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.
Potato production in North Korea
The cultivation of potatoes in North Korea is an early 19th-century development (probably introduced from China) which until the 1990s was affected by crop diseases, severe weather conditions, poor storage facilities, and lack of modernization resulting in lower yields. Insistence on agricultural "Juche" (self-reliance) for three decades is also cited as a reason for lower yields. During the occupation of Korea by Japan, from 1910 to 1945, potatoes were the staple crop in the country. During World War II in particular, the potato was the chief sustenance crop as rice was exported to Japan. In a potato poisoning incident between 1952 and 1953, at least 322 North Koreans were affected by the consumption of rotten potatoes. Of these, 52 people were hospitalized and 22 died. During his rule, Kim Il-sung ordered that farmers should focus on other crops, such as rice and maize.