Japan's ruling party balks at importing US rice as part of tariff deal

LDP members argue concessions would hurt country's food security

A rice farmer in Japan. The country imports roughly 770,000 tonnes of rice a year under a duty-free "minimum access" agreement. © Reuters

NAOYA TAKAHASHI

May 6, 2025 05:57 JST

TOKYO -- Lawmakers in Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party are fighting a proposal to offer to import more U.S.-grown rice as a part of a deal on tariffs with the Trump administration.

A resolution by the LDP's food security committee calls the idea of sacrificing farm, forestry and fisheries products in order to reduce tariffs on automobiles "completely unacceptable."