(Source: "Global Times"-Global Network July 11, 2025)

[Global Times special correspondent in Japan Pan Xiaoduo Global Times reporter Li Meng] Editor’s note: On July 20, Japan will usher in the Senate election, and rice prices and related policies have become key topics in this election. Since last summer, Japan has experienced a "rice shortage", which has caused rice prices to soar and once triggered political turmoil. Although many media have cited high temperature weather and an increase in tourists as factors for the emergence of "sky-high rice prices" in Japan, many people have criticized the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (Agricultural Cooperatives), believing that the organization should be responsible for the fact that people cannot afford rice. The Japan Agricultural Cooperative was established after World War II and played an important role in ensuring the country's food security. However, as its strength increased, the organization formed a "government-official-agriculture" iron triangle power mechanism with some Japanese parliamentarians and officials, becoming one of the obstacles to the country's agricultural reform.

"This is not a reform, it is simply to destroy the agricultural cooperatives"

The "rice shortage" that began last summer has exacerbated Japan's political turmoil. According to multiple media reports, on May 18 this year, Japan’s then Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Taku Eto, was criticized by all parties for saying that he had “never bought rice”, and he had to resign three days later. Due to the inability to respond to rising rice prices, the approval rate of Shigeru Ishiba's cabinet fell to 27.4% in May, a decrease of 5.2 percentage points from the previous month.

Many media have listed hot weather and fewer farmers as the reasons for Japan’s “rice shortage”, but some experts and many people believe that the Japan Agricultural Cooperative Federation (Agricultural Cooperative) is not to blame, because the organization is not only a staunch supporter of Japan’s decades-long anti-reduction policy (a policy of limiting rice cultivation area to maintain rice prices - Editor’s note), but also hoards rice after the Japanese government has repeatedly released rice reserves. Against this background, the new Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi took a number of measures after taking office in late May, targeting the Japan Agricultural Cooperative.

On May 29, Shinjiro Koizumi took part in a tasting event of the government’s rice grain reserves at the Japanese Minister’s Office in Tokyo. (Visual China)

“The Japanese government is ‘prescribing strong medicine’ to lower rice prices.” According to the “Nihon Keizai Shimbun” report, in order to prepare for the Senate election, the Shigeru Ishiba government adopted a method of skipping the Japan Agricultural Cooperative in order to quickly quell consumer dissatisfaction. In late May, Shinjiro Koizumi announced that he would cancel the traditional practice of organizing bidding by the Japan Agricultural Cooperative and instead sell reserve rice through free contracts. As of mid-May, the Japanese government has released a total of 312,000 tons of reserved rice three times, and the Agricultural Cooperative has purchased 95% of it through bidding. Japan's Kyodo News Agency stated that on June 20, Shinjiro Koizumi stated that he planned to purchase rice directly from farmers. The current mainstream method is for farmers to entrust agricultural cooperatives to sell rice on their behalf, and collect a portion of the sales price in advance in the name of "estimated funds" upon delivery. On July 1, Shigeru Ishiba said Japan would change its policy to support farmers in increasing rice production. The Japan Agricultural Cooperative has been opposed to this policy for decades. According to the Australian Financial Review, Naohiro Yashiro, an economics professor at Showa Women's University in Japan, said that the Agricultural Cooperatives have strong power and hope to keep rice prices high.

The Japanese government’s actions against agricultural cooperatives have caused dissatisfaction. Japan's "Mainichi Shimbun" stated that on July 7, an Agricultural Promotion Committee meeting was held in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, one of the country's main rice producing areas. At the meeting, farmer representatives condemned the government's policy of expanding rice production. At the end of June, a heavyweight from the Fukuoka Prefecture branch of the Japan Agricultural Cooperative said that he could not understand Shinjiro Koizumi’s thoughts and actions on reforming the Agricultural Cooperative. “I think he has no understanding of the current mood of farmers and only cares about consumer prices. This is not a reform, it is simply an attempt to destroy the Agricultural Cooperative.” In response, Shinjiro Koizumi said that he has been meeting with representatives of the Agricultural Cooperative, and he has not tried to destroy the Agricultural Cooperative. "Whether the Agricultural Cooperative will be eliminated only depends on whether farmers are willing to continue to choose it. If the Agricultural Cooperative can continue to be what farmers need, that will be enough to prove its value."

The iron triangle of "politics-officials-agriculture" forms a small circle of interests

What kind of organization is the Japan Agricultural Cooperative, which has been criticized by many parties during the rice crisis? An article published on the website of the Tokyo Foundation, an independent think tank in Japan, shows that the predecessor of the Japan Agricultural Cooperative was an industrial cooperative voluntarily formed by landlords and rich farmers, and its role was limited to the credit field. After the 1930s, Japan's agriculture and forestry departments established cooperatives across the country. These organizations were not only able to operate as credit cooperatives, but also provided comprehensive agricultural services such as material procurement and agricultural product sales.

Hitoshi Yamashita, the author of the book "The Conspiracy of the Agricultural Cooperative" and a long-time responsible for agricultural policy at Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, previously posted an article online saying that there was a food shortage in Japan after World War II. If measures were not taken, rice would flow into the black market at high prices. Against this background, the government adopted the method of collecting and selling rice from farmers, and reorganized and established the Agricultural Cooperative for this purpose. According to the Australian National University East Asia Forum website, the Japan Agricultural Cooperative was established in 1948 to improve farmers’ productivity and economic status. In the 1950s, the Japanese government adopted reforms to buy land from landlords at low prices and redistribute it to farmers, which increased the number of land-owning farmers in Japan.

Wu Yingjie, a researcher at the Japan Research Center of the w88 casino, said in an interview with a reporter from the Global Times that the original intention of the establishment of the Japan Agricultural Association was to provide farmers with a platform for mutual assistance and cooperation to protect agricultural production and farmers' interests. Over the years, the Japanese Agricultural Cooperative has played an active role in agricultural development: First, it has improved the efficiency and stability of agricultural production by pooling resources and funds to provide farmers with preferential policies such as technology, seeds, and subsidies. Secondly, the Agricultural Cooperative has played a bridge role in the circulation of agricultural products, connecting the government and farmers, transmitting policy information and feeding back farmers' needs, thereby optimizing the allocation of agricultural resources. Third, the Agricultural Cooperative has also reduced the cost of agricultural production and improved the efficiency of market transactions by providing shared services for large agricultural facilities, such as agricultural machinery and seedling facilities.

However, with the development of Japan's economy, the nature of the agricultural cooperative began to change and received many criticisms. One of them was that it was no longer an agricultural cooperative in the true sense, but a powerful financial institution operating under the capitalist system.

Yamashita Jin believes that the Japanese Agricultural Cooperative is a very unique existence among various legal persons in Japan and among similar production cooperatives in other countries. He explained that in Japan, banks are generally prohibited from engaging in other businesses, while agricultural cooperatives in Europe and the United States generally only engage in a specific business, such as agricultural product sales or agricultural finance. In comparison, the Japanese Agricultural Cooperative is an institution that conducts comprehensive business. It not only conducts banking business, but also engages in life and property insurance business. It not only purchases agricultural production materials, sells agricultural products, but also provides daily necessities and other services to its members.

According to the East Asia Forum website, as of March 2023, the deposits in the Japanese Agricultural Cooperative Bank system exceeded 100 trillion yen (100 yen is approximately 5 yuan), accounting for 10% of the country’s total personal savings. The Agricultural Cooperative has more than 10 million members, of which 4 million are full members engaged in agricultural activities and 6 million are associate members. Associate members are non-farmers who invest in an agricultural cooperative to take advantage of its services. It is worth noting that many formal members of the Agricultural Cooperative are not actually engaged in farming activities full-time. Japan's "Agricultural White Paper" shows that there will be 1.164 million "backbone farmers" in the country whose main job is agriculture in 2023.

Because of its large membership and strong financial resources, the Japanese Agricultural Cooperative’s political influence is growing, and it has formed a small circle of interests with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and members of the “Agricultural and Forestry Tribe” (members of Congress who safeguard the interests of farmers’ groups - Editor’s note). Yamashita Jin has posted many times before that in elections, the Agricultural Cooperative can help candidates get elected because it has a large number of members. "Farm and Forestry" members help the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries obtain government budgets. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has given the Agricultural Cooperative high rice prices and subsidies and other benefits, while agriculturists who receive generous speaking fees from the Agricultural Cooperative use a "seemingly neutral position to put forward ideas that are in line with the interests of this small circle."

Hiroyuki Sasada, a professor at Hokkaido University in Japan, also mentioned the "agricultural-political triangle" power structure in an NHK TV program. Within this structure, the LDP, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and agricultural groups work closely together to formulate policies that benefit each other. In addition, there is a "revolving door" between Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Agricultural Cooperatives. According to Japan's Shukan Bunshun, from 2009 to March this year, there were 28 people who retired from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and then found employment in groups related to agricultural cooperatives.

The Japan Agricultural Cooperative has long-term support for the anti-reduction policy. Although this policy was repealed in 2018, the relevant practices have not stopped. Yamashita Jin said that if this policy is completely eradicated, Japan's annual rice production can reach 10 million tons, while the country's annual rice consumption is 7 million tons. He criticized the Agricultural Cooperative Association for its development by pushing agriculture into decline.

An article published on the Tokyo Foundation website believes that the Japan Agricultural Cooperative has hindered Japan's agricultural reform through its strong influence. During the years when the government set rice prices under the staple food control system, the Japan Agricultural Cooperative successfully kept rice prices high, especially in the 1960s, when rice prices rose by an average of nearly 10% per year.

The Japan Agricultural Cooperative also exerts a huge influence on the country's foreign policy. According to reports from Japan's Kyodo News and other media, the Agricultural Cooperative had previously opposed Japan's entry into the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPP, now the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership). In 2012, more than half of the Liberal Democratic Party members of Congress joined the anti-TPP alliance of members within the party. In 2013, the organization launched a political campaign to oppose Japan's participation in the TPP, collecting tens of millions of signatures.

“Important inspiration to other countries”

Wu Yingjie told reporters that the history of the development of Japanese agricultural cooperatives has important implications for other countries: first, rural cooperative economic organizations need government support and legal regulations to ensure their healthy development; second, such organizations should gradually demonopolize and enhance their service functions and ability to represent farmers’ interests; finally, rural cooperative economic organizations should avoid excessive intervention in the market to achieve sustainable development of agriculture.

After realizing the negative impact of the Japanese Agricultural Cooperatives, the Japanese government has repeatedly hoped to reform it. According to the East Asia Forum website, the Japanese government repeatedly proposed reform plans between 2014 and 2019 in an attempt to transform the national-level organization of the Agricultural Cooperative into a legal person, but only half of the process was completed because the Agricultural Cooperative rejected the government's proposal to reduce the organization's tax exemptions and other privileges. In 2015, then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe proudly mentioned that his cabinet had carried out "comprehensive reform" of the agricultural cooperatives. However, the reform plan submitted to Congress by the Abe government in April of that year had been significantly reduced compared with the plan proposed by the agricultural working group of the Japan Regulatory Reform Commission in May 2014.

Although the Shigeru Ishiba government hopes to reform the Agricultural Cooperatives, given the latter's strong political mobilization power, the Japanese government is also trying its best to protect the interests of its farmers and agriculture. Agence France-Presse said that U.S. President Trump recently asked "spoiled" Japan to import more U.S. rice, otherwise it will face high tariffs. Japan's Kyodo News Agency stated that Shigeru Ishiba responded to this on July 9, saying that he cannot give in on matters that cannot be compromised and will never sacrifice agriculture. Lian Degui, director of the Japanese Studies Center at Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times reporter that the interests of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Agricultural Cooperatives are closely linked, and the party cannot do without the support of the Agricultural Cooperatives. If the Japanese government attempts to bypass the Agricultural Cooperatives and formulate agricultural policies directly, it will mean that the Liberal Democratic Party will cut ties with the Agricultural Cooperatives, which is undoubtedly an act of self-harm.

Yu Moriyama, Secretary-General of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, previously told the Yomiuri Shimbun that there are only two things that determine the country’s Senate election, one is tariffs, and the other is rice prices. The current tariff issue has been intertwined with the rice price issue, making the situation facing the Liberal Democratic Party more complicated. Japan's "Oriental Shinpo" stated that the Liberal Democratic Party regards Shinjiro Koizumi as the "last card" in this election. The relevant measures he has taken previously have achieved some results. In May this year, the average price of 5 kilograms of rice in Japanese supermarkets reached 4,268 yen, more than double the same period last year. In early July, the average price of rice of the same weight was around 3,600 yen.

Can Shinjiro Koizumi’s achievements increase the LDP’s chances of winning in the upper house election? In this regard, Wu Yingjie said that the support rate of the Liberal Democratic Party in the Senate election may indeed be improved in the short term, but the long-term effect depends on the continuity of the policy and other factors. In particular, bypassing the agricultural cooperative bidding will offend vested interest groups and plant hidden dangers in rural constituencies where the Liberal Democratic Party has traditional vote base. Yeom Deok-gui said that if the problems of rice prices and agricultural cooperatives cannot be properly resolved, the Liberal Democratic Party may be greatly affected in the Senate election.

Original link:

[Global Time Depth] Before the Senate election, why did the Japanese government "push strong medicine" to the Agricultural Cooperatives?