Tokyo Asks U.S. to Reject Plea on Japan’s Rice Market

TOKYO —  Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita asked Washington on Tuesday to reject an American rice industry request that Japan be pressured to open its rice market.

Japan allows virtually no imports of rice, saying that it must protect domestic producers to assure an adequate supply of the staple food of the Japanese diet.

“We sincerely hope the U.S. government will quickly reject the request,” Takeshita told a gathering of local government officials.

The U.S. Rice Millers Assn. and Rice Council of Market Development filed a petition Sept. 14, asking the U.S. government to label Japanese restrictions on rice imports as unfair and force Japan to open 10% of its market to imports.

U.S. Trade Representative Clayton K. Yeutter has 45 days to decide whether to accept the rice industry’s request, a deadline that falls just before the U.S. presidential election.

Statements supporting the petition have been made by Vice President George Bush, the Republican candidate for President, and Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, the Democratic nominee for Vice President.

Rice is an extremely sensitive issue to the Japanese, and many top government officials have vowed never to give in to U.S. pressure on the issue as they at least partially have with other trade issues.

Takeshita, 64, made a similar vow before his election as prime minister a year ago, saying that he could remember going hungry for lack of rice in his youth.

The Japanese argue that rice is almost sacred to them. Besides being the staple food, it is intimately linked to their culture and religion.

“Rice is our Christmas tree,” said Hideaki Kase, a conservative author.

Emperor Hirohito, who is battling a severe illness, is considered a reincarnation of the rice god in Japanese mythology, Kase said.

To this day, the emperor performs various rituals giving thanks to the gods for the rice harvest and praying for future harvests.

“The effort to open the rice market comes at an inopportune moment when attention is focused on the emperor,” Kase said.