The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) seems to begin a survey on rice futures. In fact, the ministry seems to have visited rice farmers who had used rice futures once, and have conducted interviews with them. Two weeks ago, it seems to have visited a rice farmer living in Ibaraki prefecture and the farmer has a detailed knowledge of FX, foreign exchange margin transactions, and understands futures transactions well too. In the future, if the survey is done in the main rice production area such as Niigata and Akita prefectures, some kind of guideline is possible to appear.
As rice market, after the rice futures market was disapproved in August, 2021, MAFF changed its policy to founding a formal rice physical market and set up an expert meeting, making public the summary as a draft of appropriate market design in March, 2022. However, there’s been a rise in voices“It is useless” from those involved.
After that, MAFF made public the report whose title is “The change of circumstances on food, agriculture and rural area”　in December, 2022. The report aims improving productivity on agriculture and includes enhancement of competitiveness on domestic agriculture that continues to decrease the number of farmers in reference to various data, etc. Japanese Government including MAFF can be seen that it has a great sense of crisis for the situation of agriculture in Japan, so the survey on rice futures may be a measure for this situation.
At any rate, voices that wish rice futures will rise certainly in the near future. If the survey by MAFF has anticipated it, the matter is good news.

（Futures Tribune・issued March 21, 2023・no.3204）