Walden Pond / A Frog Jumps In / Plop!
April 15, 2009 12:16 PM Subscribe
Given recent economic woes, in conjunction with ecological, national security, and community issues regarding food production, does Japan have an interesting idea?
Of course, certain contingents likely will be suspicious of such a plan in the States . . . .
Bonus, almost completely unrelated, link to thirty translations of the Basho haiku that I copped my title from.
Of course, certain contingents likely will be suspicious of such a plan in the States . . . .
Bonus, almost completely unrelated, link to thirty translations of the Basho haiku that I copped my title from.
oh for fuck's sake. shoulda searched previous links before posting, as michael pollen's piece here was posted previously here. apologies to all.
posted by barrett caulk at 12:24 PM on April 15, 2009
posted by barrett caulk at 12:24 PM on April 15, 2009
If you just create jobs and let "city workers" apply for them, there's none of the forced aspect of "re-education" so the only people who could possibly complain would be axe-grinding rightwing nutjob...oh.
posted by DU at 12:26 PM on April 15, 2009
posted by DU at 12:26 PM on April 15, 2009
Agriculture in Japan is experiencing difficult times and suitable land is limited (13%). However some people think the idealized self-sufficiency of Edo Japan is no longer tenable.
posted by adamvasco at 12:36 PM on April 15, 2009
posted by adamvasco at 12:36 PM on April 15, 2009
....This reminds me of the final scene from WALL*E, for some reason.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:41 PM on April 15, 2009
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:41 PM on April 15, 2009
Guess the WSJ and the New York Times went on the same press trip.
posted by longdaysjourney at 12:44 PM on April 15, 2009
posted by longdaysjourney at 12:44 PM on April 15, 2009
Smart. Sensible. As usual from Japan.
posted by Liquidwolf at 12:50 PM on April 15, 2009
posted by Liquidwolf at 12:50 PM on April 15, 2009
Doesn't Japan have about the least sensible set of agricultural tariffs and subsidies imaginable? Something about the way parliamentary seats are apportioned that tends to meaningfully overrepresent rural areas to the detriment or urban areas?
posted by JPD at 12:57 PM on April 15, 2009
posted by JPD at 12:57 PM on April 15, 2009
An intellectual?! A journalist?! A home OWNER?! Re-educate them!
posted by parmanparman at 1:09 PM on April 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by parmanparman at 1:09 PM on April 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
The real question is "How are they using this as an excuse to increase whaling?"
posted by Pope Guilty at 1:18 PM on April 15, 2009
posted by Pope Guilty at 1:18 PM on April 15, 2009
But we will put all the illegals out of jobs if we do this...Why not farm ....POT!...and feed the world with it, legally? We could have our unemployed handroll joints, the govt can get taxes, and our tea bag protesters can smoke used tea leaves. We will all be eating pie bye and bye
posted by Postroad at 1:22 PM on April 15, 2009
posted by Postroad at 1:22 PM on April 15, 2009
But I like being a rootless cosmopolitan.
posted by The Whelk at 1:23 PM on April 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by The Whelk at 1:23 PM on April 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
Postroad, calm down. It's not for another 5 days.
posted by The Whelk at 1:24 PM on April 15, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 1:24 PM on April 15, 2009 [2 favorites]
Wait, are they really doing all this farming by hand? Sorting out beans? This seems like busywork. Petroleum-based industrial agriculture may be unsustainable, but there has to be a better way to feed a population than putting 80% of it into farming with nothing more advanced than a shovel.
posted by echo target at 1:26 PM on April 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by echo target at 1:26 PM on April 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
My response to the article: "lol". Do read the blog essay that adamvasco linked to. There is nowhere near enough farmland in Japan to absorb the cities' jobless. It is too late to go back to the agrarian paradise, which itself has always been predicated on a very small population that used no technology. Indeed, the entire point of agriculture is to feed a large number of people with as little labor as possible.
posted by Maximian at 1:29 PM on April 15, 2009
posted by Maximian at 1:29 PM on April 15, 2009
JPD: "Something about the way parliamentary seats are apportioned that tends to meaningfully overrepresent rural areas to the detriment or urban areas?"
You mean like the Electoral College?
posted by Joe Beese at 1:38 PM on April 15, 2009
You mean like the Electoral College?
posted by Joe Beese at 1:38 PM on April 15, 2009
You mean like the Electoral College?
Meaningfully more extreme. As is their tariff regime relative to the US'
posted by JPD at 1:44 PM on April 15, 2009
Meaningfully more extreme. As is their tariff regime relative to the US'
posted by JPD at 1:44 PM on April 15, 2009
10+ years ago when I was in Japan I occasionally saw "I-Turn" mentioned in the weekly topic magazines. This was a play on "U-Turn", the movement of people going back to the inaka from whence they came. first google hit, from 1996 LOL.
Ms. Oshiro comes across in the article like a kulak that I wouldn't mind seeing liquidated, Stalin-style.
Farming is a basic form of wealth creation and as such it should always be a national priority to encourage advancing it.
posted by mrt at 1:55 PM on April 15, 2009
Ms. Oshiro comes across in the article like a kulak that I wouldn't mind seeing liquidated, Stalin-style.
Farming is a basic form of wealth creation and as such it should always be a national priority to encourage advancing it.
posted by mrt at 1:55 PM on April 15, 2009
oh, btw, the demographics of Japan are truly horrifying.
The baby boom echo is leaving peak bearing years so from here on out it's all downhill.
The population of young people is already about HALF now compared to what it was when I was FOB in Japan in 1992.
Retiring in the Japanese inaka in 10 or 20 years is a definite option for me. Something out by Hagi or the Izu Hanto would be nice. All I need is amazon.co.jp delivery, by then the delivery routes will all be run by robotics no doubt.
posted by mrt at 2:00 PM on April 15, 2009
The baby boom echo is leaving peak bearing years so from here on out it's all downhill.
The population of young people is already about HALF now compared to what it was when I was FOB in Japan in 1992.
Retiring in the Japanese inaka in 10 or 20 years is a definite option for me. Something out by Hagi or the Izu Hanto would be nice. All I need is amazon.co.jp delivery, by then the delivery routes will all be run by robotics no doubt.
posted by mrt at 2:00 PM on April 15, 2009
This isn't the cultural revolution - Japan has basically the same sensibilities as North American and Western European societies. This is an attempt to find work for *some* jobless people, and also pass down skills from one generation to another.
From first-hand experience, I can tell you that depopulation in rural Japan is a real problem, and, as more and more people pass away and cultural traditions die out, a real tragedy. In more affluent areas, most farms are operated by city folk with day jobs. But there are regions in Japan where there just aren't people to mind the farm.
The problem with the "back to the land" programs is that they don't pay all that well. Hopefully some of these folks will be supported by the local ag co-op to one day buy farms and land (and thus help generate wealth), but we shall see.
posted by KokuRyu at 2:06 PM on April 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
From first-hand experience, I can tell you that depopulation in rural Japan is a real problem, and, as more and more people pass away and cultural traditions die out, a real tragedy. In more affluent areas, most farms are operated by city folk with day jobs. But there are regions in Japan where there just aren't people to mind the farm.
The problem with the "back to the land" programs is that they don't pay all that well. Hopefully some of these folks will be supported by the local ag co-op to one day buy farms and land (and thus help generate wealth), but we shall see.
posted by KokuRyu at 2:06 PM on April 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
Soylent Green = The solution to Homelessness, Hunger, Joblessness, Lack of medical care, and environmental destruction.
posted by blue_beetle at 2:20 PM on April 15, 2009
posted by blue_beetle at 2:20 PM on April 15, 2009
To a starving person, having food to eat might just be pay enough.
posted by jamstigator at 2:37 PM on April 15, 2009
posted by jamstigator at 2:37 PM on April 15, 2009
The rate of depopulation in some areas here is beyond belief. From a story in this morning's Japan Times:
"The town [Niikappu, in Hokkaido] closed seven of its nine elementary schools last April due to the shrinking population of children ..."
They are selling the abandoned schools on Yahoo! Japan auctions ...
posted by woodblock100 at 3:12 AM on April 16, 2009
"The town [Niikappu, in Hokkaido] closed seven of its nine elementary schools last April due to the shrinking population of children ..."
They are selling the abandoned schools on Yahoo! Japan auctions ...
posted by woodblock100 at 3:12 AM on April 16, 2009
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They've had a few over the years.
posted by Ironmouth at 12:22 PM on April 15, 2009