Japan's agriculture minister stepped down Wednesday, days after admitting he's never bought rice—an offhand remark that fueled outrage amid a national rice shortage. While speaking about farming policy on Sunday, Taku Eto noted that supporters gifted him ample rice, adding, "I have never bought rice myself. ... I have so much rice at home that I could sell it." The remark drew swift backlash in a country where rice is a dietary staple and frustrations are high over food costs. More:
- Behind the shortage: The New York Times reports the ongoing shortage has been tied to long-standing government policies designed to protect small farmers that have curtailed access to farmland for newcomers. Attempts to change them haven't been successful, in part because the ruling Liberal Democratic Party counts the influential national farming cooperative and rural blocs among its key supporters. As a result, thousands of acres that could be farmed are going unused.
- Political woes: The AP sees the situation as a potential blow for the party, "which leads a struggling minority government" and will face a national election in July. A big loss could end up triggering the resignation of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
- Eto's mea culpa: Eto apologized for his "extremely inappropriate remark" but clarified that he does actually purchase white rice. He claimed he was talking about brown rice being given as gifts, and that he wants more people to try that variety because it can reach market faster.
- His replacement: Ishiba handed the job to Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of a former prime minister and himself a former environment minister. "I was told to put rice before anything," Koizumi told reporters.
(The country has gone so far as to start importing rice from abroad.
Here's why that's a big deal.) (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our
AI policy.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
