforts to increase the productivity. These facts show that Japan’s rice farming is failing in reality, and still the government is spending a huge amount of money on rice cultivation. There is strong need for change to go in the direction of large-scale agribusiness. And the government needs to help the agribusiness to become more productive.
Link
If the plan is adopted, agribusiness will be more competitive and cost-effective. Rice farmers will need to raise productivity to the extent that they can compete with foreign agribusiness.
Impact
Japanese agribusiness will contribute to Japan’s GDP more. And the Japanese first industry will be more competitive.
The Japanese government should remove the tariff on rice imports.
We of Ko-Eiken negative side strongly believe that the Japanese government should not remove the tariff on rice import.
What will happen after adopting their plan? We have two disadvantages!!
Disadvantage 1 Japanese rice farmers will be damaged.
Present Situation Now the Japanese government imposes a 778% tariff on imported rice. Since rice farming is the most important agricultural industries, the government impose tariff to protect Japanese rice industry. Compared to foreign rice, Japanese rice is more expensive for its high quality and popularity. According to the data from USDA, “World Market and Trade”, the price of 10-kg rice produced in Thailand is \431, in Vietnam, \386, in California, \690. However, the tariff prevents such foreign rice from inflowing into Japan to protect Japanese rice farmers.
Effect After adopting their plan, what will happen? A large amount of rice will inflow into Japan. Since Japanese rice is more expensive than foreign rice, consumers will prefer cheaper options. Furthermore, according to Nihon-Keizai Shimbun(日本経済新聞), Matsuya Foods company started using Australian rice in February 2012, and Seiyu supermarkets also began using Chinese rice in March the same year, because of the lack of rice and the rise in rice price. This shows that the food service industry will choose cheaper option rather than expensive one. If that happens, Japanese rice will not sell well, and it will lead to a significant decrease of demand for domestic rice, and the farmers will be damaged.
Importance If the consumers and the food service industry stop buying Japanese rice, what will happen? Japanese rice farmers will suffer financially and many of them will give up being rice farmers. If that happens, the access to domestic rice will be even harder, and its price will be even higher. Also, Japan’s self-sufficiency rate is very low and we depend heavily on imports from other countries. If the self-sufficiency of rice also declines, Japan will have to depend more on imports. Removing the tariff on rice does not only mean the destruction of the farmers’ life, but also bring about the corruption of whole Japanese society. This is very serious.
Disadvantage 2: The access to safe rice will be limited.
Present Situation Now Japan imposes tariff on imported products including rice. The tariff prevents foreign cheap rice from inflowing into Japan. Also the Japanese government guarantees the safety of domestic rice by the standards set by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Also the ministry monitors the agricultural chemicals used in the crops. However, in some countries, the safety-monitoring is not conducted properly and there are some cases that contaminated rice was on the market. According to Nikkei Business Online, it was reported that cadmium-contaminated rice was distributed on the market in 2011, and the further research clarified that 10% of the rice produced in China was contaminated with cadmium.
Effect After adopting their plan, what will happen? Japan will remove the tariff on rice import, and it will make it easier for other countries to inflow their rice into Japan. Then, the possibility of letting the unsafe rice inflow into Japan will be higher. Even though the imported rice will be monitored at customs duty, there have been some cases that the imported products were contaminated with chemicals after passing through the monitoring. In 2007, for example, Japanese people who ate the imported Chinese dumplings complained of nausea. If Japan relaxes its policy, it is impossible to deny the possibility that the dangerous rice will come into Japan.
Importance If contaminated rice inflow into Japan, what will happen? Needless to say, the life of Japanese people will be threatened. Since foreign rice is very cheap, consumers and food service industry will choose them rather than expensive domestic ones. Then, eventually foreign rice will be dominant in Japan, and domestic rice will be gone from the market, consequently many rice farmers will quit rice farming, and Japanese rice will disappear. If that happens, there’s nothing Japan can do but to completely depend on imported rice. Then, we cannot help importing any rice from any country even if it’s contaminated with chemical or in bad condition, since the self-sufficiency rate will get even worse. Thus, Japan cannot refuse to accept it anymore because depending on imported rice is the only way to provide its citizens with rice. Therefore, in the long run, their plan will deprive the citizens of the access to the safe domestic rice, and our health will be destroyed. This is very serious.
So, we strongly believe that Japanese government should not remove the tariff on rice import.