But farmers are not as feared by politicians as they once were. Indeed, when Prime Minister Hosokawa makes the formal announcement, expected early this week, that Japan will allow limited rice imports, it will in some sense signify the end of two or three decades of Japanese history in which farmers have wielded power far out of proportion to their numbers.

That power resulted in policies that favored farmers at the expense of urban consumers, most notably protection from foreign products that kept prices of rice, beef, and produce far higher here than elsewhere in the world. Farmers were favored because they were a pillar of support of the Liberal Democratic Party, which governed Japan for 38 years until it was voted out of office this summer as corruption scandals spiraled around its leaders...

One reason for the erosion of the farm bloc influence is that the number of farm households has shrunk from about six million in 1960 to about half that, as farmers abandon a business that is often unprofitable despite Government subsidies. What's more, most farmers now till the soil only part time and earn the majority of their income from jobs in factories and stores. The loss of power by the Liberal Democratic Party has also hurt.

Two years ago, farmers filled the Tokyo Dome with 50,000 People. But Thursday's protest filled a small amphitheater in Tokyo's Hiblya Park. With the news organizations not willing to give much coverage to such demonstrations anymore, it would be a waste of time and money to bring more people.

As the farmers marched, they vowed as usual to defeat politicians who agree to rice imports. But a 66 year old farmer said, "If the rice market is opened, it will be devastating to Japanese agriculture. But I don't think we can stop it."

Questions

• According to this article, how has the "political landscape" changed?
• What are some of the factors which have contributed to this change?
• The farmer at the end of the article says that the opening of the rice market will be devastating to Japanese agriculture. From what you have read, forecast some of the possible changes that may occur.

Student Material
Excerpted from The New York Times, "For the Rice Lobby, the Bowl of Plenty Dries Up," by Andrew Pollack, December 13, 1993. (c)1993 by The New York Times Company. Reprinted by permission.