How heavily does the Japanese government subsidize farming?
The government imposes tariffs and restrictions on foreign rice. And life in the countryside is subsidized in numerous ways. The political system, long dominated by the Liberal Democratic Party, is built partly on an alliance of real estate developers, construction companies and rural voters. The result is a relentless push to pave every square inch of the country. On the other hand, it means that people who live in rural villages have great roads, bridges and other infrastructure, mostly paid for by the big cities. Do you think that people such as Sean’s “otosan” [mentor or “father”] scrutinizes his work more because he is a foreigner? I always believed that the foreigners who complain (as they do, interminably) about not being truly accepted into Japanese society are usually the ones that don’t speak Japanese and expect everyone around them to conform to their Western ways. You do see a negative attitude about foreigners in places like Tokyo where the stereotype seems to be of the bo
