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The story
New Farm Minister Takebe said at his inaugural press conference that Japan would “take a firm stance” in negotiations over lifting the ban on fresh US potato imports. Speaking as a lawmaker elected from Hokkaido, which accounts for 80% of domestic potato production, he made the remark as discussions on concrete pest-control quarantine measures got underway this September. He also indicated plans to buy back government rice reserves to restore them to an appropriate level. On 5ch, opinions split over whether this “firm stance” signals the ban will soon be lifted or that Japan will keep refusing, with the discussion spreading to cover sourcing for processed potatoes used by chains like McDonald’s and Calbee, and price issues with rice and dairy.
New Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Takebe held his inaugural press conference at the ministry on the 15th, stating on rice policy that he would “ensure production matches diverse demand for rice.” As a lawmaker elected from Hokkaido, which accounts for 80% of Japan’s domestic potato production, he also stressed that regarding discussions on lifting the ban on fresh imports from the US, he wants to “take a firm (kizen) stance.”
Regarding the fresh US potatoes for which an import-ban lift has been requested, this September marked the start of a stage considering concrete quarantine measures against pests and disease. Takebe said “serious disruption to domestic production must not occur,” arguing that effective management measures are necessary.
On government rice reserves, he explained that “it’s necessary to buy back stock up to an appropriate reserve level while watching the harvest and inventory,” indicating he believes additional buybacks should be carried out.
Source: jiji.com / Original article here
What people said
Sounds more like "we'll enforce effective pest-control measures and then lift the ban!" to me
Rip up the asphalt roads and plant potatoes there
"It's fine because it's under the limit!? [NO!]
Safety standards were gutted under the SPS Agreement — the limit for potatoes' chlorpropham (an herbicide) was relaxed 1,000-fold
https://www.nouminren.ne.jp/old/shinbun/200107/2001070203.htm
Potatoes
The pesticide whose limit got relaxed the worst is chlorpropham (an herbicide) used on potatoes. Analysis by the National Farmers' Union's Food Analysis Center found levels of 1.05 ppm.
Under the original standard of 0.05 ppm, these couldn't be imported. To avoid an import ban, the limit was relaxed a thousandfold to 50 ppm. Every other potato and vegetable product stays at 0.05 ppm — only processed potato products got this uniquely massive thousandfold relaxation, because Japan caved to demands from major exporter America.
Kids love the french fries sold at places like McDonald's. Most of these are imported frozen from America.
In the US, chlorpropham is used to stop potatoes from sprouting, so it's always present as residue. I really don't want kids eating potatoes with pesticide residue on them.
On sourcing:
https://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/cservice/list.productionarea/
In politician/bureaucrat-speak, even "we regret this" counts as a "firm stance" lol
It means "given my position, I'll push it through"
It means: if there's no problem, they'll import it
https://image-tm.s2mr.jp/i/original/1792076802925.jpeg
By the way, there's a YouTube video that asked every major AI model to rate Trump's intelligence, and apparently it came out somewhere between 85-95.
No way — even if they could read it all perfectly, the AI would just run toward "maximizing profit" too, so an "appropriate price" just means there's room to jack it up
Foreign-grown potatoes are cheaper to begin with, and most processed foods already use foreign ones
China has been the dominant supplier all along
America's just now throwing its hat in the ring
You never cared before, so kicking up a fuss about it only now is way more annoying
Do you know how far potato breeding has come lately?
Sure, the seed potatoes originally came from abroad, but
varieties like Hokkai Kogane and Iki Kogane
are improved cultivars of Inca no Mezame
Don't you realize this is about fresh-potato imports, not processing-grade raw materials?
Cheese
Just liberalize the imports already
It's riddled with vested interests and actually hurting ordinary people
Yeah, exactly this
Hokkaido goods in general are way overpriced
There was that news about raw milk being dumped by the truckload even while butter vanished from supermarket shelves
True
Cheese and butter matter more than fresh potatoes
They're not working hard
You just assumed they were
Same deal as with rice
So what?
If it doesn't get cheaper, the whole point is moot
What part of that did you think rebutted my post?
Brand-name potatoes are pricey but tasty
Besides,
Japanese people don't actually eat that many potatoes to begin with
Yeah, you're right
That's why everyone genuinely believes "I only ever eat domestic potatoes"
What are you even talking about?
Nobody's "forcing" it on you — it's because you all hate price hikes that they've had no choice but to keep using Chinese-grown stuff
If you paid 3 times what you pay now for food, they'd use domestic
Fresh (raw) potato imports from China to Japan are, in principle, banned under the Plant Protection Act
nobody was buying it
I've completely kicked the rice habit — thanks, LDP
Re: #113
New-harvest rice? Single-varietal rice?
If so, I'm jealous
Once you lose trust by jacking up prices, it's hard to win it back
You mean Horiemon (entrepreneur Takafumi Horie)?
Turns out rice is the cheapest option after all
Packed rice runs about ¥130 for 180g
Udon is about ¥19 for 200g
Chinese-style noodles are about ¥24 for 130g
Is that expensive?
He inherited the farm-and-fisheries seat from his father
"Why not rename it the 'Ministry of Food and Environment'? Agriculture is what protects the nation's land"
July 6, 2022
Takebe Tsutomu, former LDP Secretary-General
https://mainichi.jp/premier/politics/articles/20220705/pol/00m/010/004000c
Background and key points of this discussion
Imports of fresh US potatoes are, in principle, banned under the Plant Protection Act to keep pests from entering the country, and this “firm stance” refers to the ongoing negotiation over whether that restriction can be maintained. Meanwhile, potatoes used for processing — potato chips, frozen fries, and the like — already circulate widely from sources such as China, and the thread shows posters conflating the fresh-import issue with the processing-import issue. The buyback of rice reserves, meanwhile, is an existing system for adjusting supply to stabilize prices, and connects directly to the rice-price swings discussed in the thread. Whether to lift the import ban pits protecting Hokkaido producers against easing the price burden on consumers — it isn’t a case where either side is simply “right.”
※This article is compiled as excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Breaking News+) thread “Rice: “Ensure production matches demand” — Firm stance on US potato imports, says Farm Minister Takebe at inaugural press conference.”
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