Interaction of Japanese Rice and Wheat Policy and the Impact on Trade

An important objective of Japanese agricultural policy since the early 1960s has been to increase farm incomes by raising the farm price of rice, the country's principal agricultural crop (Hayami). This objective was accomplished through a two-tiered pricing scheme administered by the Japanese Food Agency, the country's principal purchaser and seller of rice, which maintained producer support prices at levels higher than the consumer equivalent. However, in recent years, the accumulation of excess rice stocks has forced Japan's policymakers to implement major changes in rice policy to reduce persistent overproduction. These policies include diversion payment programs that provide incentives to divert paddy land to production of priority crops such as wheat, barley, and soybeans, as well as surplus disposal programs that subsidize the disposal of accumulated rice stocks for export, industrial, and feed use. Other policy changes include adjustments in the wholesale (resale) prices of rice and wheat to favor rice consumption, and adjustments in producer support prices to promote production of competing crops. This study analyzes the impact on trade of recent changes in Japanese rice and wheat policy.