The government decided on Friday to prohibit the reselling of rice purchased at retail shops to ensure that rice reserves recently released at lower prices will stably reach consumers.
Under the ban, which will take effect June 23, those who sell rice at a higher price than they paid at supermarkets and online shops will face up to one year in prison, a fine of up to 1 million yen, or both. ……
How about we make scalping of anything illegal everywhere, with a mandatory punishment of community service hours, valued at minimum wage, until the scalper pays back double their cumulative scalping profits?
That gets in the way of corporations making money out of “normal market movements”. Its just supply and demand when companies do it, the moment the working class tries to do the same they find themselves getting punished. If its illegal its going to need to be illegal for companies too and this means governments have to start doing their job again and reigning in corporate criminality.
We’re discussing things purchased at retail, as stated in the first sentence of the article and indicated in my comment by the word scalping. Not wholesale markets.
Maybe this would be a good year for people in Japan to try out some exotic foreign cuisines based on other staple foods. Millet, wheat, corn, cassava, barley, etc.
Other countries rice
kagis
Ah. Sounds like they have pretty protectionist rice policy.
https://time.com/7283809/japan-us-trade-talks-rice-agriculture-protectionism-reform-trump-tariffs/
“Rice has always been highly protected and shielded from trade negotiations. Its liberalization is a political taboo for the LDP,” says Waseda University Professor Yuka Fukunaga.
“Look at Japan, tariffing rice 700%,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a press briefing in March. “President Trump believes in reciprocity, and it is about dang time that we have a President who actually looks out for the interest of American business and workers.”
That 700% figure, which Japan’s farm minister called “incomprehensible,” is not quite true. In 1995, after facing a rice crisis in 1993 and mounting pressure from the world to open up its rice market, Japan entered into a “minimum access” deal with the World Trade Organization. That means that Japan imports 770,000 metric tons of rice each year without any tariffs, around half of which comes from the U.S. most years. Above that quota, Japan imposes a tariff of ¥341 (about $2.30) per kilogram. (In 2005, Japan’s farm ministry showed that was equivalent to a 778% tariff based on international rice prices between 1999 and 2001, but more recent data suggests the tariff is around 227%, according to a calculation by the Japan Times.)
Yeah, can probably pull it off the world market if they want, then.
This seems great, and I wish governments would do this just in general for a wider range of products, to be honest. If they aren’t doing something to add value, resellers like that deserve what they get.
I believe the word we’re looking for is scalper
Because if the rich to it, is called speculation and they don’t want it to stop.
Can you cook it and sell it? Like parboiled?
Would have been a great time for a campaign to diversify consumed food a bit as well.
If the stores were smart they would tariff the rice based on the buyers address. Making those weirdos in Sumida-ku pay 145% more will grow the domestic economy and lead to greater prosperity somehow. - Trump 3:16
Trump doesn’t need to be brought up in every fucking comment section. This is literally about rice in Japan so stop with American politics.
