Japan faces a reckoning over rice

A RECENT farmers’ protest in central Tokyo created an unusual spectacle in a district better known for stylish cafés and luxury boutiques. Dozens of tractors rumbled through the streets, accompanied by thousands of demonstrators. Many of them were rice farmers in jumpsuits and rubber boots, carrying placards declaring “Farmers are a national treasure” or “NO RICE NO LIFE”. A combination of factors, such as ageing and poor incomes, have pushed many out of farming, says Kanno Yoshihide, a farmer who organised the protest (which was dubbed Reiwa no hyakusho ikki—or, a modern-day peasant revolt). “It’s the first time we take to the streets at such scale,” says Mr Kanno.