Japanese MP Compares Government Rice to Chicken Feed

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Kazuhiro Haraguchi, a member of the Japanese Parliament from the opposition party, has come under fire after making controversial remarks. He likened the government's reserve rice in Japan to chicken feed. His statement has drawn criticism for seeming to demean people forced to buy affordable rice for economic reasons.

Despite the criticism, the politician from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan defended his opinion. It's worth mentioning that a week earlier, the Chairperson of the Democratic Party for the People, Yuichiro Tamaki, had apologized for calling the reserve rice animal feed.

Haraguchi's statement emerged during a meeting to seek election support in Saga, southwest Japan, on Saturday. He commented on the 2021 reserve rice that the government released to curb rising domestic rice prices.

"Is that something that we should buy gratefully?" he said, referring to the rice being sold for 83 yen per 5-kilogram package.

"Chickens are the ones mostly eating that really old rice. Honorable humans don't," he said as quoted by Antara.

Haraguchi posted a similar statement on X at the end of May, almost simultaneously with Tamaki's statement that garnered sharp criticism after referring to the government's reserve rice as "animal feed in a year."

"Are we not allowed to tell the truth?" Haraguchi said, responding to Tamaki's apology.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting in Saga held by the local labor union, Haraguchi emphasized that what he said is reasonable and the rice will "become animal feed" that "could be contaminants in it."

Rice prices in Japan have doubled compared to last year. At the end of May, the price of a 5-kilogram package of rice reached 4,290 yen.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba then took an unusual step by selling the reserve rice directly to retailers without auction, which has contributed to the rise in rice prices.

The surge in staple food prices has become an important political issue in Japan ahead of the Upper House election in July.

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