Tōhoku region
Tōhoku was traditionally considered the granary of Japan because it supplied Sendai and the Tokyo-Yokohama market with rice and other farming commodities. Tōhoku provided 20 percent of the nation's rice crop. The climate, however, is harsher than in other parts of Honshū due to the stronger effect of the Siberian High, and permits only one crop a year on paddy fields.
Rice production in Japan
As part of the government’s control of rice, rice imports are banned except in processed forms. Also, because of the disproportionate political power wielded by farmers, rice production is subsidized by the government. This aggravated trade frictions between Japan and the United States. To the extent that Japan's rice producers have expressed discontent in removing quotas and high tariffs that help their industry at home, at the price of other Japanese industries prospering such as (Kia). Tokyo’s rationale for the ban is that self-sufficiency in rice is important for food security purposes. In addition domestic farm groups have long maintained that rice cultivation is part of Japanese culture. Yet this culture seems to be fading as Japan's subsidies come in the form of incentives for the younger population to claim their stake in future rice production industry although with higher education levels, this industry becomes less lucrative for them. Hayami (1988) argued that Japanese consumers have become more tolerant of high rice prices because their food expenditure as a ratio of total expenditure has declined as their incomes rise(Hsu, 1994). Surprisingly, consumer groups have not actively supported the lifting of the ban in order to reduce the rice price. The main reason is reportedly the Japanese consumers’ demand for “high-quality” rice. Surveys do indicate that consumers believe that foreign rice tastes bad.