A161The Westernization of diets has led to a continuing decline in the consumption of rice, while there has been an increase in the consumption of meat, oils and fats, and dairy products, which have a low self-sufficiency ratio. Although there has been an increase in the ratio of people eating food other than the staple food, rice, the government purchased rice through its Food Management System for a long time after the Second World War. It paid relatively high prices compared to international rates, and sold the rice to consumers while prohibiting rice imports.
Therefore, food production centered on rice did not respond to shifting demand. The rapid growth of the Japanese economy led to a shortage of workers in factories, so young people moved from rural districts to the cities and the ratio of people working in secondary and tertiary industries increased.
It became difficult to find successors to work on the land and so many farming families gave up farming and let go of their land. Japan's agricultural markets were liberalized and opened, allowing meat and oranges to be imported. Restaurant chains, trading companies and supermarkets imported cheap meats and fruits from the United States, Australia and other countries, leading to a year by year decline in food self-sufficiency.