"cc" <cpasuneadresse@spam.com> wrote in message
news:bq1jtj$cps$1@bgsv5648.tk.mesh.ad.jp...
> vegetables or anything in little markets rather than cheaper supermarket
or
> 100yen shops, prefer made-in-Japan overpriced produce, etc. They don't say
> what all the people that do uneconomical jobs will become if things get
> "rational". I wonder where is the real kindness. All that to say your rant
> about society and those in power doing nothing is unfair.

Buying locally produced goods can be good for the local economy (though not
always), but I don't think it is right to force people to do so, which is
what the massive tarrif/import restriction scheme does. It is basically
making the people pay to prop up inefficient industries. If they want to do
so on their own, in order to keep the local shotengai going etc., that's
fine (although they are doing a pretty lousy job at it). In fact it's great.
But don't tell me who to buy from or what to buy.

Japanese agriculture can still go a long way to becoming more efficient. And
I don't mean using lots of chemicals -- they already use plenty -- I mean
capital investment, market research, etc. Japanese farmers are so coddled by
the government that they think they are owed a dole just for sticking on
their land and not going to work in a factory like 90% of their junior high
class did. But even if they get more efficient, labor costs, fuel costs,
etc. are going to make Japanese agricultural products more expensive than
imports.

The only way for J agriculture to survive, then, is to become more of a
boutique industry. The beef and fruit industries have already done this to a
large extent, now the vegetable/etc. industries need to do the same.

At the MOS burger near my house, they have a little bulletin board listing
where all their veggies and bread came from that day.
"Today, our tomatoes are from field 103 of Chinen Taro, located in [detailed
location]." I think this is brilliant marketing, and if I want a hamburger
you can bet I am going to their shop.

In other words, in order for Japanese farmers to compete, they need to
differentiate their products. Use fewer pesticides, pick their produce ripe,
let their consumers see their faces... If they do that, people will pay the
extra. If consumers don't see any difference between a Chinese cucumber and
a Japanese one, aside from the "kokusan" sign over the Japanese ones, what
are the chances they will pay twice the price? Simply forcing them to pay
more through tarrifs and the like will only postpone the issue, especially
in a nation whose economy is still largely dependent on trade and whose
economic future may hinge on good trade relations with China.

-- 
Regards,
Ryan Ginstrom