As Japan negotiates membership with the eleven other country-members of the Trans Pacific Partnership the issue of eliminating all tariffs among the members has put pressure on Japan which has expressed a desire to retain tariffs on certain key agricultural products. Amid these negotiations, the Japanese government has stated it aims to double agricultural exports to a value of ¥1 trillion by 2020. The goal is a part of a larger government policy package that includes measures to facilitate larger-scale farming, supporting farmers in processing and distributing their produce, and doubling incomes in the agricultural sector within the next decade. The administration plans to eliminate subsidies to rice farmers by 2018 and remove a quota system for domestic production, allowing the market to set the environment of supply and demand.
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