Japan’s Rice Farmers Fear Their Future Is Shrinking (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/world/asia/29japan.html?ref=asia)

In a country that is growing grayer as the percentage of older worker increases in the work force. By that I mean the average age of a worker is 60 years old. This is a major issue for rice farmers. One farmer, Hitoshi Suzuki said, “Japanese agriculture has no money, no youth, no future." He is 57 and has farmed the same land that has been in his family for 450 years. With the economic downturn and the fact that many young people move away to work in cities instead of staying on the farm, has caused prices to drop and production to decrease. This outlook is grim for the rice market as Japan exports 61% of the food it grows to other counties. To make matters worse, many farmers are seeking help from the LDP, but many feel that this party has fallen out of contact with the Japanese rural community.