Rural Japan puts thorn in side of farm reform

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TOKYO, Aug 5 (AFP): Fearing their government cares more about big business than small farmers, Japan's rural dwellers are deserting the ruling conservative camp, leaving its plan to open up the agriculture market in doubt.
With the opposition now in control of one house of parliament, experts say the government may find it harder to achieve its goal of inking more free trade deals and finding common ground in the stalled World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) suffered a major defeat in the July 29 upper house election, and one of major reasons was its loss of seats in rural communities, once bastions of the LDP.
"Farmers, traditionally staunch supporters of the LDP, said 'No' to Abe's agricultural policy," said Nobuhiro Suzuki, a professor of international environmental economics at the University of Tokyo.
"Abe has proceeded with a pro-business trade policy, ignoring the farm sector's voice and only listening to the views of business leaders," said Suzuki, a former farm ministry official.
A series of scandals and gaffes by cabinet ministers have weighed heavily on the popularity of Abe, whose support has also been eroded by growing concerns about a rich-poor divide, particularly between urban and rural areas.
Two of the scandals have involved his farm ministers -- one committed suicide and the other resigned amid allegations of corruption.
During the election campaign, opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa cruised around green rice fields pledging to introduce an income security system for every farmer. "Abe's government is leaning too much on free market principles and making a society where the strong win while the honest workers are wronged," Ozawa told a countryside rally.
The LDP, which has been in power almost continuously since 1955, lost 6-23 in single-seat rural constituencies, which have seen economic stagnation and graying and shrinking populations.
Tokyo tightly shields its farmers, a contested issue in global trade talks.
Japan uses tariffs and quotas to block virtually all competition against its rice industry, which it argues holds a special place in the national culture.
Ozawa's Democratic Party has called for a model closer to one seen in the European Union -- opening up the market but subsidising farm households.
"I fear the current parliamentary situation may lead to the worst case scenario," said Yoshiyasu Ono, a professor of economics at Osaka University in western Japan.