Latest news with #YuichiroTamaki
Japan Today
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
Opposition chief sorry for calling gov't reserve rice 'animal feed'
Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the increasingly popular opposition party in Japan, apologized Saturday for having referred to the government's rice stockpiles as "animal feed," days after drawing criticism on social media. Tamaki, who heads the Democratic Party for the People, said on a TV program, "I regret that I caused discomfort to those who have been waiting for the government's stockpiled rice" amid soaring prices of the Japanese staple food, adding, "I would like to apologize." During a parliamentary session on Wednesday, Tamaki, whose party has pitched policies aimed at appealing to younger voters, said, "Even if you say you're selling at a low price something that would end up as animal feed in a year, it's not something people truly need." Tamaki was apparently pointing to stockpiled rice from the 2021 harvest, which the government is releasing to the public in an effort to curb surging prices across the country. On Saturday, Hiroshi Moriyama, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said at a meeting in Kagoshima Prefecture, where agriculture is a core industry, that Tamaki was "disrespectful to the farmers who put their heart and soul into their work." Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, also criticized Tamaki's remark at a press conference on Friday, calling it "not appropriate." © KYODO
The Mainichi
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Opposition chief sorry for calling gov't reserve rice "animal feed"
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the increasingly popular opposition party in Japan, apologized Saturday for having referred to the government's rice stockpiles as "animal feed," days after drawing criticism on social media. Tamaki, who heads the Democratic Party for the People, said on a TV program, "I regret that I caused discomfort to those who have been waiting for the government's stockpiled rice" amid soaring prices of the Japanese staple food, adding, "I would like to apologize." During a parliamentary session on Wednesday, Tamaki, whose party has pitched policies aimed at appealing to younger voters, said, "Even if you say you're selling at a low price something that would end up as animal feed in a year, it's not something people truly need." Tamaki was apparently pointing to stockpiled rice from the 2021 harvest, which the government is releasing to the public in an effort to curb surging prices across the country. On Saturday, Hiroshi Moriyama, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said at a meeting in Kagoshima Prefecture, where agriculture is a core industry, that Tamaki was "disrespectful to the farmers who put their heart and soul into their work." Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, also criticized Tamaki's remark at a press conference on Friday, calling it "not appropriate."
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Some retailers hesitant to buy stockpiled rice on quality concerns
As the government releases more of its stockpiled rice to ease a supply crunch and bring down prices, concerns are mounting over the quality and taste of the older harvests. 'I'm worried about the taste. If elderly customers think the rice is bad and stop eating it, it could harm their health,' said Hidehisa Shinohara, 47, who owns a 78-year-old rice shop in Tokyo's Kita Ward. While stockpiled rice from the 2022 harvest has been distributed to large supermarket chains, the current focus on the older batch from 2021 has sparked hesitation among smaller, regional retailers. When the government started auctioning stockpiled rice harvested in 2021 and 2022 in March, buyers showed strong preference for the fresher batch due to concerns over the aging of the grain and the possibility of a deterioration of flavor. While Shinohara is considering applying to buy the stockpiled rice from the government, he expressed misgivings. 'There's this impression that we're just getting leftovers from the big supermarket chains,' he said. A manager at a small supermarket in Tokyo's Adachi Ward echoed those concerns, saying, 'We don't expect quality from this batch, so we won't apply.' The issue has also stirred political controversy. During a Lower House agriculture committee session on Wednesday, Yuichiro Tamaki, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party for the People, criticized the policy, likening the aging rice to livestock feed. 'After a year, it'll be sold as feed for livestock. Of course it's going to be cheap,' he said, arguing that the sale of rice from the government's stockpiles fails to align with consumer demand for affordable, high-quality rice. Under the current policy, the government's stockpiled rice is repurposed for livestock feed after five years. Lawmakers from both opposition and ruling parties have widely criticized Tamaki over his remarks for being inconsiderately framed, given the circumstances. Kenta Izumi, the former leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, on Thursday weighed in on social media platform X, writing, 'That wasn't appropriate phrasing for the situation.' Tamaki later clarified on X that his comment referred to this existing framework, noting that farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi 'has also used the term 'livestock feed rice' to explain the same policy.' Koizumi sought to address doubts by sampling rice balls made from stockpiled rice harvested between 2021 and 2024 at a ministry tasting session on Thursday. He noted one batch was 'a bit firm' — which was later identified as being from the 2021 harvest — but said, 'They all tasted good.' Information from Jiji added
2 days ago
- Politics
DPFP Leader under Fire for Calling Stockpiled Rice Livestock Feed
News from Japan Politics May 29, 2025 22:01 (JST) Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press)--Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the opposition Democratic Party for the People, has sparked controversy by describing stockpiled rice being sold by the Japanese government as fit for "livestock feed" after a year. At a parliamentary committee meeting on Wednesday, Tamaki said that stockpiled rice sold under the government's discretionary contracts would become "livestock feed once a year has passed." While the government is releasing stockpiled rice harvested in 2021 and 2022 at a time when consumers in the country are struggling with soaring rice prices, Tamaki argued that the government effort does not meet consumers' demand for lower prices for high-quality rice. The DPFP chief appeared to be referring to the current system in which government-stockpiled rice is sold for feed use after five years. Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi has told reporters that Tamaki's remark was "disappointing." Kenta Izumi, former head of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said on social media Thursday that Tamaki should not say such things at this time. A young DPFP member said that Tamaki "said too much." [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
The Mainichi
3 days ago
- Business
- The Mainichi
Japan farm minister irked by opposition head describing stockpiled rice as animal feed
TOKYO -- Japan's agriculture minister complained that an opposition party leader described stockpiled rice as "something that will become animal feed after one year" at the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on May 28. In asking a question to agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi at the committee meeting, Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki remarked that "the government says it will sell the rice, which will used to feed animals after a year, at a lower price. Of course, it will be sold at a low price." He also explained that there is strong demand to buy branded rice such as Koshihikari at lower prices, and commented, "Stockpiled rice does not meet real needs." Koizumi told reporters, "Even if that's the reality, it's a bit disappointing to hear such remarks at a time when we are working on how to release stockpiled rice." According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries website, stockpiled rice is sold as feed rice and for other uses after about five years of storage.
