Farm minister suggests emergency imports could cut Japan rice prices

Japan's farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi on Friday hinted at initiating emergency rice imports if the government fails to bring down prices, saying there should be no "sacred cows" in agricultural policy.Koizumi's remarks came as the government continues releasing rice reserves in a bid to lower prices, with it expected to leave stockpiles at 300,000 tons, down from the 1 million tons usually stored in preparation for disasters or crop failures."Emergency rice imports are one of the options" to ease concern over distribution shortages, said Koizumi, who took his post in mid-May.He added, "We …READ FULL ARTICLE