Japan’s rice price controls expose US trade deal hypocrisy

Published Jul 29, 2025

Tridge summary

While Japan was negotiating agricultural market access with the United States, Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi was busy implementing policy to abandon competitive bidding and set rice prices by government decree. This contradiction between Japan’s negotiating position and its domestic policy demonstrates a dangerous erosion of crisis standards that threatens both bilateral trade relations and the

Original content

principles of market capitalism and democracy. On July 22, US President Donald Trump announced a “massive” trade agreement with Japan that committed Tokyo to open its market for agricultural products, including rice. Yet even as these negotiations were under way, Koizumi had already abandoned competitive market mechanisms. Specifically, he implemented discretionary contracts to sell government stockpiled rice at predetermined prices of around 2,000 yen (US$13.60) per 5-kilogram bag. In the short term, the Japanese government has achieved remarkable results. Stockpiled rice priced at approximately 2,000 yen per five kilograms first hit the market on May 31, 2025, with full-scale sales commencing on June 1. This was accomplished at an exceptional pace, taking only 5-6 days from the discretionary contract announcement on May 26, 2025, to actual retail availability. However, from a longer-term perspective, Koizumi’s policy represents a significant setback. Koizumi justified the ...

Source: UkrAgroConsult