tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post2762322844411484060..comments2023-10-09T00:45:55.603+09:00Comments on Shisaku: Going Nowhere Faster and FasterMTChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04626942240117432624noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-23130517582354780022011-10-29T02:16:03.098+09:002011-10-29T02:16:03.098+09:00but i wonder if the DPJ leadership even knows itse...but i wonder if the DPJ leadership even knows itself what the benefits would be. i mean, i don't think they do. i think the FM\USA has told them what they want and they aren't really asking for more information than that. but i do wonder what are the proposed benefits of free trade for japan. <br /><br />i keep hearing about the TPP as a way to reform agriculture, but do you need to do something that removes all tariffs just to do that?<br /><br />won't free trade just mean a loss of jobs to overseas competition that doesnt have to deal with the expenses of japanese workplace safety standards and wages that reflect the japanese standard of living? goods will be cheaper to import than produce domestically?<br /><br />the fact that the government isnt out there trying to sell the positives of this makes me wonder if they even understand what they're trying to do and if there are any positives for voters\consumers and not producers to begin with.wonderernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-57445312114993011802011-10-29T00:02:17.035+09:002011-10-29T00:02:17.035+09:00Without saying anything at all about the greater p...Without saying anything at all about the greater picture:<br /><br />"How could rice farmers survive minus the 778% tariff protecting them?"<br /><br />One independent investigation two years ago found the production cost of Japanese rice to be within 10% of imported rice. Combine with the acute brand awareness regarding rice among Japanese consumers (who happily shell out twice or three times the price of the cheapest variants) and the reality is that rice farmers would likely stand to gain through the TPP through greater export opportunities.<br /><br />The big losers are mostly among fruit farmers. But fruit - as opposed to grain - is generally excepted to a large degree even among existing TPP deals already.<br /><br />In any case, the way things are going, Japanese farming as practised today will be done and over with within the next generation no matter what. Proactive changes now would cause much less disruption than fait-accompli twenty years down the road, but it doesn't seem to be in anybody's interest to acknowledge it, unfortunately.Jan Morenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06834641501438709866noreply@blogger.com