Kudos to Philip Brasor for his illuminating Jan. 6 Media Mix article, "Japan's farming could be going to seed." Too often Japan's Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) dilemma is made out to simply be an industry versus agriculture problem, with the former to gain much and the latter to possibly lose something.
As Brasor's article demonstrates, there is also industrialization of agriculture and loss of food autonomy to think about, among other issues. Moreover, the piece calls attention to the roles of corporate greed and political clout in the formulation, promotion and implementation of such dubious schemes as the TPP.
It is highly likely that joining the TPP will result not only in increased food imports and lower self-sufficiency in foodstuffs for Japan, but also in greater crop homogeneity and dependency on foreign corporations to produce such crops (reinforced by legal rulings made by judges with no personal stake in Japan's food supply, economy or agrarian regions).
Indeed, as Brasor concludes, these problems deserve greater media attention so that the public will not simply accept the words of the Keidanren business leadership, but instead think seriously about personal motivations.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.
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