We started our day at the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. We heard from one of the men that helped to negotiate the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal. He had a few incites for us on Japanese Agriculture but most covered what we have heard from others. Their country is an aging population. They have a challenge getting young people to come back to the farm because it is hard work and incomes are not very high. There is a need to consolidate their small farms but have a hard time doing this because of local governments and a lack of infrastructure to help sellers and buyers to come to a deal. Their products are highly subsidized by the Japanese government so they can not compete with global markets. Because of this, they are now focusing on premium products and value added products. The most interesting discussion for me was about women in the work place. Gender roles are still quite strict in Japan. Women only do specific "female" jobs. When they begin to have children they quit working. It is more cost effective for them to stay home with their children than to pay for child care. Once their children go to school they do not typically go back to work because they have missed out on many years of working and earning seniority at a company.
We did some touristy things the rest of the day when we walked around a Buddhist Temple and Pagoda as well as going to the top of Tokyo Tower. We also walked around a supermarket checking out their meats and veggies. Another great day in the books here in Japan!
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