Politics of the potato front and center for Japan’s new agriculture minister

Agriculture minister Arata Takebe, appointed last week, begins his term with a potato problem on his hands, as opposition is growing among his constituents to an increase in potato imports from the United States. Takebe is a six-term Lower House member and the son of a former agriculture minister. He represents a district in Hokkaido, which supplies about 80% of Japan’s domestically grown potatoes and where opposition to the U.S. potato push is growing.